Identification and functional characterisation of CRK12:CYC9, a novel cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)-cyclin complex in Trypanosoma brucei

The protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma brucei, is spread by the tsetse fly and causes trypanosomiasis in humans and animals. Both the life cycle and cell cycle of the parasite are complex. Trypanosomes have eleven cdc2-related kinases (CRKs) and ten cyclins, an unusually large number for a single celled organism. To date, relatively little is known about the function of many of the CRKs and cyclins, and only CRK3 has previously been shown to be cyclin-dependent in vivo. Here we report the identification of a previously uncharacterised CRK:cyclin complex between CRK12 and the putative transcriptional cyclin, CYC9. CRK12:CYC9 interact to form an active protein kinase complex in procyclic and bloodstream T. brucei. Both CRK12 and CYC9 are essential for the proliferation of bloodstream trypanosomes in vitro, and we show that CRK12 is also essential for survival of T. brucei in a mouse model, providing genetic validation of CRK12:CYC9 as a novel drug target for trypanosomiasis. Further, functional characterisation of CRK12 and CYC9 using RNA interference reveals roles for these proteins in endocytosis and cytokinesis, respectively

An experiment in spanish-portuguese statistical machine translation

Abstract. Statistical approaches to machine translation have long been successfully applied to a number of ‘distant ’ language pairs such as English-Arabic and English-Chinese. In this work we describe an experiment in statistical machine translation between two ‘related ’ languages: European Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese. Preliminary results suggest not only that statistical approaches are comparable to a rule-based system, but also that they are more adaptive and take considerably less effort to be developed.

Perfil das mães de neonatos com controle glicêmico nas primeiras horas de vida Perfil de las madres de neonatos con control glucémico en las primeras horas de vida Profile of mothers of newborns with blood glucose control in the first hours of life

Alguns fatores maternos associados ao quadro de hipoglicemia neonatal indicam a monitoração dos níveis glicêmicos nas primeiras 24 horas de vida. O estudo objetivou descrever as características sócio-demográficas e obstétricas de mães de neonatos com controle de glicemia capilar nas primeiras 24 horas de vida, internadas em Alojamento Conjunto de um Hospital Amigo da Criança. Estudo descritivo-exploratório que analisou dados de 380 prontuários médicos de mães internadas entre julho e dezembro de 2006, na unidade de Alojamento Conjunto do Hospital Universitário da Universidade de São Paulo. Diabetes gestacional foi verificado em 18 (5,6%) mães; nenhuma tratou com hipoglicemiante oral; 53 (16,2%) tiveram hipertensão arterial na gestação, e 17 (32,1%) fizeram uso de anti-hipertensivo; 215 (56,6%) receberam soro glicosado, 5% no trabalho de parto e parto. Estudos correlacionais analisando variáveis maternas e ocorrência de hipoglicemia neonatal devem ser realizados, objetivando identificar os fatores preditores desta morbidade neonatal.<br>Algunos factores maternos asociados al cuadro de hipoglucemia neonatal indican la monitorización de los niveles de glucemia en las primeras 24 horas de vida. El estudio tuvo como objetivo describir las características sociodemográficas y obstétricas de madres de neonatos con control de glucemia capilar en las primeras 24 horas de vida, internadas en Alojamiento Conjunto de un Hospital Amigo de la Niñez. Estudio de tipo descriptivo exploratorio que analizó datos de 380 historias clínicas de madres internadas entre julio y diciembre de 2006 en la Unidad de Alojamiento Conjunto del Hospital Universitario de la Universidad de San Pablo. Se verificó diabetes gestacional en 18 madres (5,6%), ninguna recibió tratamiento con hipoglucemiantes orales, 53 de ellas (16,2%) tuvieron hipertensión arterial durante la gestación y 17 (32,1%) hicieron uso de antihipertensivos; 215 (56,6%) recibieron suero glucosado al 5% durante el trabajo de parto y el parto en sí. Deben ser efectuados estudios correlacionales, analizando variables maternas y ocurrencia de hipoglucemia neonatal, con el objetivo de identificar los factores predictores de esta patología neonatal.<br>Some maternal factors associated with neonatal hypoglycemia justify monitoring blood glucose levels in the first 24 hours of life. The objective of this study was to describe the socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics of mothers to newborns undergoing capillary blood glucose control in the first 24 hours of life, hospitalized in a rooming-in maternity ward of a Baby Friendly Hospital. This is a descriptive exploratory study which involved the analysis of data from 380 medical records of mothers hospitalized from July to December, 2006 at the maternity ward of the University of São Paulo Teaching Hospital. It was found that 18 (5.6%) mothers developed gestational diabetes, none of them were treated with oral hypoglycemic agents, 53 (16.2%) had hypertension during pregnancy and 17 (32.1%) used anti-hypertensive medication, 215 (56.6%) received glucose 5% continuous infusion during labor and delivery. Correlation studies linking maternal variables and neonatal hypoglycemia are needed to identify the predicting factors of this neonatal morbidity