Hydrocarbon generation in relation to thrusting in the sub Andean zone from 18 to 22°S, Bolivia

Formation of the Bolivian eastern cordillera started at the end of the Oligocene and continues to the present day with thrusting affecting the Sub Andean Zone since late Miocene. The "classical" source rock is the Devonian, but the Silurian interval has some potential. Their initial original potential is not high but they are thick (700 m, Los Monos Fm) and may be thicker still due to stacking in thrust duplexes. The three phases of sedimentation during the Tertiary each start with conglomeratic deposits and are discordant over the previous one. Seismic data allow us to correlate these steps with three periods of tectonic accretion : Late Miocene (Tariquia Fm), Pliocene (Guandacay Fm) and Plio-Quaternary (Emborozu Fm). Modelling demonstrates two phases of hydrocarbon generation. A first phase from Devonian to Carboniferous is due to the deepening of the Palaeozoic basin. The second phase of maturation is due to the Tertiary deposits in the foreland and under the piggyback basins. The central aera (Santa Cruz) has never been more deeply buried than during the Palaeozoic and has been a high during the Tertiary. (Résumé d'auteur

Therapeutic efficacy of ormeloxifene against hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer and leading cause of cancer related deaths worldwide. Severe toxicity and drug resistance to available chemotherapeutic agents display ineffective clinical response. Therefore, drug repurposing is gaining attention owing to their known biological activities and excellent safety profiles. Ormeloxifene (ORM), non-steroidal, selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), and exhibit diverse pharmacological activities. The aim of this study is to assess the therapeutic activity of ORM and to investigate the underlying molecular mechanism against hepatocellular carcinoma. Objective: To investigate the therapeutic activity of ormeloxifene in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Methodology: MTT and colony formation assays were performed in SK-Hep-1, Hep3B and C3A cells. In vitro functional assays were carried out for investigating effect of ORM on migration and invasion abilities of HCC cells using Boyden chamber and Matrigel assays respectively. Results: Functional analysis revealed that ORM treatment led to suppression of proliferation and colony formation in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells in dose and time-dependent manner compared to vehicle treated group. ORM treatment, as shown by wound healing and Matrigel invasion assay, respectively, suppresses the migration and invasion of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Further, experiments are underway to determine the effect of ORM on EMT markers using western blotting and qPCR techniques. Conclusion: Taken together, ORM exhibited potent anticancer effects against HCC and could be further explored as a novel therapeutic modality for the treatment of HCC

Piii‐37

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/109838/1/cptclpt2006257.pd

Reduced basal ganglia μ-opioid receptor availability in trigeminal neuropathic pain: A pilot study

Abstract Background Although neuroimaging techniques have provided insights into the function of brain regions involved in Trigeminal Neuropathic Pain (TNP) in humans, there is little understanding of the molecular mechanisms affected during the course of this disorder. Understanding these processes is crucial to determine the systems involved in the development and persistence of TNP. Findings In this study, we examined the regional μ-opioid receptor (μOR) availability in vivo (non-displaceable binding potential BPND) of TNP patients with positron emission tomography (PET) using the μOR selective radioligand [11C]carfentanil. Four TNP patients and eight gender and age-matched healthy controls were examined with PET. Patients with TNP showed reduced μOR BPND in the left nucleus accumbens (NAc), an area known to be involved in pain modulation and reward/aversive behaviors. In addition, the μOR BPND in the NAc was negatively correlated with the McGill sensory and total pain ratings in the TNP patients. Conclusions Our findings give preliminary evidence that the clinical pain in TNP patients can be related to alterations in the endogenous μ-opioid system, rather than only to the peripheral pathology. The decreased availability of μORs found in TNP patients, and its inverse relationship to clinical pain levels, provide insights into the central mechanisms related to this condition. The results also expand our understanding about the impact of chronic pain on the limbic system.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/112555/1/12990_2012_Article_533.pd

Functional bold MRI: advantages of the 3 T vs. the 1.5 T

We quantitatively evaluate the benefits of a higher field strength for functional brain MRI (fMRI) based on the blood oxygenation level-dependent contrast. The 3-T fMRI shows a higher sensitivity for the motor and somatosensory stimulation and more specific localization in the grey substance. The 3-T fMRI detects additional areas of activation with the motor paradigm

Brief Report: Excitatory and Inhibitory Brain Metabolites as Targets of Motor Cortex Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Therapy and Predictors of Its Efficacy in Fibromyalgia

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110535/1/art38945.pd

Revisiting the difference between instrumental and terminal values to predict (stimulating) prosocial behaviours: the transcendental‐change profile

Past research suggests that the connection between values and people's behaviour may not be as straightforward and robust as has been claimed. We propose that a more holistic and discriminative view that acknowledges the influence of a specific combination of values on specific kinds of behaviour is needed. In the current project, we test two hypotheses regarding the transcendental-change profile (TCP). First, that TCP is characterized by a combination of the readiness to engage in those challenges (instrumental) that can make the world a better place (terminal). Second, the centrality of the TCP facilitates performance of those prosocial actions that are perceived as stimulating and global. The results of five studies support the reliability and validity of this conceptualization of TCP (Studies 1 and 2), and show that when the prosocial initiative is perceived as either global (Study 3) or stimulating (Studies 4 and 5), the TCP is the strongest predictor of the willingness and commitment to engage in such prosocial action.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Social representations of history, wars and politics in Latin America, Europe and Africa

This study analyzes how people perceive world history on three continents: Latin America, Europe and Africa. A total of 1179 university students form Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Guinea-Bissau, and Cape Verde were asked to evaluate world events and leaders in terms of their valence and importance. The results demonstrated that social representations of history show a Euro/North American-centric, long-term positive evaluation, recency, and socio- centric bias. Euro/North American-centric events and leaders were found to be rated as more important and were more positively perceived in general. Distant political events, like French or American Revolution, were considered to be more positive than XX century similar events, which supports the long-term positive evaluation bias hypothesis. The hypothesis on recency bias was partially substantiated. Confirming the existence of such bias, World War II was rated as more important than the previous XX century wars and revolutions. Socio-centric bias also received partial support. African participants rated Mandela as a more important leader than other participants did. Latin Americans rated Che Guevara less positively, which suggests that some leaders are generally idealized icons, not based on group belongingness. However, results did not bring support to the centrality of war hypothesis. Wars were indeed negatively evaluated and World War II was rated as an important and negative event. Nevertheless, war- and politics-related events were not perceived as more important than the Industrial Revolution, suggesting that people appraise the importance of long-term socioeconomic factors of history when responding to close-ended quantitative measures (vs. open-ended salience measures). Results are discussed in the framework of social representations of history.El estudio analiza como las personas perciben la historia mundial en tres continentes: Latinoamérica, Europa y África. 1179 estudiantes universitarios de Argentina, Brasil, Perú, Portugal, España, Guinea-Bissau y Cabo Verde evaluaron una lista de eventos mundiales y líderes en lo que concierne a su valoración e importancia. Los resultados han mostrado que la representación social de la historia se caracteriza por un Euro centrismo, una evaluación positiva a largo plazo, y por sesgos socio-céntricos. Los eventos “Occidentales” (vinculados a Europa y Norteamérica) fueron evaluados como más importantes y percibidos más positivamente que los no-Occidentales. Eventos políticos distantes, como la Revolución Francesa o Americana, fueron evaluados más positivamente que eventos similares del siglo XX, apoyando la hipótesis de la evaluación positiva del pasado lejano. La hipótesis del sesgo de recencia o proximidad fue parcialmente confirmada, ya que la II Guerra Mundial fue evaluada como más importante que revoluciones o guerras anteriores al siglo XX. El sesgo socio-céntrico también recibe apoyo parcial. Los africanos consideraron a Mandela como un líder más importante comparado con los otros participantes. Los Latinos americanos evaluaron Che Guevara menos positivamente, lo que sugiere que ciertos líderes son generalmente íconos idealizados, y su valoración positiva no se basa en la proximidad o la pertenencia grupal. Sin embargo, los resultados no apoyaron la hipótesis de la centralidad de la guerra. Las guerras fueron efectivamente evaluadas negativamente y la II Guerra Mundial fue evaluado como la guerra más importante y como un evento muy negativo. No obstante, las guerras y eventos políticos relacionados con la violencia no fueron percibidos como más importantes que la Revolución industrial, sugiriendo que las personas valoran la importancia general de los factores históricos socioeconómicos cuando responden a medidas cuantitativas cerradas (vs. medidas abiertas). Los resultados se analizan desde el marco teórico de las representaciones sociales de la Historia

A prion-like domain in ELF3 functions as a thermosensor in Arabidopsis.

Temperature controls plant growth and development, and climate change has already altered the phenology of wild plants and crops1. However, the mechanisms by which plants sense temperature are not well understood. The evening complex is a major signalling hub and a core component of the plant circadian clock2,3. The evening complex acts as a temperature-responsive transcriptional repressor, providing rhythmicity and temperature responsiveness to growth through unknown mechanisms2,4-6. The evening complex consists of EARLY FLOWERING 3 (ELF3)4,7, a large scaffold protein and key component of temperature sensing; ELF4, a small α-helical protein; and LUX ARRYTHMO (LUX), a DNA-binding protein required to recruit the evening complex to transcriptional targets. ELF3 contains a polyglutamine (polyQ) repeat8-10, embedded within a predicted prion domain (PrD). Here we find that the length of the polyQ repeat correlates with thermal responsiveness. We show that ELF3 proteins in plants from hotter climates, with no detectable PrD, are active at high temperatures, and lack thermal responsiveness. The temperature sensitivity of ELF3 is also modulated by the levels of ELF4, indicating that ELF4 can stabilize the function of ELF3. In both Arabidopsis and a heterologous system, ELF3 fused with green fluorescent protein forms speckles within minutes in response to higher temperatures, in a PrD-dependent manner. A purified fragment encompassing the ELF3 PrD reversibly forms liquid droplets in response to increasing temperatures in vitro, indicating that these properties reflect a direct biophysical response conferred by the PrD. The ability of temperature to rapidly shift ELF3 between active and inactive states via phase transition represents a previously unknown thermosensory mechanism