Some steps towards abolitionism in american society in the 19th century: an analysis of historical documents

En este trabajo, analizo documentos históricos relevantes con respecto a la abolición de la esclavitud en los Estados Unidos de América en el siglo XIX. Primero realizo un resumen de la historia de la esclavitud en los Estados Unidos, desde la primera vez que los africanos llegaron en 1619, hasta la proclamación de la decimocuarta enmienda en 1869 que define a la población de raza negra como ciudadanos de los EEUU. Posteriormente, llevo a cabo un detallado análisis de algunos documentos históricos, de los que se proporciona información histórica, se extraen las ideas principales y secundarias y finalmente se explican las consecuencias e implicaciones de dichos documentos. La mayoría de los documentos surgen como una consecuencia de los anteriores por lo que al final obtenemos una buena idea de los pasos que se siguieron para conseguir la libertad de los afroamericanos.In this dissertation, I analyze historical documents relevant in terms of the abolition of the slavery in the United States of America in the 19th century. First, I write a summary of the history of slavery in the USA, from the first time that blacks arrived to the country in 1619, until the proclamation of the fourteenth proclamation in 1869 by which the black population is given citizenship. Later on, I realize a detailed analysis of several historical documents, of which I give historical information, draw the main and secondary ideas and finally explain the consequences and implication of the documents I have mentioned before. The majority of the documents emerged as a consequence of the preceding ones, which allow us to obtain a good idea of the steps that were taken to achieve the freedom of the African-Americans.Departamento de Filología InglesaGrado en Estudios Inglese

Quality More Than Quantity: The Use of Carbohydrates in High-Fat Diets to Tackle Obesity in Growing Rats

This research was supported by funds provided by the Abbott Laboratories S.A.Childhood obesity prevention is important to avoid obesity and its comorbidities into adulthood. Although the energy density of food has been considered a main obesogenic factor, a focus on food quality rather that the quantity of the different macronutrients is needed. Therefore, this study investigates the effects of changing the quality of carbohydrates from rapidly to slowly digestible carbohydrates on metabolic abnormalities and its impact on obesity in growing rats fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Growing rats were fed on HFD containing carbohydrates with different digestion rates: a HFD containing rapid-digesting carbohydrates (OBE group) or slow-digesting carbohydrates (ISR group), for 4 weeks and the effect on the metabolism and signaling pathways were analyzed in different tissues. Animals from OBE group presented an overweight/obese phenotype with a higher body weight gain and greater accumulation of fat in adipose tissue and liver. This state was associated with an increase of HOMA index, serum diacylglycerols and triacylglycerides, insulin, leptin, and pro-inflammatory cytokines. In contrast, the change of carbohydrate profile in the diet to one based on slow digestible prevented the obesity-related adverse effects. In adipose tissue, GLUT4 was increased and UCPs and PPARg were decreased in ISR group respect to OBE group. In liver, GLUT2, FAS, and SRBP1 were lower in ISR group than OBE group. In muscle, an increase of glycogen, GLUT4, AMPK, and Akt were observed in comparison to OBE group. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that the replacement of rapidly digestible carbohydrates for slowly digestible carbohydrates within a highfat diet promoted a protective effect against the development of obesity and its associated comorbidities.Abbott Laboratories S.A

Constitución y Migraciones Internacionales. Investigación y docencia desde la perspectiva del constitucionalismo crítico

La presente Memoria tiene su precedente en la investigación docente que sobre Derecho de Extranjería se había iniciado en el Curso 2014-15. En el presente Curso 2015-16 esta investigación amplía su horizonte con el objeto de comprender cómo las migraciones internacionales están cambiando el derecho constitucional y si el derecho constitucional está tomando en cuenta los retos que significan las nuevas formas de comprender las categorías constitucionales. A partir de la interacción entre las experiencias docentes de Universidades (españolas y latinoamericanas) en esta Memoria se refleja la experiencia docente en materia de derechos fundamentales confrontadas con la realidad de las migraciones internacionales que viene cambiando definiciones y prácticas de los derechos fundamentales tales como el derecho de sufragio; de reunión; al trabajo y relativas a la discriminación racial

Oral food desensitization in children with IgE-mediated cow's milk allergy: immunological changes underlying desensitization

[Purpose]: This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy to induce clinical desensitization to cow's milk (CM) of an oral immunotherapy (OIT) protocol in a pediatric population with cow's milk allergy (CMA). In addition, the immune responses against β-casein, of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from CMA patients, before and after the protocol were evaluated and compared to a nonallergic population. [Methods]: A group of 20 children with IgE-mediated CMA and 15 nonallergic children were recruited. Allergic subjects underwent an OIT protocol based on weekly doses of commercial semi-skimmed ultra-high temperature treated (UHT) CM, followed by a maintenance phase. Immune profiles and changes in all subjects were investigated by measuring Th1, Th2, and Treg cytokines, transcription factors, and specific IgE and IgG4 levels. [Results]: The CMOIT protocol enabled to desensitize 70% of the allergic patients. Successful OIT was accompanied by significant increases in casein-specific IgG4 levels, together with a reduction in the concentration of antigen-specific IgE and in IL-5, IL-13, and IL-10 production by β-casein-stimulated PBMCs. Baseline significant differences observed between allergic and nonallergic children in IL-13 and IL-5 levels were no longer found once the protocol had finished. [Conclusions]: The OIT protocol was safe and effective in inducing milk desensitization in 70% of the children with CMA, leading to alterations in their immune profiles toward a nonallergic phenotype.Ms. Perezábad, Dr. López-Fandiño and Dr. Molina are members of the COST action ImpARAS FA1402. Ms. Perezábad is in receipt of a Formación de Personal Universitario Ph.D. Grant from the Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (Spain).Peer Reviewe

Los alérgenos del huevo: cómo son y cómo se comportan

A pesar de la gran diversidad de la dieta humana, son pocos los alimentos responsables de la mayoría de las alergias alimentarias. En los niños, por ejemplo, el 80% de los casos se deben a la leche, al huevo y a los cacahuetes. De hecho, ocho tipos de alimentos (leche, huevo, pescado, crustáceos, cacahuetes, otros frutos secos, soja y cereales que contienen gluten) son responsables de más del 90% de las alergias alimentarias mundiales, aunque, al menos, otros 160 alimentos pueden causar alergias alimentarias. Está comprobado que los alérgenos alimentarios conocidos, tanto de origen animal como vegetal, pertenecen sólo a algunas de las miles de familias de proteínas existentes. Esto desafía la hipótesis de que el potencial alergénico de todas las proteínas sea equivalente pero, a pesar de este reducido número de familias, las estructuras y funciones que presentan los distintos alérgenos son dispares y no permiten establecer un nexo común. Pero ¿qué es lo que hace que el huevo sea un alimento alergénico? El intestino es la puerta de entrada de una enorme cantidad de proteínas alimentarias inocuas (más de 20 kg por persona y año), que el sistema inmune distingue en condiciones normales de las sustancias perjudiciales. El hecho de que determinadas proteínas alimentarias originen reacciones alérgicas se debe a un fallo en los mecanismos de inducción de tolerancia que operan normalmente, aunque no se sabe con exactitud qué es lo que desencadena una respuesta inapropiada. En el huevo, como en la mayoría de los alimentos que causan alergia, las proteínas son constituyentes mayoritarios. Además, el huevo es un elemento muy importante en la alimentación de los niños durante el segundo semestre de vida, cuando es mayor la predisposición a desarrollar alergias alimentarias. Además de la propensión genética, el mayor riesgo a esta edad se debe a que es el momento en el que el niño se encuentra por primera vez con nuevos alimentos y cientos o miles de proteínas con potencial alergénico pero, también, a que los procesos digestivos todavía no están totalmente desarrollados, de modo que factores como una menor acidez estomacal, menor concentración de enzimas digestivas, o una permeabilidad intestinal aumentada, permitirían, en mayor medida, la absorción de moléculas grandes que pueden causar sensibilización. Sin embargo, debe destacarse que alimentos muy ricos en proteína y frecuentes en la dieta durante los primeros años, como la ternera, el pollo y el cerdo, raramente dan lugar a reacciones alérgicas. Existe un gran interés en definir las características que determinan que una proteína sea alergénica, puesto que la comprensión de las propiedades moleculares que comparten entre sí los alérgenos podría contribuir a disminuir los riesgos que ocasionan. Sin embargo, como ya se ha indicado, es difícil encontrar rasgos comunes entre ellas, más allá de una gran estabilidad estructural que las hace resistentes a la digestión y difícilmente alterables por el procesado, en particular, por el tratamiento térmico (Breiteneder y Mills, 2005). La secuencia de aminoácidos y las principales características estructurales de los alérgenos del huevo son bien conocidas. Es de gran importancia la estructura primaria, que determina las regiones de unión a IgE, denominadas epítopos, con disposición lineal. Pero también lo es la estructura tridimensional de las proteínas, puesto que existen epítopos conformacionales, formados por regiones de la proteína cercanas en el espacio, pero distantes en la secuencia. Dado que los alérgenos deben ser capaces de hacer de puente entre dos moléculas de IgE para causar la ruptura de las células que contienen histamina, han de poseer, al menos, dos epítopos reactivos hacia dichos anticuerpos.Peer Reviewe

Influence of the carbohydrate moieties on the immunoreactivity and digestibility of the egg allergen ovomucoid.

BACKGROUND: Ovomucoid (OM) has two carbohydrate chains on each of the first and second domains and one in the third. The contribution of the covalently bound carbohydrate chains to the overall OM allergenicity is controversial. Another aspect directly related with the immunological properties of OM that has not been studied in depth is the importance of the carbohydrate chains on its digestibility. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to assess the involvement of the carbohydrate moieties of OM in its digestibility and allergenic properties. METHODS: IgE-binding and basophil activation by glycosylated and enzymatically deglycosylated OM (dOM) were compared using blood from egg-allergic patients. The peptides obtained after digestion using a physiologically relevant model were identified by RP-HPLC-MS/MS and the IgE-binding of the resulting fragments was evaluated by DOT-Blot. RESULTS: No structural changes were observed after deglycosylation of OM. 80% of the patients showed lower IgE binding to dOM as compared with OM and, in some patients, IgE reactivity could not be inhibited by pre-incubation with dOM. A subtle reduction in the percentage of activated basophils was observed when incubated with dOM as compared to OM. Following simulated digestion, dOM was more extensively degraded than OM, particularly during the gastric phase and both, OM and dOM, yielded, after the duodenal phase, immunoreactive fragments that were totally or partially coincident with previously described epitopes. CONCLUSION & CLINICAL RELEVANCE: this work demonstrated an enhanced IgE reactivity towards carbohydrate containing OM in some egg-allergic patients that could be attributed to cross-sensitization or sensitization to the glycosylated components. The carbohydrate chains contributed to an increased resistance to proteolysis, and thus, to its allergenic potency. Evaluation of the products of digestion of OM and dOM revealed the presence of high-frequency IgE-binding epitopes that could remain linked by disulphide bonds

Clinical efficacy and immunological changes subjacent to egg oral immunotherapy

[Background]: Evidence of the efficacy of food oral immunotherapy (OIT) is not robust enough to change clinical practice from current standard management. Furthermore, the immunologic changes underlying food desensitization are unknown. [Objective]: To establish the immunologic basal status and differences between an egg-allergic group of children and a population of nonallergic children and to investigate the safety and efficacy of a specific egg OIT protocol to induce clinical desensitization and the associated immune responses. [Methods]: Children with or without egg allergy were recruited. Allergic subjects underwent an OIT protocol based on weekly doses of egg protein and a maintenance phase. Immune profile and changes in all subjects were investigated by measuring T-helper cells types 1 and 2 (TH1 and TH2) and T-regulatory cytokines and transcription factors and egg-specific IgE and IgG4 levels. [Results]: At baseline, a significantly lower production of ovalbumin-specific interleukin (IL)-10 and tumor necrosis factor-α and a trend toward higher IL-5 and IL-13 were found in allergic children. The egg OIT protocol enabled 60% of them to ingest 32 mL of egg white. Significant increases in egg-specific IgG4 levels and IL-10 production, with a trend toward lower IL-5 and IL-13 and higher tumor necrosis factor-α and interferon-γ levels, and significant decreases in egg-specific IgE concentration were observed. Conclusion Egg-allergic individuals display a bias toward TH2 type cytokine production and decreased TH1 and IL-10 responses compared with nonallergic individuals. The OIT protocol was safe and effective in inducing egg desensitization, leading to a shift in the immune profile of allergic individuals toward a nonallergic phenotype.Ms Perezábad, Dr López-Fandiño, Dr Molina, and Dr López-Expósito are participants in the COST-Action ImpARAS FA1402. Ms Perezábad received an Formación de Personal Universitario grant from the Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (Spain). Instituto de Estudios del Huevo.Peer Reviewe

Reduced Th1 and Treg immune responses in a pediatric egg-allergic group susceptible for an OIT protocol

Resumen del póster presentado al Food Allergy an Anaphylaxis Meeting celebrado en Nice (Francia) del 7 al 9 de febrero de 2013.[Background]: Egg allergy is one of the most common food allergies of childhood with an estimated prevalence of 2.6 %. Allergic reactions to egg may vary from atopic dermatitis to systemic anaphylaxis. Although traditionally the only treatment is dietary avoidance, oral immunotherapy (OIT) appears as a promising approach to induce egg-tolerance. However, the immune mechanisms underlying this treatment are largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical and immune responses against egg allergens of a pediatric population candidate for an OIT protocol with a non-atopic population of the same age range. [Methods]: A group of 19 pediatric patients with egg allergy confirmed by egg-specific IgE levels and positive double blind placebo controlled tests (DBPCT) was compared with a group of 9 non-atopic children on an egg-containing diet. The mean age of the egg-allergic patients was 10.1 years compared with 6.2 years in the control group. No significant differences regarding sex or age were found between the two groups. In both groups, PBMCs were isolated from peripheral blood and stimulated during 7 days with 200 μg/mL of ovalbumin (OVA). Culture supernatants were analyzed for IL-5, IL-13, IL-1β, IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-10 production by Cytometric Bead Array (CBA). [Results]: During the DBPCT with pasteurized egg-white, 8 egg-allergic patients had urticaria, 5 anaphylaxis, 4 experienced digestive symptoms and 2 respiratory symptoms. The mean positive dose in the DBPCT was 1.4 mL of egg-white, within a range of 0.001-8 mL. Specific IgE measurements revealed, on average, 71.0 kU/L for egg-white, 31.7 kU/L for OVA and 45.6 kU/L for ovomucoid. CBA results showed a significantly impaired production of OVA-specific IFN-γ (P<0.05), TNF-α (P<0.01) and IL-10 (P<0.01) in egg-allergic patients when compared with control children. In addition, a trend toward higher OVA-specific IL-5 and IL-13 production was found in egg-allergic patients. [Conclusion]: Under the conditions studied, egg-allergic children showed a significantly reduced Th1 and Treg cytokine production upon stimulation with OVA in comparison with non-atopic controls. Furthermore, a trend toward the production of IL-5 and IL-13 was observed. The clinical response to egg in the allergic group was reflected in the T-cell responses to OVA and the evolution of the cytokine profile upon a OIT protocol might provide a better understanding of the immune responses involved in allergy and tolerance to egg.Peer Reviewe

Orogastrointestinal digestions profile and immunoreactivity.

<p>SDS-PAGE patterns (a, b) and Western blotting (c, d) of OM (a, c) and dOM (b, d) after in vitro oral, gastric and gastroduodenal digestions. M: molecular mass marker; 1: OM (a, c) and dOM (b, d); 2: oral digest; 3-13: gastric digests at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 60-min; 14: duodenal digests (60 min of gastric digestion followed by 30 min of duodenal digestion). Membranes were incubated with a pool of sera (patients 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9, <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0080810#pone-0080810-t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a>).</p

OM and dOM immunoreactivity .

<p>Binding to human IgE, using sera from 10 egg-allergic individuals (patients 1-10, <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0080810#pone-0080810-t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a>), of OM (gray) and dOM (black), expressed as EC50, or effective OM or dOM concentration (μg/mL) to inhibit 50% of the IgE binding to OM (a). SDS-PAGE (b) and Western blot analyses (c-l) of OM (1) and dOM (2) with sera from the same 10 individuals (1-10, respectively, used in the ELISA). Human sera were either no incubated (A) or previously incubated (B) with the amount of dOM calculated to inhibit 100 % of IgE binding.</p