Aucas en la ciudad de Santiago. La rebelión mapuche de 1723 y el miedo al «otro» en Chile central

Within the context of the so-called indigenous rebellion in 1723, this article reconstructs the actions carried out to suppress an alleged rebel attack on the city of Santiago in October of that year, an attack which never occurred, but nevertheless brought to jail over one hundred Indians, inhabitants of the nearby city areas, and most of whom were immigrants who had come from the border of the river Biobio or from within the Araucania. This process is studied from the perspective of fear of the «other» who was in this case an indigenous migrant carrying language, customs and religion all of which were mostly incomprehensible to the hispanocriollos of central Chile, thereby making them immediately to appear suspicious and be referred to as «Auca», or rebel.En el contexto de la llamada rebelión general indígena de 1723, este artículo reconstituye las acciones llevadas a cabo para reprimir un supuesto ataque rebelde a la ciudad de Santiago en octubre de dicho año, el cual nunca llegó a realizarse, pero que llevó a la cárcel a más de una centena de indios que habitaban en las cercanías de la ciudad, la mayoría de los cuales eran inmigrantes venidos de la frontera del río Biobío o desde el interior de la Araucanía. Dicho proceso se estudia desde la perspectiva del miedo al «otro», en este caso al indígena migrante, portador de un idioma, costumbres y una religiosidad mayormente incomprensibles para los hispanocriollos de Chile central, lo que los convertía inmediatamente en sospechosos y se les calificaba como «aucas» o rebeldes

Étude prospective secondaire visant à préciser l’influence de la température de conservation des urines sur le profil électrophorétique des protéines urinaires sur gel d’agarose chez le chien protéinurique.

Une étude sur les variations préanalytiques des électrophorèses des protéines urinaires de chien a mis en évidence une modification des profils après conservation des spécimens urinaires à - 20°C pour une durée de 15j. Ces modifications n'ont pas été visualisées lors de conservation à T°C ambiante, à 4° ou à -80°C. L'objectif de cette étude prospective est de préciser après quel délai de congélation à -20°C ces modifications apparaissaient et si la nature du tube les influence. Vingt chiens protéinuriques ont été inclus. Après examen urinaire complet, un RPCU et une électrophorèse des protéines urinaires sur gel d’agarose ont été obtenus. L'urine a ensuite été répartie dans différents tubes (Eppendorf® classique, Eppendorf® Protein LoBind et Nunc Cryotube®) et les spécimens ont été congelés à -20°C. Les électrophorèses ont été réitérées après 1, 2, 5 et 15jours. Les mêmes modifications ont été retrouvées quelques soit le tube utilisé. Quatre profils sont modifiés dès J1 ; deux profils supplémentaires sont modifiés dès J2, un et un profil dès J5 et J15, respectivement. L'apparition des modifications est significativement associée à la protéinurie, ainsi qu'à la classification initiale du type de profil. La congélation à -20°C des urines est déconseillée quelle que soit sa durée, pour une interprétation fiable des profils électrophorétiques des protéines urinaires de chiens

Abundance and Distribution of Enteric Bacteria and Viruses in Coastal and Estuarine Sediments—a Review

The long term survival of fecal indicator organisms (FIOs) and human pathogenic microorganisms in sediments is important from a water quality, human health and ecological perspective. Typically, both bacteria and viruses strongly associate with particulate matter present in freshwater, estuarine and marine environments. This association tends to be stronger in finer textured sediments and is strongly influenced by the type and quantity of clay minerals and organic matter present. Binding to particle surfaces promotes the persistence of bacteria in the environment by offering physical and chemical protection from biotic and abiotic stresses. How bacterial and viral viability and pathogenicity is influenced by surface attachment requires further study. Typically, long-term association with surfaces including sediments induces bacteria to enter a viable-but-non-culturable (VBNC) state. Inherent methodological challenges of quantifying VBNC bacteria may lead to the frequent under-reporting of their abundance in sediments. The implications of this in a quantitative risk assessment context remain unclear. Similarly, sediments can harbor significant amounts of enteric viruses, however, the factors regulating their persistence remains poorly understood. Quantification of viruses in sediment remains problematic due to our poor ability to recover intact viral particles from sediment surfaces (typically <10%), our inability to distinguish between infective and damaged (non-infective) viral particles, aggregation of viral particles, and inhibition during qPCR. This suggests that the true viral titre in sediments may be being vastly underestimated. In turn, this is limiting our ability to understand the fate and transport of viruses in sediments. Model systems (e.g., human cell culture) are also lacking for some key viruses, preventing our ability to evaluate the infectivity of viruses recovered from sediments (e.g., norovirus). The release of particle-bound bacteria and viruses into the water column during sediment resuspension also represents a risk to water quality. In conclusion, our poor process level understanding of viral/bacterial-sediment interactions combined with methodological challenges is limiting the accurate source apportionment and quantitative microbial risk assessment for pathogenic organisms associated with sediments in aquatic environments

Rhéologie des matériaux pâteux : vers un continuum des régimes solide et liquide. Application aux boues résiduaires

In a context of constant increasing volumes of wastewater treatment sludge, optimizing the treatment of sludge appears to be crucial. Each step of treatment and transportation involves flows. It appears necessary to understand and predict these flows in order, for example, to estimate pressure drops in pipes or to size properly pumping facilities. In a physical point of view, sludge can be considered as a suspension of particles in a gel. Thus, its rheological behaviour presents significant similarities to that of colloidal suspensions of polymeric gels. These three types of materials, i.e. wastewater treatment sludge, colloidal suspensions and polymeric gels, present a complex rheological behaviour which depend on both time and the applied solicitation. They exhibit a dual behaviour, solid at low shear stresses, and liquid when the applied shear stress is high. The solid-liquid behaviour is generally modelled by defining a critical shear stress or a critical strain, supposed to be the limit between the solid and liquid regimes. Nevertheless, this concept implies an abrupt transition, unlike experimental observations showing a continuous and progressive transition. The study of the literature permitted to highlight the need to improve the understanding and modelling of the solid-liquid transition. Moreover, it appears necessary to unify the description of the solid and liquid regime in a unique model, in order to link a mathematical continuity with thecontinuous and progressive nature of the physical phenomenon to model. The study of the results available in the literature permited us to build a unique mathematical model to describe both the solid behaviour and the liquid behaviour of the studied materials. The assumptions made from the literature results have thus been experimentally validated. The proposed model is based on the decomposition of the compliance of the material in the sum of a solid contribution and a liquid contribution, depending on time, the applied solicitation and the story of the material.This model permits a unique description of solide and liquid regimes of the material, taking into account the existence of a residual elasticity at high shear stresses, and a viscous dissipation for low shear stresses, in accordance with experimental results. This work permitted to highlight the fact that the solid-liquid transition mecanism is controlled by the compliance of the material, and not the shear stress or the strain. Moreover, it opened the way to a new way of understanding the thixotropy and the solid-liquid transition of pasty materials. Thus, the behaviour of a pasty material is controlled by two parameters : a plateau elastic modulus corresponding to a totally structured state, and an infinite viscosity corresponding to a totally destructured state. These parameters intrinsic to the material are pondered by the evolutions of the microstructure, leading to a competition between elastic and viscous effects. Thus, the difference between the power law behaviour and the Herschel-Bulkley behaviour can be simply explained by the apparition of elastic effects that can’t be neglected.Dans un contexte d’augmentation constante des volumes de boues d’épuration à traiter, l’optimisation du traitement des boues est un enjeu primordial. Les étapes de traitement, et de transport mettent en jeu des écoulements qu’il est nécessaire de comprendre et de prédire afin, par exemple, de pour pouvoir estimer les pertes de charges en conduite ou bien pour dimensionner les installations de pompage. D’un point de vue physique, les boues peuvent être considérées comme une suspension de particules dans un gel suspendant. Ainsi, le comportement rhéologique des boues d’épuration présente des similitudes importantes avec les suspensions colloïdales et les gels polymériques. Ces trois types de matériaux, i.e. les boues d’épuration, les gels colloïdaux et les suspensions polymériques, présentent un comportement rhéologique complexe dépendant du temps et de la sollicitation imposée. Ils présentent un comportement dual, solide aux contraintes faibles, et liquide pour des contraintes élevées. La transition solide-liquide est généralement modélisée par la définition d’un seuil de contrainte ou de déformation, supposé séparer les régimes solide et liquide. Cependant, cette notion de seuil suppose une transition abrupte, et s’oppose aux observations expérimentales qui mettent en évidence une transition continue et progressive. L’étude de la littérature a permis de mettre en évidence une nécessité d’améliorer la compréhension et la modélisation du phénomène de transition solide-liquide. De plus, il est nécessaire d’unifier la description des régimes solide et liquide sous un même modèle, afin de mettre en lien une continuité mathématique avec le caractère continu et progressif du phénomène physique modélisé. Une analyse des résultats disponibles dans la littérature nous a permis de construire un modèle mathématique unique pour décrire le comportement solide et le comportement liquide des matériaux étudiés. Les hypothèses posées à partir de la littérature pour construire ce modèle ont ensuite été validées expérimentalement. Le modèle proposé est basé sur la décomposition de la complaisance du matériau en la somme d’une contribution solide et d’une contribution liquide, dépendant du temps, de la sollicitation appliquée et de l’histoire du matériau. Ce modèle permet une description commune des comportements solides et liquides du matériau, en tenant compte de l’existence d’une élasticité résiduelle y compris pour des contraintes élevées, et d’une dissipation visqueuse faible pour les contraintes faibles, conformément aux résultats expérimentaux. Ces travaux de thèse ont permis de mettre en évidence le fait que le mécanisme de transition solide-liquide était piloté non pas par la contrainte ou par la déformation, mais par la complaisance du matériau. De plus, ils ont permis d’ouvrir la voie à une nouvelle manière d’appréhender la thixotropie et la transition solide-liquide des matériaux pâteux. En effet, le comportement d’un matériau pâteux est piloté par deux paramètres : un module élastique plateau correspondant à un état totalement structuré, et une viscosité infinie correspondant à un état totalement déstructuré. Ces paramètres intrinsèques au matériau sont alors pondérés par des évolutions de la microstructure, menant à une compétition entre les effets élastiques et les effets visqueux. Ainsi, la différence entre un comportement de type loi de puissance et un comportement de type loi de puissance à seuil peut être expliquée simplement par l’apparition d’effets élastiques non négligeables

DRD4 and TH gene polymorphisms are associated with activity, impulsivity and inattention in Siberian Husky dogs

Both dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) exon 3 and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) intron 4 repeat polymorphisms have been linked to activity and impulsivity in German Shepherd dogs (GSDs). However, the results in GSDs may not be generalisable to other breeds, as allelic frequencies vary markedly among breeds. We selected the Siberian Husky for further study, because it is highly divergent from most dog breeds, including the GSD. The study sample consisted of 145 racing Siberian Huskies from Europe and North America. We found that this breed possesses seven DRD4 length variants, two to five more variants than found in other breeds. Among them was the longest known allele, previously described only in wolves. Short alleles of the DRD4 and TH repeat polymorphisms were associated with higher levels of activity, impulsivity and inattention. Siberian Huskies possessing at least one short allele of the DRD4 polymorphism displayed greater activity in a behavioural test battery than did those with two long alleles. However, the behavioural test was brief and may not have registered variation in behaviour across time and situations. Owners also completed the Dog-Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale (Dog-ADHD RS), a more general measure of activity and attention. Siberian Huskies from Europe with two short alleles of the TH polymorphism received higher ratings of inattention on the Dog-ADHD RS than did those with the long allele. Investigation of the joint effect of DRD4 and TH showed that dogs possessing long alleles at both sites were scored as less active-impulsive than were others. Our results are aligned with previous studies showing that DRD4 and TH polymorphisms are associated with activity-impulsivity related traits in dogs. However, the prevalence of variants of these genes differs across breeds, and the functional role of specific variants is unclear. © 2013 The Authors, Animal Genetics © 2013 Stichting International Foundation for Animal Genetics

Identifying human diamine sensors for death related putrescine and cadaverine molecules

Pungent chemical compounds originating from decaying tissue are strong drivers of animal behavior. Two of the best-characterized death smell components are putrescine (PUT) and cadaverine (CAD), foul-smelling molecules produced by decarboxylation of amino acids during decomposition. These volatile polyamines act as 'necromones', triggering avoidance or attractive responses, which are fundamental for the survival of a wide range of species. The few studies that have attempted to identify the cognate receptors for these molecules have suggested the involvement of the seven-helix trace amine-associated receptors (TAARs), localized in the olfactory epithelium. However, very little is known about the precise chemosensory receptors that sense these compounds in the majority of organisms and the molecular basis of their interactions. In this work, we have used computational strategies to characterize the binding between PUT and CAD with the TAAR6 and TAAR8 human receptors. Sequence analysis, homology modeling, docking and molecular dynamics studies suggest a tandem of negatively charged aspartates in the binding pocket of these receptors which are likely to be involved in the recognition of these small biogenic diamines

The responses of cancer cells to PLK1 inhibitors reveal a novel protective role for p53 in maintaining centrosome separation

Polo-like kinase-1 (PLK1) plays a major role in driving mitotic events, including centrosome disjunction and separation, and is frequently over-expressed in human cancers. PLK1 inhibition is a promising therapeutic strategy and works by arresting cells in mitosis due to monopolar spindles. The p53 tumour suppressor protein is a short-lived transcription factor that can inhibit the growth, or stimulate the death, of developing cancer cells. Curiously, although p53 normally acts in an anti-cancer capacity, it can offer significant protection against inhibitors of PLK1, but the events underpinning this effect are not known. Here, we show that functional p53 reduces the sensitivity to PLK1 inhibitors by permitting centrosome separation to occur, allowing cells to traverse mitosis and re-enter cycle with a normal complement of 2N chromosomes. Protection entails the activation of p53 through the DNA damage-response enzymes, ATM and ATR, and requires the phosphorylation of p53 at the key regulatory site, Ser15. These data highlight a previously unrecognised link between p53, PLK1 and centrosome separation that has therapeutic implications for the use of PLK1 inhibitors in the clinic

Comparison of the canine and human olfactory receptor gene repertoires

BACKGROUND: Olfactory receptors (ORs), the first dedicated molecules with which odorants physically interact to arouse an olfactory sensation, constitute the largest gene family in vertebrates, including around 900 genes in human and 1,500 in the mouse. Whereas dogs, like many other mammals, have a much keener olfactory potential than humans, only 21 canine OR genes have been described to date. RESULTS: In this study, 817 novel canine OR sequences were identified, and 640 have been characterized. Of the 661 characterized OR sequences, representing half of the canine repertoire, 18% are predicted to be pseudogenes, compared with 63% in human and 20% in mouse. Phylogenetic analysis of 403 canine OR sequences identified 51 families, and radiation-hybrid mapping of 562 showed that they are distributed on 24 dog chromosomes, in 37 distinct regions. Most of these regions constitute clusters of 2 to 124 closely linked genes. The two largest clusters (124 and 109 OR genes) are located on canine chromosomes 18 and 21. They are orthologous to human clusters located on human chromosomes 11q11-q13 and HSA11p15, containing 174 and 115 ORs respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows a strongly conserved genomic distribution of OR genes between dog and human, suggesting that OR genes evolved from a common mammalian ancestral repertoire by successive duplications. In addition, the dog repertoire appears to have expanded relative to that of humans, leading to the emergence of specific canine OR genes

Environmental disruption of reproductive rhythms.

peer reviewedReproduction is a key biological function requiring a precise synchronization with annual and daily cues to cope with environmental fluctuations. Therefore, humans and animals have developed well-conserved photoneuroendocrine pathways to integrate and process daily and seasonal light signals within the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. However, in the past century, industrialization and the modern 24/7 human lifestyle have imposed detrimental changes in natural habitats and rhythms of life. Indeed, exposure to an excessive amount of artificial light at inappropriate timing because of shift work and nocturnal urban lighting, as well as the ubiquitous environmental contamination by endocrine-disrupting chemicals, threaten the integrity of the daily and seasonal timing of biological functions. Here, we review recent epidemiological, field and experimental studies to discuss how light and chemical pollution of the environment can disrupt reproductive rhythms by interfering with the photoneuroendocrine timing system