Terminología textil y trabajo multidisciplinar: el reto de vencer obstáculos

Obra ressenyada: C. MICHEL/ M.-L. NOSCH, Textile Terminologies in the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean from the third to the first millennia BC (Ancient Textiles Series, 8). Oxford and Oakville : Oxbow Books in association with the Centre for Textile Research, 2010

Tejedor@s en la Tercera Dinastía de Ur : nuevas perspectivas de estudio

En el presente artículo nos interesamos por la influencia que tiene la perspectiva teórica con que trabajamos los textos cuneiformes en el resultado final de la investigación. Para ello nos fijaremos en si puede o no determinarse qué división sexual del trabajo hubo en el tejido según los textos relacionados con la producción textil en la Tercera Dinastía de Ur (ca. 2100-2000 a.n.e.) en Mesopotamia.The aim of this paper is to analyse how influential for final results would be a certain theoretical perspective when dealing with cuneiform texts. We concentrate on the sexual division of labour in the textile sector, trying to determine if it is possible to figure it out. To do that we study Sumerian texts related to the textile production dated in the Third Dynasty of Ur (ca. 2100-2000 a.n.e.) in Mesopotamia.Fil: García-Ventura, Agnès. Universitat Pompeu Fabra; Españ

Mano de obra y relaciones de parentesco en Mesopotamia: madres trabajadoras versus hombres “ganadores de pan”

Hundreds of thousands of cuneiform tablets were written in Sumerian during the period known as Ur III or Third Dynasty of Ur in Mesopotamia (ca. 2112-2004 BCE). Most of them are administrative texts listing workers responsible for particular duties. In the secondary literature, the question of the possible kinship relationships between the workers listed in these texts has been repeatedly studied. In this paper we examine some of these proposals, paying special attention to filiation and offspring, and we offer some critical insights from the perspective of certain postfeminist positions.Del periodo conocido como Ur III o Tercera Dinastía de Ur en Mesopotamia (ca. 2112-2004 a.n.e.) nos han llegado centenares de miles de tablillas cuneiformes escritas en sumerio, buena parte de ellas textos administrativos. Una parte importante de estos textos lista mano de obra dedicada a varias tareas. En la literatura secundaria, de forma recurrente, se ha tratado de dilucidar cuáles eran las posibles relaciones de parentesco entre quienes se incluyen en estos textos. En este artículo recogemos algunas de estas propuestas, fijándonos especialmente en la filiación y la descendencia, y proponemos una lectura crítica de las mismas aplicando algunas ideas acuñadas desde el posfeminismo

Investigación feminista, historia de las mujeres y mujeres en la historia en los estudios sobre próximo oriente antiguo

As is often said, the study of the past always has to do with the present and with the future, either because present and future are built in its image and likeness, either because we cannot imagine a past without using the references of our present. Therefore, dealing with women’s history in ancient times, dealing then with how we can include women in history, allows us to reflect on the situation of women in the world in which we live and in the future world in which we want to live. In this article I intend to approach this issue with the critical tools of feminist research, illustrating the proposal with some examples regarding how some biases can af ect the study of women’s lives in the Ancient Near East.Suele decirse que el estudio del pasado siempre tiene relación con el presente y con el futuro, bien porque presente y futuro se construyen a su imagen y semejanza, bien porque no podemos imaginar un pasado sin los referentes de nuestro presente. Por este motivo, ocuparse de la historia de las mujeres en la Antigüedad y de cómo incluir a las mujeres en la historia, nos permite reflexionar acerca de la situación de las mujeres en el mundo presente en el que vivimos y en el mundo futuro en el que querríamos vivir. En este artículo propongo aproximarnos a este tema con las herramientas críticas de la investigación feminista, ilustrando la propuesta con algunos ejemplos acerca de cómo algunos sesgos pueden afectar al modo en que se aborda el estudio de las vidas de las mujeres en el Próximo Oriente Antiguo

Regulation of the MDM2-p53 pathway by the ubiquitin ligase HERC2

The p53 tumor suppressor protein is a transcription factor that plays a prominent role in protecting cells from malignant transformation. Protein levels of p53 and its transcriptional activity are tightly regulated by the ubiquitin E3 ligase MDM2, the gene expression of which is transcriptionally regulated by p53 in a negative feedback loop. The p53 protein is transcriptionally active as a tetramer, and this oligomerization state is modulated by a complex formed by NEURL4 and the ubiquitin E3 ligase HERC2. Here, we report that MDM2 forms a complex with oligomeric p53, HERC2, and NEURL4. HERC2 knockdown results in a decline in MDM2 protein levels without affecting its protein stability, as it reduces its mRNA expression by inhibition of its promoter activation. DNA damage induced by bleomycin dissociates MDM2 from the p53/HERC2/NEURL4 complex and increases the phosphorylation and acetylation of oligomeric p53 bound to HERC2 and NEURL4. Moreover, the MDM2 promoter, which contains p53‐response elements, competes with HERC2 for binding of oligomeric, phosphorylated and acetylated p53. We integrate these findings in a model showing the pivotal role of HERC2 in p53‐MDM2 loop regulation. Altogether, these new insights in p53 pathway regulation are of great interest in cancer and may provide new therapeutic targets

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition)

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. For example, a key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process versus those that measure fl ux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process including the amount and rate of cargo sequestered and degraded). In particular, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation must be differentiated from stimuli that increase autophagic activity, defi ned as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (inmost higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium ) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the fi eld understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. It is worth emphasizing here that lysosomal digestion is a stage of autophagy and evaluating its competence is a crucial part of the evaluation of autophagic flux, or complete autophagy. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. Along these lines, because of the potential for pleiotropic effects due to blocking autophagy through genetic manipulation it is imperative to delete or knock down more than one autophagy-related gene. In addition, some individual Atg proteins, or groups of proteins, are involved in other cellular pathways so not all Atg proteins can be used as a specific marker for an autophagic process. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

El Trabajo y la producción textil en la Tercera Dinastía de Ur

La presente tesis propone una interpretación de la organización de la producción textil en la Tercera Dinastía de Ur (ca. 2100-2000 a.n.e.) en Mesopotamia. Se centra en las relaciones de género, la división sexual del trabajo, la jerarquización y el estatus para explicar las categorías laborales y los grupos de trabajo especializados. La evidencia utilizada procede esencialmente de textos sumerios de Ur III publicados entre 1972 y 2010. De entre ellos se han seleccionado 100 textos relacionados con la producción de tejidos que se presentan en transliteración y traducción al castellano.This dissertation proposes an interpretation of how textile production was organised during the Third Dynasty of Ur (ca. 2100-2000 BCE) in Mesopotamia. We concentrate on gender relationships, the sexual division of labour, hierarchy and status to explain job categories and specialised working groups. The sources used are basically Sumerian texts from the Ur III period, published between 1972 and 2010. Among them, we have selected 100 texts related specifically to textile production. All are presented in transliteration and translation into Spanish in this dissertation

Mano de obra y relaciones de parentesco en Mesopotamia: madres trabajadoras versus hombres “ganadores de pan”

Del periodo conocido como Ur III o Tercera Dinastía de Ur en Mesopotamia (ca. 2112-2004 a.n.e.) nos han llegado centenares de miles de tablillas cuneiformes escritas en sumerio, buena parte de ellas textos administrativos. Una parte importante de estos textos lista mano de obra dedicada a varias tareas. En la literatura secundaria, de forma recurrente, se ha tratado de dilucidar cuáles eran las posibles relaciones de parentesco entre quienes se incluyen en estos textos. En este artículo recogemos algunas de estas propuestas, fijándonos especialmente en la filiación y la descendencia, y proponemos una lectura crítica de las mismas aplicando algunas ideas acuñadas desde el posfeminismo.Hundreds of thousands of cuneiform tablets were written in Sumerian during the period known as Ur III or Third Dynasty of Ur in Mesopotamia (ca. 2112-2004 BCE). Most of them are administrative texts listing workers responsible for particular duties. In the secondary literature, the question of the possible kinship relationships between the workers listed in these texts has been repeatedly studied. In this paper we examine some of these proposals, paying special attention to filiation and offspring, and we offer some critical insights from the perspective of certain postfeminist positions