Draft Genome Sequence of Geobacillus sp. Isolate T6, a Thermophilic Bacterium Collected from a Thermal Spring in Argentina Ortiz, Elio Maximiliano; Berretta, Marcelo Facundo; Navas, Laura Emilce; Benintende, Graciela Beatriz; Amadio, Ariel Fernando; Zandomeni, Rubén O. Geobacillus sp. isolate T6 was collected from a thermal spring in Salta, Argentina. The draft genome sequence (3,767,773 bp) of this isolate is represented by one major scaffold of 3,46 Mbp, a second one of 207 Kbp and twenty scaffolds of < 13 Kbp. Assembled sequences revealed 3,919 protein-coding genes.

The worldwide Alzheimer's disease neuroimaging initiative: an update Hendrix, James A.; Finger, Brad; Weiner, Michael W.; Frisoni, Giovanni B.; Iwatsubo, Takeshi; Rowe, Christopher C.; Kim, Seong Yoon; Guinjoan, Salvador Martín; Sevlever, Gustavo; Carrillo, Maria Cristina The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), launched in 2004, has worked to accelerate drug development by validating imaging and blood/cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease clinical treatment trials. ADNI is a naturalistic (nontreatment) multisite longitudinal study. A true public-private partnership, the initiative has set a new standard for data sharing without embargo and for the use of biomarkers in dementia research. The ADNI effort in North America is not the only such effort in the world. The Alzheimer's Association recognized these global efforts and formed Worldwide ADNI (WW-ADNI). By creating a platform for international collaboration and cooperation, WW-ADNI's goals are to harmonize projects and results across geographical regions and to facilitate data management and availability to investigators around the world. WW-ADNI projects include those based in North America, Europe, Japan, Australia, Korea, and Argentina.

Periodontal disease and its systemic associated diseases Fernández Solari, Jose Javier; Barrionuevo, Paula; Mastronardi, Claudio A. Inflammatory processes can underlie the etiology of several pathological conditions ranging from metabolic to infectious diseases. Periodontitis, a chronic oral infectious disease, appears to occur as a result of a dysregulated host immune response elicited by subgingival microorganisms occurring in the dental biofilm. Whereas the activity of periodontal pathogens is required, their presence is not sufficient to account for the initiation and progression of periodontal disease. Thus, the combination of the bacterial-elicited insults and the poorly regulated host immune response causes deleterious effects on dentition supporting structures including the periodontal ligament, alveolar bone, and gingival tissues. Furthermore, emerging evidence suggests that periodontal disease can impact on host susceptibility for acquiring other diseases.

Folded compositions in architecture: spatial properties and materials Chiarella, Mauro; García Albarado, Rodrigo The two-dimensional unfolding of three-dimensional volumes allows architectural design and production methods to be rethought in a creative way. This paper reviews spatial and material properties of folded compositions in architecture, through a conceptual proposal based on professional and pedagogic experiences as well as new technologies for geometrical programming and digital fabrication, tested in five alternatives for one case study. The continuous and dynamic two-dimensional projection of a threedimensional spatial situation provides a geometric relationship between the surface and volumetric configuration of a design, thus enabling a mathematical and operative connection between conditions of perception and production. The material expression of these configurations establishes a significant link between the conceptualisation of the design form, its geometric digital generation, its physical fabrication and overall appearance in a manner analogous to the design process used. The combination of folded compositions with the new technologies available further strengthens their potential, which embraces the fluid nature of human activity with continuous forms and delicately intricate geometries.

Organic Anion Transporter 5 (Oat5) Urinary Excretion Is a Specific Biomarker of Kidney Injury: Evaluation of Urinary Excretion of Exosomal Oat5 after N-Acetylcysteine Prevention of Cisplatin Induced Nephrotoxicity Bulacio, Romina Paula; Anzai, Naohiko; Ouchi, Motoshi; Torres, Adriana Monica Cisplatin is a commonly used chemotherapeutic agent. Its main side-effect is nephrotoxicity. It was reported that the organic anion transporter 5 (Oat5) urinary excretion is elevated, implying renal perturbation, when no modifications of traditional markers of renal damage are still observed in cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). It was also demonstrated that Oat5 is excreted in urine by the exosomal pathway. This study was designated to demonstrate the specific response of the urinary excretion of exosomal Oat5 to kidney injury independently of other cisplatin toxic effects, in order to strengthen Oat5 urinary levels as a specific biomarker of AKI. To accomplish that aim, we evaluated if urinary excretion of exosomal Oat5 returns to its basal levels when cisplatin renal damage is prevented by the coadministration of the renoprotective compound N-acetylcysteine. Four days after cisplatin administration, AKI was induced in cisplatin-treated male Wistar rats (Cis group), as it was corroborated by increased urea and creatinine plasma levels. Tubular damage was also observed. In cotreated animals (Cis + NAC group), plasma urea and creatinine concentrations tended to return to their basal values, and tubular damage was improved. Urinary excretion of exosomal Oat5 was notably increased in the Cis group, but when renal injury was ameliorated by N-acetylcysteine coadministration, that increase was undetected. So, in this work we observed that urinary excretion of exosomal Oat5 was only increased if renal insult is produced, demonstrating its specificity as a renal injury biomarker.

El trazo fino de las relaciones bilaterales de Argentina en Sudamérica; The thin line of the bilateral relations of Argentina in South America Miranda, Roberto Alfredo En este siglo la preferencia de Argentina por Sudamérica fue una de las características de su relación con el mundo. Uno de los propósitos ha sido el de integrarse a la subregión para tener presencia internacional. De manera que el objetivo de este trabajo es el de analizar las acciones llevadas a cabo por su política exterior para cumplir con el mencionado propósito. Al respecto consideramos que en las relaciones bilaterales con los países sudamericanos hubo una contrariedad. Argentina sobrevaloró el vínculo con algunos de estos países y lo subvaloró con otros, lo cual puso de manifiesto que su política exterior en el subcontinente fue selectiva.; In this century the preference of Argentina in South America was one of the characteristics of her relationship with the world. One of the aims has been to be integrated to the subregion to have international presence. So that the objective of this work is to analyze the actions carried out by its foreign policy to comply with the above-mentioned purpose. We believe that in the bilateral relations with South American countries there was a setback. Argentina overstated the link with some of these countries and undervalued with others, which revealed that its foreign policy in the subcontinent was selective.

Vocabularios polémicos y lenguajes polisémicos en la democracia argentina: a propósito de la aparición de Palabras Políticas de Reano y Smola y del Diccionario del Léxico Corriente de la Política Argentina de Adelstein y Vommaro Lesgart, Cecilia Dos libros, escritos ambos en coautoría y de reciente aparición, están recorridos por una línea argumental poderosa. Ambos tratan sobre el vocabulario que se ha ido produciendo para hablar de la política en una Argentina que se piensa centralmente democrática durante estos últimos 30 años. Y de las maneras en las que se ha ido alterando y renovando ese léxico político, para dar cuenta de transformaciones políticas significativas, para hablar de la emergencia de actores, de las prácticas sociales, políticas y económicas, para estimular modificaciones en lenguajes que no alcanzan para caracterizar el mundo público circundante, o para provocar, a través de palabras, innovaciones políticas.

Las redes de políticas como herramientas de análisis: notas a partir de intervenciones recientes en materia de desarrollo rural en Argentina (2008-2014); Policy networks as tools of analysis. Notes from recent interventions on rural development in Argentina (2008-2014) Nogueira, Maria Elena Las redes de políticas (policy networks) llevan ya algunos años en la agenda de conceptos de la Ciencia Polí- tica. La posibilidad de observar de un modo crítico las relaciones inter-gubernamentales en diferentes niveles, identificando actores y acciones en contextos diversos resulta una herramienta de gran interés analítico. En este trabajo, se propone un recorrido por parte de la literatura sobre las redes de políticas para dar cuenta de aquellas existentes en materia de políticas de desarrollo rural en Argentina en el último tiempo. El artículo se compone de una Introducción; un segundo apartado en el que se presentan los aspectos teóricos vinculados con el Estado, las políticas públicas y las redes; un tercer apartado señalando algunas características de las intervenciones en materia de desarrollo rural en el país y un cuarto, dedicado al análisis de algunas experiencias en red. Finalmente, se presentan conclusiones que enfatizan el rol protagónico del Estado en las redes y, asimismo, las dificultades y desafíos que presentan estos espacios intermedios en la relación sistema político/ sociedad en cuanto aparecen, la mayoría de las veces, como redes «en el papel».; Policy networks already have been part of the in Political Science for many years. The ability to look critically inter-governmental relationships at different levels in order to identify actors and actions in several contexts is a tool of great analytical value. In this paper, a route is proposed by the literature on policy networks to account for those existing in the field of rural development policies in Argentina in recent times. This paper presents an introduction, after that, a second section in which theoretical aspects connected with the State, public policies and networks are developed; a third paragraph indicates some characteristics of interventions in rural development in the country and, a fourth section is dedicated to analyze a number of experiences. Finally, some conclusions emphasize the leading role of the State in policy network and also the difficulties and challenges that these have as in-between the relationship political system /society in which they are present, most of the time, as networks «on paper».

Positional scanning synthesis of a Peptoid library yields new inducers of apoptosis that target Karyopherins and Tubulin Vendrell Navarro, Gloria; Rúa, Federico; Bujons, Jordi; Brockmeyer, Andreas; Janning, Petra ; Ziegler, Slava; Messeguer, Angel; Waldmann, Herbert We describe the synthesis of a library of 11 638 N-alkylglycine peptoid trimers in a positional scanning format with adjustment of reaction conditions to account for different reactivities of the monomer building blocks. Evaluation of the library by high-content phenotypic screening for modulators of the cytoskeleton and mitosis resulted in the identification of two apoptosis-inducing peptoids, which, despite their structural similarity, target different proteins and cellular mechanisms. Whereas one peptoid binds to karyopherins, which mediate nuclear transport, the other N-alkylglycine trimer binds tubulin at the vinca alkaloid binding site.

Optimized extraction of a single-chain variable fragment of antibody by using aqueous micellar two-phase systems Pellegrini Malpiedi, Luciana; Nerli, Bibiana Beatriz; Taqueda, Maria, E. S.; Abdalla, Dulcineia S. P.; Pessoa Jr., Adalberto In this work, the purification of a single-chain variable fragment (scFv) of an antibody by using liquid–liquid extraction in aqueous micellar two-phase systems was optimized by means of central composite design. Protein partitioning assays were performed by using the selected system composition in previous works: Triton X-114 at 4% wt/wt, yeast fermentation supernatant at 60% wt/wt, McIlvaine buffer pH 7.00. The other system component concentrations, Cibacron Blue F3GA (CB), Fabsorbent™ F1P HF (HF) and NaCl, were selected as independent variables. ScFv recovery percentage (%R) and purification factor (PF) were selected as the responses. According to the optimization process both, scFv recovery percentage and purification factor were favored with the addition of HF and NaCl in a range of concentrations around the central point of the second central composite design (HF 0.0120% w/w, CB 0.0200% w/w, NaCl 0.200% w/w). These experimental conditions allowed the concentration and pre-purification of scFv in the micelle-rich bottom phase of the systems with a recovery percentage superior to 88% and a purification factor of approximately 3.5. These results improved the previously presented works and demonstrated the convenience of using aqueous micellar two-phase systems as a first step in the purification of scFv molecules.

La vida después de la muerte: crisis de reproducción y estructura social de un grupo evangélico; Life after death: crisis of reproduction and social structure of an evangelical group Espinosa, Mariana Esther Este artículo intenta comprender el sentido de los conflictos y cambios que derivaron de la muerte de dos líderes de un grupo evangélico conocido como Hermanos Libres en Santiago del Estero (Argentina). Sostendré que los conflictos y reformas que se desarrollaron expresan los componentes y el dinamismo de la estructura social cuando se juega drásticamente la reproducción del grupo. Las disputas familiares, las iglesias como unidades sociales significativas, los diferentes modos de construir liderazgos y las diferencias generacionales tensan y conjugan la estructura de relaciones en que se desenvuelve la vida del grupo. Delimitar esas formas estructurales permitirá conocer dinámicas procesuales de una situación de crisis y ponderar en rigor qué cambia y qué permanece cuando en el campo de estudios de la religión contemporáneo se habla de radicales transformaciones epocales.; This article attempts to make sense of the stresses and directions of changes that occurred after the death of two leaders of an evangelical group. It argues that the conflicts and reforms derived from that conjuncture, in which the reproduction of the group was destabilized, reveal the components and dynamics of the social structure. Family disputes, the churches as significant social units, the different ways to build leadership and generational differences tighten and combine the structure of relationships unfolded by the Free Brethren. A goal of this article is to delineate the structural forms revealed in the procedural dynamics of a reproduction crisis. In the present field of studies of contemporary religion a common attitude of knowledge is to see radical transformation everywhere. Counterbalancing this tendency, my empirical work seek to comprehend what changes and what remains, or the limits unto which a religious or social group can move from traditional culture and social cores.

Austrochthamalia teyucuarensis (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae), una nueva especie endémica de Misiones, Argentina Keller, Hector Alejandro Se describe e ilustra una nueva especie de Austrochthamalia (Apocynaceae), endémica del paraje Teyú Cuaré, Misiones, Argentina. Es el primer representante del género que se documenta para el país y ocupa una posición más austral que el resto de las especies conocidas hasta el presente.

New records of Cyathea atrovirens (Langsd. & Fisch.) Domin (Cyatheaceae) from Argentina Krauckzuk, Ernesto R.; Marquez, Gonzalo Javier; Keller, Hector Alejandro Cyathea atrovirens (Cyatheaceae) is the southernmost tree-fern of Argentina and its presence in the Corrientes province was in doubt after the height of the Yacyretá dam was raised. However, new records confirm the presence of the species in the province and increase the range distribution southward. Comments on the distribution and ecology of the species are now reported.

Hypericum robsonii spec. nova sect. Trigynobrathys (Hypericaceae) from the Misiones Province in Argentina Keller, Hector Alejandro; Crockett, Sara Plant collections conducted in connection with ethnobotanical studies carried out with the Guaraní peoples of Misiones Province, Argentina, resulted in the discovery of a new species of Hypericum L. (Hypericaceae), which is characterized by its epigeous herbaceous scions produced seasonally from subterranean stems or roots. This species, H. robsonii H. A. Keller & S. Crockett, is described and illustrated for the first time. Information about its ecology, habitat and distribution, phenology and ethnobotany is provided.

Enzymatic kinetic resolution of racemic ibuprofen: past, present and future José, Carla; Toledo, Victoria; Briand, Laura Estefania This review is a journey concerning the investigations of the kinetic resolution of racemic ibuprofen for the last 20 years. The relevancy of the pharmacological uses of the S( + ) enantiomer along with its higher cost compared with racemic profen are the driving forces of a variety of scientific research studies addressing the enzymatic resolution of ibuprofen through enantiomeric esterification using lipases as biocatalysts. Lipases of fungal sources such as Candida rugosa, Rhizomucor miehei and the lipase B of Candida antarctica have been extensively studied both in homogeneous and heterogeneous (immobilized on solid supports) processes. In this context, the various alcohols and organic co-solvents frequently used in the esterification of racemic ibuprofen are summarized and discussed in this review. Moreover, recent investigations using membranes as reactors coupled with the separation of the desired product and microfluidic devices are presented. Finally, some guidelines about future perspectives regarding the technology of the kinetic resolution of profens and research niches are given.

Polypropylene nanocomposites produced by in situ grafting of n-butyl acrylate Merchan Sandoval, Julie Pauline; Quinzani, Lidia Maria; Failla, Marcelo Daniel Nanocomposites of polypropylene and organophilic clay are produced by in situ functionalization of PP with n-butyl acrylate(BA) during melt mixing. Three strategies for incorporating materials into the mixer are analyzed and the effect of clay concentrationis evaluated. The materials are examined by FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, differentialscanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry, and rotational rheometry. The results show that all composites prepared in the presence of BAhave similar intercalated clay structure, and that the largest degree of exfoliation is obtained using the sequential mixing technique. Thismethod, which consists in adding the initiator and functionalizing agent to the molten polypropylene followed by the addition of theclay, also produces the largest reduction in molecular weight of the polymer and the largest increase of the elastic modulus. All polymersshow similar crystallization and degradation processes.

Polymorphisms in TNF and IFNG are associated with clinical characteristics of aplastic anemia in Argentinean population Bestach, Yesica Soledad; Sieza, Yamila; Attie, Myriam; Riccheri, Cecilia; Verri, Verónica; Bolesina, Moira; Bengió, Raquel; Larripa, Irene Beatriz; Belli, Carolina Bárbara The impaired hematopoiesis in acquired aplastic anemia (AA) results from immune-mediated mechanisms. We characterized polymorphisms implicated in controlling type-1 cytokine production in 69 patients with AA. Our data suggest that the studied polymorphisms are not associated with susceptibility in the overall AA population. However, the presence of the higher expressing TNF - 308A allele was associated with younger age (p = 0.0297) and more profound neutropenia (p = 0.0312), and over-represented in patients with very severe AA (p = 0.0168). The higher producing IFNG 12 CA-repeat allele showed strong linkage disequilibrium with the + 874T allele, and was associated with a lower hemoglobin level (p = 0.0351). Also, the presence of at least one higher expressing variant was more frequent among patients responding to immunosuppressive treatment (p = 0.0519). Our findings suggest that the presence of higher expressing variants of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in AA patient genotypes could be related to clinical parameters, disease severity and therapy outcomes.

Stimulation of PAR-1 or PAR-4 promotes similar pattern of VEGF and endostatin release and pro-angiogenic responses mediated by human platelets Etulain, Julia; Mena, Hebe Agustina; Negrotto, Soledad; Schattner, Mirta Ana Background: Platelets mediate angiogenesis through the secretion of several factors, including the pro-angiogenic vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the anti-angiogenic endostatin. Although previous findings indicated that these molecules are packed into different alpha-granules and selectively released by specific stimulation of protease-activated receptor (PAR)-1 or PAR-4, recent evidences are against this hypothesis. Objectives: To elucidate the controversies about the VEGF and endostatin release and the overall angiogenic effect of PARs-stimulated platelets. Methods: VEGF and endostatin were quantified by enzyme linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Endothelial proliferation (pNPP assay), wound healing (scratch assay) and tubule formation (matrigel) of human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1) and endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) were determined using supernatants from PAR-1- or PAR-4-stimulated platelets. Results: Activation of washed platelets (WPs) by PAR-1- or PAR-4-activating peptide (AP) promoted the VEGF and endostatin secretion in a concentration-dependent manner, being PAR-1-AP more potent than PAR-4-AP. The release of both molecules was abrogated by pre-incubation of platelets with PAR antagonists. Activation of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) with either PAR-1-AP or PAR-4-AP induced a significant VEGF secretion. Quantification of platelet-endostatin secretion was not possible in PRP due to the high levels of plasmatic endostatin vs. platelet content. Releasates from PAR-1- or PAR-4-activated WPs promoted similar pattern of angiogenic responses of HMEC-1 or EPC. Moreover, proliferation of HMEC-1 mediated by PAR-stimulated PRP releasates was delayed and significantly lower compared with that induced by PAR-stimulated WPs. Conclusions: Our results are in contrast with the previously described differential release of VEGF and endostatin induced by the selective PAR-1 or PAR-4 stimulation, and support the notion that while circulating endostatin accounts for the maintenance of a systemic anti-angiogenic state, locally, the release of platelet alpha-granule content promotes angiogenesis.

Structural, conformational and vibrational properties of 1,1,1-Trifluoro-N-(1,1,2,2,2-pentafluoroethyl) methanesulfinimidoyl chloride, CF3CF2NS(Cl)CF3 Robles, Norma Lis; Chemes, Doly María; Heinz Oberhammer; Cutin, Edgardo Hugo The structural, conformational, and configurational properties of 1,1,1-Trifluoro-N-(1,1,2,2,2-pentafluoroethyl) methanesulfinimidoyl chloride, CF3CF2NS(Cl)CF3 have been studied by vibrational spectroscopy [IR (vapor) and Raman (liquid)] and quantum chemical calculations [B3LYP, MP2 and B3PW91 levels of theory using the 6-311+G(d), 6-311+G(df) and 6-311+G(2df) basis sets]. According to these theoretical approximations, CF3CF2NS(Cl)CF3 exists in the gas phase as a mixture of a favored anticlinal form (CN bond anticlinal with respect to the CSCl bisector) with C1 symmetry and a less abundant syn conformer showing C1 symmetry as well (ΔG° ≈ 1.20 kcal mol-1). Due to the small contribution only a few corresponding vibrational modes of the syn conformer could be assigned confidently in the experimental spectra. Compared to CF3CF2NS(F)CF3, the replacement of F by Cl produces a clear change in NS bond length and the corresponding stretching frequency, without affecting the conformational properties.

A Steady-State Picture of Solar Wind Acceleration and Charge State Composition Derived from a Global Wave-Driven MHD Model Oran, R.; Landi, E.; Van Der Holst, B.; Lepri, S. T.; Vasquez, Alberto Marcos; Nuevo, Federico Alberto; Frazin, R.; Manchester, W.; Sokolov, I.; Gombosi, T. I. The higher charge states found in slow (<400 km s−1) solar wind streams compared to fast streams have supported the hypothesis that the slow wind originates in closed coronal loops, and released intermittently through reconnection. Here we examine whether a highly ionized slow wind can also form along steady and open magnetic field lines. We model the steady-state solar atmosphere using AWSoM, a global magnetohydrodynamic model driven by Alfv{´e}n waves, and apply an ionization code to calculate the charge state evolution along modeled open field lines. This constitutes the first charge states calculation covering all latitudes in a realistic magnetic field. The ratios $O^{+7}/O^{+6}$ and $C^{+6}/C^{+5}$ are compared to in-situ Ulysses observations, and are found to be higher in the slow wind, as observed; however, they are under-predicted in both wind types. The modeled ion fractions of S, Si, and Fe are used to calculate line-of-sight intensities, which are compared to EIS observations above a coronal hole. The agreement is partial, and suggests that all ionization rates are under-predicted. Assuming the presence of suprathermal electrons improved the agreement with both EIS and Ulysses observations; importantly, the trend of higher ionization in the slow wind was maintained. The results suggest there can be a sub-class of slow wind that is steady and highly ionized. Further analysis shows it originates from coronal hole boundaries (CHB), where the modeled electron density and temperature are higher than inside the hole, leading to faster ionization. This property of CHBs is global, and observationally supported by EUV tomography.