34 research outputs found
Rehabilitating with concrete. Low cost alternative in a crisis environment.
No full text[EN] The focus of the paper is the rehabilitation with fair-faced concrete of the new Learning and Research Center (LCR) of the Alcalá University. The intervention has been strongly conditioned by the economic costs, and the use of concrete has helped to reduce it, in a difficult period of public finances. The use of fair-faced concrete as integral constructive solution (from the structural to the final finishes) has allowed to build the LCR without significant budgetary slippages, with the usual difficult of the historical heritage rehabilitation and its uncertain technical and constructive problems.[ES] La presente ponencia se centra en el análisis de una rehabilitación realizada íntegramente en hormigón visto, el nuevo Centro de Recursos para el Aprendizaje y la Investigación (CRAI) de la Universidad de Alcalá, poniendo de relieve el uso de dicho material como un factor de abaratamiento de costes de ejecución (sin menoscabo de la calidad arquitectónica) en un momento de ajustados recursos económicos de las administraciones públicas. La utilización del hormigón visto como solución constructiva integral, tanto desde el punto de vista estructural como desde el punto de vista de los acabados y terminaciones, permitió realizar dicho edificio sin desviaciones presupuestarias significativas, con la dificultad añadida de tratarse de la rehabilitación de un edificio histórico, con las incertidumbres técnico-constructivas de toda intervención patrimonial.Celis D'amico, F.; Echeverria Valiente, E.; Da Casa Martín, F.; Delgado Conde, I. (2018). Rehabilitando en hormigón. Alternativa “low cost” en un entorno de crisis. En CIAB 8. VIII Congreso Internacional de arquitectura blanca. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 318-325. https://doi.org/10.4995/CIAB8.2018.7599OCS31832
Perspectives of the River Plate around the time of Rosas : an analysis based upon the personal correspondence, private memoirs and published accounts of British settlers, as well as works by creole authors
No full textThis thesis draws inspiration from the emergence of cultural studies as an academic
pursuit, in addition to the current renewal of interest in the relationship between
literary works and their socio-cultural milieux, to bring together an assortment of
textual traces pertaining to the River Plate around the era of Juan Manuel de Rosas,
governor of Buenos Aires and de facto dictator of Argentina for most of the period
1829-1852. The main texts analysed range from private documents relating to two
Scottish settler families, through accounts published by British citizens with first-hand
knowledge of the region (Un inglés, Cinco años en Buenos Aires and
Beaumont, Travels in Buenos Ayres and the Adjacent Provinces), to three influential
pieces of early Argentinian literature (Echeverria's El matadero, Mármol's Amalia
and Sarmiento's Facundo). One justification of this apparently eclectic approach lies
in the prominence accorded to the incomer in the thought of liberal Platine
intellectuals, a concern evinced in their literary production.
The methodology involves examining the representation of certain
fundamental topics across this range of written artefacts, observing frequent points of
thematic convergence amongst the various texts. In this fashion, I construct an image
of the River Plate region around the Rosas period, whilst also appraising the degree
to which early British settlers matched the idealized notion of the immigrant present
in liberal creole writings.
The study is divided into four main chapters, supplemented by an
introduction, conclusion and appendix. The first chapter summarizes the historical
context of the young Platine republics; the second deals with the themes of society,
community and family, the third focuses upon religion; the fourth considers
perspectives of politics, dictatorship and civil war. The appendix consists of an
unpublished settler autobiography, a remarkable account of the tribulations faced on
a daily basis in the developing Argentina
The Historical Foundations. Historical Architectural Treaty How Information Source of the Architectonic Heritage
No full textIn order to address architectural heritage conservation, we must be familiar with the medium with which we will be working, its function and response to incidents or external actions (natural or anthropogenic) and how the buildings were conceived and constructed in order to understand how they will be affected by the intervention process to which they will be subjected and adopt the adequate measures so these processes will not harm the buildings. An important element is the foundation. This is a fundamental, yet often forgotten, element. It is important to know the history of the foundations, how and why they were constructed and for this, it is essential to study architectural treatises as the origin of their design. It is surprising to read classical architecture treatises and observe that they do not refer to calculations of dimensions, but to constructive solutions that today may seem clever because they are obvious, but in reality, they do not address the thoughts of the designer or builder. The historic architectural treatises on construction that significantly influenced Spanish construction, which we studied and will present in this article, include Vitruvius and Palladio as well as the developments in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and even into the first half of the twentieth century: (Vitruvius (1st century BC), Palladio (1524), Alberti (1582), Cristóbal de Rojas (1598), Fray Laurencio San Nicolás (1639), Brizguz y Bru (1738), Rieger (1763), Fornes y Gurrea (1841), Espinosa (1859), Marcos y Bausá (1879), Ger y Lobez (1898) and Barberot (1927)
Morphological and molecular identification of canine filariae in a semi-rural district of the Metropolitan Region in Chile
No full textIntroduction: To date, there has been no definitive confirmation of the presence of zoonotic dirofilariasis in dogs in Chile. Objectives: To study the presence of dirofilarias in blood samples from dogs collected in a semi-rural district near Santiago and to compare their frequency in dogs with and without dermatological manifestations. Methods: We examined 100 blood samples for dog filariae infections using microscopic methods (modified Knott technique). 50 dogs presented dermatological symptoms or signs compatible with filarial infections and 50 were asymptomatic. ITS-2 and 12s rDNA gene amplification by PCR and sequencing were performed in samples microscopically positive for microfilariae. Results. We observed microfilariae in 22 dogs (22%). Of these, 16/50 (32%) were symptomatic and 6/50 (12%) were asymptomatic (p = 0.02). Morphologically, the majority of microfilariae were similar to Dirofilaria repens, although many had a bigger size than previously described. Nucleotide sequencing of the amplified genes showed no more than 95% homology with the D. repens sequences available for comparison. D. reconditum and D. dracunculoides infections were also identified. Conclusions: These features might indicate the presence of new species of Dirofilaria or a D. repens close related variant in Chile
Molecular identification of Ehrlichia canis in a dog from Arica, Chile
No full textWe report a molecular confirmed case of canine ehrlichiosis caused by Ehrlichia canis. A 10-year old female crossbred Siberian from the city of Arica, which was infested by ticks, presented hemorrhagic manifestations (hematomas and snout bleeding) and prostration. Blood cell count revealed thrombocytopenia (30,000 platelets/mm(3)). Immunochromatographic rapid testing for E. canis IgG was positive. Amplification and sequencing of a fragment of the 16S rRNA gen from a blood sample showed 100% homology with E. can is from Peril. This is the first report of E. canis in Chile, an agent with known zoonotic potential
In Situ Hybridization-Proximity Ligation Assay (ISH-PLA) to Study the Interaction of HIV-1 RNA and Remodeling Proteins
No full textThe mechanisms involved in the posttranscriptional control of the replicative cycle of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), specifically the molecular events which allow the interaction between the viral genomic RNA (gRNA) and the cellular machinery for the transport, translation, or intracellular packaging, have not been yet elucidated. In this chapter, we describe the in situ hybridization-proximity ligation assay (ISH-PLA) to characterize interactions between the genomic RNA (gRNA) of HIV-1 and viral proteins or host proteins involved in nuclear export and translation initiation. We also present data that validate the ISH-PLA as a simple and useful tool to study HIV-1 gRNA-protein interactions within cells.Universidad Autónoma de Chil
‘Kangaroo mother care’ to prevent neonatal deaths due to pre-term birth complications.
No full textBACKGROUND: 'Kangaroo mother care' (KMC) includes thermal care through continuous skin-to-skin contact, support for exclusive breastfeeding or other appropriate feeding, and early recognition/response to illness. Whilst increasingly accepted in both high- and low-income countries, a Cochrane review (2003) did not find evidence of KMC's mortality benefit, and did not report neonatal-specific data. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to review the evidence, and estimate the effect of KMC on neonatal mortality due to complications of preterm birth. METHODS: We conducted systematic reviews. Standardized abstraction tables were used and study quality assessed by adapted GRADE methodology. Meta-analyses were undertaken. RESULTS: We identified 15 studies reporting mortality and/or morbidity outcomes including nine randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and six observational studies all from low- or middle-income settings. Except one, all were hospital-based and included only babies of birth-weight <2000 g (assumed preterm). The one community-based trial had missing birthweight data, as well as other limitations and was excluded. Neonatal-specific data were supplied by two authors. Meta-analysis of three RCTs commencing KMC in the first week of life showed a significant reduction in neonatal mortality [relative risk (RR) 0.49, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.29-0.82] compared with standard care. A meta-analysis of three observational studies also suggested significant mortality benefit (RR 0.68, 95% CI 0.58-0.79). Five RCTs suggested significant reductions in serious morbidity for babies <2000 g (RR 0.34, 95% CI 0.17-0.65). CONCLUSION: This is the first published meta-analysis showing that KMC substantially reduces neonatal mortality amongst preterm babies (birth weight <2000 g) in hospital, and is highly effective in reducing severe morbidity, particularly from infection. However, KMC remains unavailable at-scale in most low-income countries
The 5'-untranslated region of the mouse mammary tumor virus mRNA exhibits cap-independent translation initiation
No full textIn this study, we demonstrate the identification of an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) within the 5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR) of the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV). The 5'-UTR of the full-length mRNA derived from the infectious, complete MMTV genome was cloned into a dual luciferase reporter construct containing an upstream Renilla luciferase gene (RLuc) and a downstream firefly luciferase gene (FLuc). In rabbit reticulocyte lysate, the MMTV 5'-UTR was capable of driving translation of the second cistron. In vitro translational activity from the MMTV 5'-UTR was resistant to the addition of m(7)GpppG cap-analog and cleavage of eIF4G by foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) L-protease. IRES activity was also demonstrated in the Xenopus laevis oocyte by micro-injection of capped and polyadenylated bicistronic RNAs harboring the MMTV-5'-UTR. Finally, transfection assays showed that the MMTV-IRES exhibits cell type-dependent translational activity, suggesting a requirement for as yet unidentified cellular factors for its optimal function.Comision Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica, Gobierno de Chile, CONICYTMIFAB InstituteMECE(2) SUP-UNAB Doctoral Fellowshi
CASA+: highly energy-efficient housing system for the central-south of Chile
No full textThis study aims to introduce the results of a research carried out to develop a prototype of a highly energy-efficient modular detached house, called CASA+ CASA means HOUSE in spanish, adapted to the climatic features of central-southern Chile. The project enables a sustainable alternative to facilitate the reconstruction of the residential areas after the impact of the 2010 earthquake.Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científico y Tecnológica-CONICYTAgencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo-ANIDAgencia Chilena de Eficiencia Energética-ACE
HIV-2 genomic RNA accumulates in stress granules in the absence of active translation
No full textDuring the post-transcriptional events of the HIV-2 replication cycle, the full-length unspliced genomic RNA (gRNA) is first used as an mRNA to synthesize Gag and Gag-Pol proteins and then packaged into progeny virions. However, the mechanisms respon-sible for the coordinate usage of the gRNA during these two mutually exclusive events are poorly un-derstood. Here, we present evidence showing that HIV-2 expression induces stress granule assembly in cultured cells. This contrasts with HIV-1, which in-terferes with stress granules assembly even upon induced cellular stress. Moreover, we observed that the RNA-binding protein and stress granules assem-bly factor TIAR associates with the gRNA to form a TIAR-HIV-2 ribonucleoprotein (TH2RNP) complex lo-calizing diffuse in the cytoplasm or aggregated in stress granules. Although the assembly of TH2RNP in stress granules did not require the binding of the Gag protein to the gRNA, we observed that increased levels of Gag promoted both translational arrest and stress granule assembly. Moreover, HIV-2 Gag also localizes to stress granules in the absence of a ‘pack-ageable ’ gRNA. Our results indicate that the HIV-2 gRNA is compartmentalized in stress granules in the absence of active translation prior to being selected for packaging by the Gag polyprotein
