The UAB virtual campus, an essential platform for a European environment of higher education

Ponència presentada al congrés Virtual Campus 2006, celebrat el 23-25 de març de 2006 a BarcelonaThe university is currently immersed - within Europe - in a process of coordinating higher education with the adaptation into the new ECTS European credits, which implies changing from a teacher-centred model (teacher conveys knowledge) to a learner-centred model, a real challenge. From 1996, the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) is carrying out the "Campus Virtual de la UAB" project. This platform fulfils several roles that aim at providing an answer to this challenge: - It provides support to face-to-face teaching - It encourages teaching innovation - It promotes the creation of learning materials - It fosters communication - It favours monitoring the learning process - It favours self-learning and self-assessment - It enables blended teaching experiences This article will focus on how to use the communication and discussion functionalities between teacher and students, and between students themselves, and on monitoring the students' learning proces

Deciphering the Symbiotic Significance of Quorum Sensing Systems of Sinorhizobium fredii HH103

Quorum sensing (QS) is a bacterial cell-to-cell signaling mechanism that collectively regulates and synchronizes behaviors by means of small diffusible chemical molecules. In rhizobia, QS systems usually relies on the synthesis and detection of N-acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs). In the model bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti functions regulated by the QS systems TraI-TraR and SinI-SinR(-ExpR) include plasmid transfer, production of surface polysaccharides, motility, growth rate and nodulation. These systems are also present in other bacteria of the Sinorhizobium genus, with variations at the species and strain level. In Sinorhizobium fredii NGR234 phenotypes regulated by QS are plasmid transfer, growth rate, sedimentation, motility, biofilm formation, EPS production and copy number of the symbiotic plasmid (pSym). The analysis of the S. fredii HH103 genomes reveal also the presence of both QS systems. In this manuscript we characterized the QS systems of S. fredii HH103, determining that both TraI and SinI AHL-synthases proteins are responsible of the production of short- and long-chain AHLs, respectively, at very low and not physiological concentrations. Interestingly, the main HH103 luxR-type genes, expR and traR, are split into two ORFs, suggesting that in S. fredii HH103 the corresponding carboxy-terminal proteins, which contain the DNA-binding motives, may control target genes in an AHL-independent manner. The presence of a split traR gene is common in other S. fredii strains.Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) BIO2016-78409-

Giardiosis en un colectivo canino : caso clínico

En este artículo se presenta un brote de giardosis en un criadero de perros Bullmastiff y Bulldog francés. Esta parasitosis constituye una de las más frecuentes en el perro, especialmente en colectivos donde su erradicación es muy difícil.

Seroprevalencia frente a borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato en la población canina de Catalunya

En este artículo, estudiamos la seroprevalencia frente a B. burgdorferi sensu lato en perros de Cataluña. Para ello analizamos 155 sueros mediante una inmunofluorescencia indirecta (Il-I).La seroprevalencia detectada fue del 3,2%. Esta prevalencia, junto al hecho de que la garrapata vectora se halla confinada a áreas muy concretas, sugieren la escasa importancia de la enfermedad de Lyme (EL)en nuestra zona. Por otro lado, la existencia de reacciones serológicas cruzadas ponen de manifiesto la necesidad de aplicar técnicas de diagnóstico más específicas.In this article, we report the seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lata in dogs in Catalonia. 155 serum samples were analized by IFA. The seroprevalence was 3.2%. This prevalence showed a limited importance of Lyme disease in dogs in Catalonia since the tick vector is confined to very restricted areas. On the other hand, serological crossreactions suggested to use more specifíc diagnostic techniques

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine enhances kainic acid convulsive susceptibility

Abstract Kainic acid (KA) causes seizures and neuronal loss in the hippocampus. The present study investigated whether a recreational schedule of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) favours the development of a seizure state in a model of KA-induced epilepsy and potentiates the toxicity profile of KA (20 or 30 mg/kg). Adolescent male C57BL/6 mice received saline or MDMA t.i.d. (s.c. every 3 h), on 1 day a week, for 4 consecutive weeks. Twenty-four hours after the last MDMA exposure, the animals were injected with saline or KA (20 or 30 mg/kg). After this injection, we evaluated seizures, hippocampal neuronal cell death, microgliosis, astrogliosis, and calcium binding proteins. MDMA pretreatment, by itself, did not induce neuronal damage but increased seizure susceptibility in all KA treatments and potentiated the presence of Fluoro-Jade-positive cells in CA1. Furthermore, MDMA, like KA, significantly decreased parvalbumin levels in CA1 and dentate gyrus, where it potentiated the effects of KA. The amphetamine derivative also promoted a transient decrease in calbindin and calretinin levels, indicative of an abnormal neuronal discharge. In addition, treatment of cortical neurons with MDMA (1050 μM) for 6 or 48 h significantly increased basal Ca2 +, reduced basal Na+ levels and potentiated kainate response. These results indicate that MDMA potentiates KA-induced neurodegeneration and also increases KA seizure susceptibility. The mechanism proposed includes changes in Calcium Binding Proteins expression, probably due to the disruption of intracellular ionic homeostasis, or/and an indirect effect through glutamate release

Role of JNK in neurodegenerative diseases

Podeu consultar el llibre complet a: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/32393The c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) are members of the MAPK family and can be activated by different stimuli such as cellular stress, heat shock and ultra-violet irradiation. JNKs have different physiological functions and they have been linked to apoptosis in different cell types. Therefore, the JNK signalling pathway is an important target to prevent cell death. In the present chapter, the role of JNKs in neurodegenerative diseases will be discussed, as well as the pharmacological compounds that inhibit this signalling pathway as therapeutic intervention to prevent neuronal death