Different RNA species that are replicated by Q beta replicase have related secondary structures: for both plus and minus strands, "leader" stem structures were found at their 5' termini, while their 3' termini were unpaired. Parallel structures in complementary strands rather than antiparallel ones require the occurrence of wobble pairs and other imperfections in the stem regions. To test whether the leader structures are required for replication, artificial RNA sequences were synthesized by transcription from synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides with T7 RNA polymerase and assayed for their ability to be replicated by Q beta replicase. A synthetic short RNA species known to be replicated was amplified, forming a stable quasi-species; i.e., its sequence was conserved during hundreds of replication rounds. A synthetic mutant of this sequence that stabilized the leader in one strand but favored a 3'-terminal stem in the other one led to the complete loss of template activity. When new RNA sequences with the described structural requirements were designed and synthesized, their template activity was too low to be directly measurable; however, incubation with replicase produced replicating RNA whose sequence was closely related to the synthesized RNA species. The most likely interpretation is that the designed sequences were in a low montainous region in the replication fitness landscape and were optimized during amplification by Q beta replicase to a nearby fitness peak. The structural features postulated to be required for replication were not only conserved but even improved in the outgrowing mutants.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Taenia solium causes human neurocysticercosis and is endemic in underdeveloped countries where backyard pig keeping is common. Microscopic fecal diagnostic methods for human T. solium taeniasis are not very sensitive, and Taenia saginata and Taenia solium eggs are indistinguishable under the light microscope. Coproantigen (CoAg) ELISA methods are very sensitive, but currently only genus (Taenia) specific. This paper describes the development of a highly species-specific coproantigen ELISA test to detect T. solium intestinal taeniasis. Sensitivity was maintained using a capture antibody of rabbit IgG against T. solium adult whole worm somatic extract, whereas species specificity was achieved by utilization of an enzyme-conjugated rabbit IgG against T. solium adult excretory-secretory (ES) antigen. A known panel of positive and negative human fecal samples was tested with this hybrid sandwich ELISA. The ELISA test gave 100% specificity and 96.4% sensitivity for T. solium tapeworm carriers (N = 28), with a J index of 0.96. This simple ELISA incorporating anti-adult somatic and anti-adult ES antibodies provides the first potentially species-specific coproantigen test for human T. solium taeniasis.

The electrochemical and mechanical behavior were evaluated for specimens of concrete clean and contaminated with 2 and 4% of NaCl (of the weight of cement), elaborated with two types of cements: compound and waterproof. The dosage of the mixture of concrete was done on the basis of weight in two 0.45 and 0.65 water/cement ratios. The specimens under study were exposed in two media: clean water and 3% of NaCl solution. The test to evaluate the presence of corrosion of the reinforced steel consisted in the monitoring of the half cell potentials as the norm ASTM C-876-91 indicates. For the mechanical behavior the compression test was used, according to the ASTM C-39/C 39-M-99 norms. This paper presents the results obtained for the first 4 months of monitoring, identifying the influence of the attack of chlorides in the corrosion of steel and its mechanical properties. There is no a significant influence of the type of cement on the parameters of the study.Keywords: concrete, steel, corrosion, potentials, chlorides. IntroducciónLa corrosión del acero de refuerzo es la causa más importante del deterioro prematuro de las estructuras de hormigón reforzado [1]. Estudios en E.U.A por parte de la NACE muestran que en 1998, en el territorio estadounidense, tan solo en lo que se refiere a puentes, los cálculos de costos directos anuales ascendían a US $3.800 millones [2]. El costo del ciclo de vida se ha convertido en un factor muy importante para los ingenieros constructores y profesionales en reparación, así como para las dependencias responsables de las estructuras, muelles, puentes,

This work is part of the DURACON iberoamerican project, which deals with the characterization of the concrete durability exposed to environmental conditions at Iberoamerica, through the exposure of reinforced concrete specimens in at least two different environments, one marine and one urban, in each participating country. In this paper, results of the first eight months of the specimen exposition to environmental conditions in the Xalapa city, Mexico, are evaluated. The specimens were built with two types of concretes at 0.45 and 0.65 water/cement ratios. In all cases, the same type of cement with three thicknesses (1.5, 2.0 and 3.0 cm) of covering were used. The tests to evaluate the susceptibility to corrosion of the reinforced steel were resistance to linear polarization and monitoring of the corrosion potentials according to the ASTM C-876 norm.Keywords: durability, corrosion, concrete, environment, coating. IntroducciónHasta hace unos años se pensaba que las estructuras de hormigón hidráulico tenían una vida útil ilimitada y que su durabilidad dependía únicamente de sus características mecánicas, por lo que, durante la etapa de su diseño, no se tomaban en cuenta las condiciones ambientales a las cuales iba a estar expuestas. Hoy día, diferentes investigadores han demostrado que la durabilidad de dichas estructuras no solo depende de sus características mecánicas, sino también del medio ambiente en el que van a estar inmersas [1]. Uno de los estudios más recientes realizados para relacionar la durabilidad de las estructuras de hormigón con el medio ambiente, es el realizado por el grupo DURACON (Influencia del medio ambiente en la durabilidad del hormigón), a través del proyecto del mismo