Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (FL-HCC) is a rare liver tumor affecting adolescents and young adults who have no history of primary liver disease or cirrhosis. We performed RNA sequencing on FL-HCC tumors and identified a chimeric transcript that was expressed in all tumor samples but not in adjacent normal liver. The chimeric RNA was confirmed by RT-PCR and Sanger Sequencing. Based on the results of whole genome sequencing, the chimeric transcript is the result of a ~400 kilobase deletion on chromosome 19. The chimera was predicted to code for a protein with the amino-terminal domain of DNAJB1, a homolog of the molecular chaperone DNAJ, fused in frame with PRKACA, the catalytic domain of protein kinase A. The presence of this chimera protein was established by immunoprecipitation and Western Blot analysis. Expression of the chimera in human cell culture demonstrates that it retains kinase activity. Evidence for a DNAJB1-PRKACA chimeric transcript in 15 out of 15 FL-HCC patients suggests that it contributes to tumor pathogenesis.

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SUMMARYThe precise microenvironment of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis has not yet been discovered perhaps because the methods used are not sensitive enough. We applied to this purpose the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using three sets of specific primers corresponding to two P. brasiliensis genes. This fungus as well as several other fungi, were grown and their DNA obtained by mechanical disruption and a phenol chloroform isoamylalcohol-based purification method. The DNA served for a PCR reaction that employed specific primers from two P. brasiliensis genes that codify for antigenic proteins, namely, the 27 kDa and the 43 kDa. The lowest detection range for the 27 kDa gene was 3 pg. The amplification for both genes was positive only with DNA from P. brasiliensis; additionally, the mRNA for the 27 kDa gene was present only in P. brasiliensis, as indicated by the Northern analysis. The standardization of PCR technology permitted the amplification of P. brasiliensis DNA in artificially contaminated soils and in tissues of armadillos naturally infected with the fungus. These results indicate that PCR technology could play an important role in the search for P. brasiliensis' habitat and could also be used in other ecological studies.

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Este artículo tiene como objetivo sistematizar y analizar los estudios empíricos existentes sobre la relación entre la participación de la familia en las empresas familiares y sus rendimientos financieros. Para esto se realiza una revisión sistemática de artículos, seleccionados con criterios claramente definidos en las bases de datos más relevantes en las ciencias sociales, con el fin de comprobar si esta relación es positiva o negativa. A partir de lo anterior, se obtienen tres tendencias de los estudios realizados: relación positiva, relación negativa y relación neutra. Con los resultados tan heterogéneos se concluye que las relaciones entre la empresa familiar y su rendimiento son complejas y muy probablemente moderadas o intervenidas por factores que no han sido incluidos en estos análisis.The objective of this paper is to systematize and analyze existing empirical studies of the relationship between family involvement in family businesses and their financial returns. With this purpose in mind, a systematic review of papers has been carried out. These papers have been selected with criteria clearly defined in the most relevant databases of social sciences, aiming at seeing whether this relationship is positive or negative. Based on the findings, three trends of the studies analyzed were obtained: positive relationship, negative relationship and neutral relationship. With these heterogeneous results it has been concluded that the relationship between the family businesses and their performance are complex and probably moderate or affected by factors that are not included in these analysis