Browsing by Author "Torres, A"

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    Gated communities in Santiago: Wall or frontier?
    (BLACKWELL PUBL LTD, 2004) Salcedo, R; Torres, A
    It is a widely held notion, disseminated in particular by the LA school of urban studies, that gated communities are enclaves, which not only maintain segregation but also help increase it. In Chile a more benevolent interpretation has arisen. Sabatini, Caceres and Cerda argue that gated communities help out the poor communities that surround them. If the spatial scale of segregation is reduced - from city to local or neighborhood level - social disintegration should slow, according to their analysis. This article seeks to empirically complement and expand on Sabatini, Caceres and Cerda's position, which seems to be a better interpretation of Chilean reality than the grim picture presented by the LA school. The article is an ethnographic work based on in-depth interviews in gated communities and a surrounding shantytown in the Huechuraba district, a lower socio-economic class area in north-west Santiago: The research concludes that, despite the existence of a wall that promotes community integration among so-called equals, in conditions of spatial proximity sociability between inside and outside groups is not diminished. Thus, in Huechuraba there is no impenetrable wall separating poor and rich; equally, the walls do not seem to promote community integration within. Spatial proximity has encouraged relations mainly in the realm of functional exchange, making the creation of gated communities in poor neighborhoods a socially desirable experience, at least in the case of Santiago.
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    Hypoxia increases equilibrative nucleoside transporter 2 activity by a transcriptional independent mechanism in human umbilical vein endothelium
    (2006) Torres, A; San Martin, R; Farías Jofré, Marcelo Enrique; Sobrevía Luarte, Luis Alberto; Casanello Toledo, Paola Cecilia
    Low oxygen tension (hypoxia) reduces adenosine transport in several types of mammalian cells. Adenosine transport is mediated by human equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1 (hENT1) and hENT2 in human umbilical vein endothelium (HUVEC), a fetal cell type that grows under 5% O2 (ie. normoxia for this cell type). We studied whether hypoxia alters hENT2 expression and activity in HUVEC. Methods: Cells were cultured (0-24 h) in 5% or 2% O2 (hypoxia), and [3H]adenosine uptake (125 and 500 μM, 4 μCi/ml, 20 s, 37°C) was measured in absence or presence of 100 nM nitrobenzylthioinosine (NBMPR, hENT1 inhibitor). hENT2 mRNA was quantified by real time RT-PCR, and protein abundance was determined by Western blot. SLC29A2 (for hENT2) promoter activity was measured following transfection (electroporation, 320 V, 30 ms) with pGL3 basic plasmid (firefly/renilla luciferase reporter gene) carrying -1477 bp and -587 bp of the promoter sequence. Results: Hypoxia reduced hENT2 mRNA expression (~55%), and promoter activity (~50%), but did not alter hENT2 protein abundance. Adenosine uptake via hENT2 was increased (2-fold) in hypoxia. Conclusions: Adenosine uptake via hENT2 may be modulated by post-translational mechanisms in hypoxia in HUVEC. Supported by FONDECYT 1030781/1030607/7050030. A Torres holds a School of Medicine research fellowship, and M Farías holds a CONICYT-PhD fellowship.
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    Three questions for architects (Discussion)
    (PONTIFICIA UNIV CATOLICA CHILE, ESCUELA ARQUITECTURA, 2005) Palmer, M; Amunategui, R; Amunategui, C; Valdes, A; Tidy, A; Torres, A; Del Campo, C; Pino, C; Del Rio, E; Valdes, H; Eyquem, M; D'Alencon, R; Polidura, M; Irarrazaval, S; Valdes, B; Elton, F; Soza, JA; Carreno, M