Search results for " STRESS"

Inactivation of the ftsH gene of Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1: Effects on growth, stress tolerance, cell surface properties and biofilm formation

2012

FtsH proteins are ubiquitous membrane-bound, ATP-dependent metalloproteases of the AAA family. In eubacteria, FtsH is involved in protein quality control under stress conditions. Lactobacillus plantarum is a widespread lactic acid bacterium that is encountered in several fermented food, including dairy products, vegetables and meat. In the present work the expression of the ftsH gene of L. plantarum was studied by quantitative real time RT-PCR in bacterial cultures subjected to various abiotic stresses. Both oxidative stress and addition of a membrane-fluidizing agent induced ftsH transcription, while a depletion of carbon-source repressed its mRNA level. Mutants deprived of the FtsH protea…

Thermal Flux through a Surface of n-Octane. A Non-equilibrium Molecular Dynamics Study

2004

We show using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics that there is local equilibrium in the surface when a two-phase fluid of n-octane is exposed to a large temperature gradient (10 8 K/m). The surface is defined according to Gibbs, and the transport across the surface is described with non-equilibrium thermodynamics. The structure of the surface in the presence of the gradient is the same as if the interface was in equilibrium, as measured by the variation across the surface of the pressure component that is parallel to the surface. The surface is in local equilibrium by this criterion and because the equation of state for the surface was unaltered by a large heat flux. The surface has a small…

Pharmacological Neuroenhancement, Perceived Stress, and Resilience in Spine Surgeons–A Cross-Sectional Survey

2022

Background Spine surgeons are usually exposed to high workload and demanding work conditions. Although the relationship between pharmacological neuroenhancement (PNE) and resilience (i.e., the ability to recover from stress), as well as perceived stress and resilience-enhancing factors, has been investigated in the general population, less is known about the impact of those factors in spine surgeons. This study aimed to close that gap by investigating the relationship between PNE use and resilience, perceived stress, or resilience-enhancing factors in spine surgeons. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey in a sample of 582 spine surgeons in German-speaking countries (Austria, German…

Queen loss increases worker survival in leaf-cutting ants under paraquat-induced oxidative stress

2021

Longevity is traded off with fecundity in most solitary species, but the two traits are positively linked in social insects. In ants, the most fecund individuals (queens and kings) live longer than the non-reproductive individuals, the workers. In many species, workers may become fertile following queen loss, and recent evidence suggests that worker fecundity extends worker lifespan. We postulated that this effect is in part owing to improved resilience to oxidative stress, and tested this hypothesis in three Myrmicine ants: Temnothorax rugatulus, and the leaf-cutting ants Atta colombica and Acromyrmex echinatior . We removed the queen from colonies to induce worker reproduction and subjec…

Sea urchin embryos: development and stress toxicity

2009

Gold nanoparticle interactions with endothelial cells cultured under physiological conditions

2017

PEGylated gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have an extended circulation time after intravenous injection in vivo and exhibit favorable properties for biosensing, diagnostic imaging, and cancer treatment. No impact of PEGylated AuNPs on the barrier forming properties of endothelial cells (ECs) has been reported, but recent studies demonstrated that unexpected effects on erythrocytes are observed. Almost all studies to date have been with static-cultured ECs. Herein, ECs maintained under physiological cyclic stretch and flow conditions and used to generate a blood-brain barrier model were exposed to 20 nm PEGylated AuNPs. An evaluation of toxic effects, cell stress, the release profile of pro-infla…

Sorbitol-penetration enhancer containing vesicles loaded with baicalin for the protection and regeneration of skin injured by oxidative stress and UV…

2018

Abstract Aiming at improving the protective effects of baicalin on the skin, new highly-biocompatible penetration enhancer containing vesicles (PEVs) were developed by modifying the base formulation of transfersomes with sorbitol, thus obtaining sorbitol-PEVs. An extensive evaluation of the physico-chemical features of both transfersomes and sorbitol-PEVs was carried out. Transfersomes were mainly close-packed, multi-compartment vesicles, while sorbitol-PEVs appeared mostly as single, spherical, unilamellar vesicles. All the vesicles were small in size (∼128 nm) and negatively charged (∼−67 mV), without significant differences between the formulations. The in vitro delivery of baicalin to i…

Information-theoretic assessment of cardiovascular variability during postural and mental stress

2016

This study was aimed at investigating the individual and combined effects of postural and mental stress on short-term cardiovascular regulation. To this end, we applied measures taken from the emerging framework of information dynamics on the beat-to-beat spontaneous variability of RR interval and systolic arterial pressure (SAP) measured from healthy subjects in the resting supine position and during the separate and simultaneous execution of experimental protocols performing head-up tilt (HUT) and mental arithmetics (MA). The information stored in RR interval variability, a measure inversely related to the complexity of the time series, increased significantly during HUT and HUT+MA compar…

HNRNPR Variants that Impair Homeobox Gene Expression Drive Developmental Disorders in Humans

2019

The heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (HNRNP) genes code for a set of RNA-binding proteins that function primarily in the spliceosome C complex. Pathogenic variants in these genes can drive neurodegeneration, through a mechanism involving excessive stress-granule formation, or developmental defects, through mechanisms that are not known. Here, we report four unrelated individuals who have truncating or missense variants in the same C-terminal region of hnRNPR and who have multisystem developmental defects including abnormalities of the brain and skeleton, dysmorphic facies, brachydactyly, seizures, and hypoplastic external genitalia. We further identified in the literature a fifth ind…

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae flavodoxin-like proteins Ycp4 and Rfs1 play a role in stress response and in the regulation of genes related to metaboli…

2011

SPI1 is a gene whose expression responds to many environmental stimuli, including entry into stationary phase. We have performed a screening to identify genes that activate SPI1 promoter when overexpressed. The phosphatidylinositol- 4-phosphate 5-kinase gene MSS4 was identified as a positive activator of SPI1. Another SPI1 transcriptional regulator isolated was the flavodoxin-like gene YCP4. YCP4 and its homolog RFS1 regulate the expression of many genes during the late stages of growth. The double deletion mutant in YCP4 and its homolog RFS1 has an impact on gene expression related to metabolism by increasing the expression of genes involved in hexose transport and glycolysis, and decreasi…