Search results for "ASTER"

The Role of Autophagy and Apoptosis During Embryo Development

2015

Programmed cell death (PCD) and cell survival are two sides of the same coin. Autopha‐ gy and apoptosis are crucial processes during embryo development of Invertebrates and Vertebrates organisms, as they are necessary for the formation of a new organism, start‐ ing from a fertilized egg. Fertilization triggers cell remodeling from each gamete to a toti‐ potent zygote. During embryogenesis, the cells undergo various processes, thus allowing the transformation of the embryo into an adult organism. In particular, cells require the appropriate tools to suddenly modify their morphology and protein content in order to respond to intrinsic and external stimuli. Autophagy and apoptosis are involved…

Cell cycle independent role of Cyclin E during neural cell fate specification in Drosophila is mediated by its regulation of Prospero function

2009

AbstractDuring development, neural progenitor cells or neuroblasts generate a great intra- and inter-segmental diversity of neuronal and glial cell types in the nervous system. In thoracic segments of the embryonic central nervous system of Drosophila, the neuroblast NB6-4t undergoes an asymmetric first division to generate a neuronal and a glial sublineage, while abdominal NB6-4a divides once symmetrically to generate only 2 glial cells. We had earlier reported a critical function for the G1 cyclin, CyclinE (CycE) in regulating asymmetric cell division in NB6-4t. Here we show that (i) this function of CycE is independent of its role in cell cycle regulation and (ii) the two functions are m…

Bishistidyl heme hexacoordination, a key structural property in Drosophila melanogaster hemoglobin

2005

Hemoglobins at high concentration have been isolated long ago from some insect larvae living in hypoxic environments. Conversely, a monomeric hemoglobin has been discovered recently in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as intracellular protein expressed both in larvae and in the adult fly. Such a finding indicates that the oxygen supply in insects may be more complex than previously thought, relying not only on O2 diffusion through the tubular tracheal system, but also on carrier-mediated transport and storage. We present here the crystal structure of recombinant D. melanogaster hemoglobin at 1.20 A resolution. Spectroscopic data show that the protein displays a hexacoordinated heme, wh…

The protease domain of procollagen C-proteinase (BMP1) lacks substrate selectivity, which is conferred by non-proteolytic domains.

2007

Abstract Procollagen C-proteinase (PCP) removes the C-terminal pro-peptides of procollagens and also processes other matrix proteins. The major splice form of the PCP is termed BMP1 (bone morphogenetic protein 1). Active BMP1 is composed of an astacin-like protease domain, three CUB (complement, sea urchin Uegf, BMP1) domains and one EGF-like domain. Here we compare the recombinant human full-length BMP1 with its isolated proteolytic domain to further unravel the functional influence of the CUB and EGF domains. We show that the protease domain alone cleaves truncated procollagen VII within the short telopeptide region into fragments of similar size as the full-length enzyme does. However, u…

7keto-stigmasterol and 7keto-cholesterol induce differential proteome changes to intestinal epitelial (Caco-2) cells

2015

Abstract Recent studies have expanded the appreciation of the roles of oxysterols triggering inflammatory, immune cytotoxic and apoptotic processes, but have not been considered for proteome analysis. A comparative proteomic study in intestinal epithelial cell cultures incubated (60 μM/24 h) with 7keto-cholesterol or 7keto-stigmasterol was performed. The influence of both compounds was studied following the nLC-TripleTOF analysis. Findings were compared to results for control cultures. In the principal component analysis (PCA) of proteome patterns, two components were extracted accounting for 99.8% of the variance in the protein expression. PCA analysis clearly discriminated between the per…

BIOTECHNOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO THE GENETIC IMPROVEMENT OF CHRYSANTHEMUM CINERARIAEFOLIUM L.

2011

The interest in sustainable agriculture has increased the demand of plant-derived compounds which can be less toxic both to mammals and to the environment than the synthetic agrochemicals. Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium L. (Asteraceae), commonly termed pyrethrum, is an economically important crop from highlands of tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It is grown for the extraction of pyrethrins, natural insect repellents of plant origin. Pyrethrins are a mixture of six compounds produced by esterification of two acids (chrysanthemic and pyrethric acid) with three mono-terpene-alcohols (pyrethrolone-5, jasmolone-3 and cinerolone-4). The principale source of pyrethrins are the dried…

46-MENTAL HEALTH IMPACT OF WAR AND VIOLENCE

2004

Informal Disaster Governance

2020

<p>Scholars and practitioners are increasingly questioning formal disaster governance (FDG) approaches as being too rigid, slow, and command-and-control driven. Too often, local realities and non-formal influences are sidelined or ignored to the extent that disaster governance can be harmed through the efforts to impose formal and/or political structures. A contrasting narrative emphasises so-called bottom-up, local, and/or participatory approaches which this article proposes to encapsulate as Informal Disaster Governance (IDG). This article theorises IDG and situates it within the long-standing albeit limited literature on the topic, paying particular attention to the literature’s fa…

Trade in Central and Eastern European countries ten years after their EU accession — Is there convergence?

2015

The paper focuses on the effects of EU’s Eastern Enlargement of 2004 on trade convergence within the EU and among the new member states from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE-8). Using sigma-convergence approach, it finds evidence of convergence of exports and imports per capita as well as of productivity levels associated with the member states’ export baskets. Convergence of territorial and commodity structures of trade has not occurred; conversely, divergence has been observed, leading to the possible conclusion that multinational companies have adjusted their production structure in facilities across the EU to achieve higher economies of scale. Correlation analysis shows that revealed com…

Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of essential oil of Pulicaria odora L.

2004

The chemical composition of the volatile oil constituent from Pulicaria odora L. roots has been analyzed by GC/MS. Twenty-seven components were identified, being thymol (47.83%) and its derivative isobutyrate (30.05%) the main constituents in the oil. Furthermore, the oil was tested against seven bacteria at different concentrations. Results showed that the oil exhibited a significant antibacterial activity.