Search results for "Biochemistry"
showing 10 items of 20172 documents
Temporal spying and concealing process in fibre-optic data transmission systems through polarization bypass
2014
Recent research has been focused on the ability to manipulate a light beam in such a way to hide, namely to cloak, an event over a finite time or localization in space. The main idea is to create a hole or a gap in the spatial or time domain so as to allow for an object or data to be kept hidden for a while and then to be restored. By enlarging the field of applications of this concept to telecommunications, researchers have recently reported the possibility to hide transmitted data in an optical fibre. Here we report the first experimental demonstration of perpetual temporal spying and blinding process of optical data in fibre-optic transmission line based on polarization bypass. We succes…
Properties of Gd-Doped Sol-Gel Silica Glass Radioluminescence under Electron Beams
2022
International audience; The radiation-induced emission (RIE) of Gd3+-doped sol–gel silica glass has been shown to have suitable properties for use in the dosimetry of beams of ionizing radiation in applications such as radiotherapy. Linear electron accelerators are commonly used as clinical radiotherapy beams, and in this paper, the RIE properties were investigated under electron irradiation. A monochromator setup was used to investigate the light properties in selected narrow wavelength regions, and a spectrometer setup was used to measure the optical emission spectra in various test configurations. The RIE output as a function of depth in acrylic was measured and compared with a reference…
Unravelling the Intertwined Atomic and Bulk Nature of Localised Excitons by Attosecond Spectroscopy
2021
The electro-optical properties of most semiconductors and insulators of technological interest are dominated by the presence of electron-hole quasi-particles, called excitons. The manipulation of excitons in dielectrics has recently received great attention, with possible applications in different fields including optoelectronics and photonics. Here, we apply attosecond transient reflection spectroscopy in a sequential two-foci geometry and observe sub-femtosecond dynamics of a core-level exciton in bulk MgF2 single crystals. Furthermore, we access absolute phase delays, which allow for an unambiguous comparison with theoretical calculations. Our results show that excitons surprisingly exhi…
Covalent Protein Binding of Vinyl Chloride Metabolites During Co-Incubation of Freshly Isolated Hepatocytes and Hepatic Sinusoidal Cells of Rats
1983
Proteins of isolated rat hepatic sinusoidal cells incubated with 14C-vinyl chloride, rat liver microsomes and an NADPH-regenerating system were alkylated by vinyl chloride metabolites formed by microsomes. This suggests that reactive vinyl chloride metabolites can penetrate sinusoidal cells. Protein alkylation in isolated hepatic sinusoidal cells was higher when these were co-incubated with isolated hepatocytes, indicating that reactive vinyl chloride metabolites formed by hepatocytes are stable enough to diffuse out of hepatocytes into sinusoidal cells. Glutathione added to the incubation medium inhibited the covalent protein binding of vinyl chloride metabolites in sinusoidal cells as wel…
Design, Synthesis and Evaluation of Fluorescent Analogues of Abscisic Acid
2020
A fluorescent analogue of abscisic acid has been prepared by combining (S)‐abscisic acid (ABA) with nitrobenzoxadiazole (NBD) fluorophore using ethanol amine as a linker. Isomerization of the double bond at the side chain of abscisic acid happened during the synthesis. The resulting fluorophore analogues derived from both isomeric compounds entered cells suggesting a wide applicability of the ABA‐NBD conjugates as fluorescent probes to study ABA mechanism of action. The functional properties of the isomeric ABA‐NBD conjugates were tested in vitro, by measuring TNFα expression and nitrite concentration in LPS‐stimulated macrophages and compared with their non‐fluorescent ABA isomers. Rationa…
Sex steroid hormone receptors, their ligands, and nuclear and non-nuclear pathways
2015
The ability of a cell to respond to a particular hormone depends on the presence of specific receptors for those hormones. Once the hormone has bound to its receptor, and following structural and biochemical modifications to the receptor, it separates from cytoplasmic chaperone proteins, thereby exposing the nuclear localization sequences that result in the activation of the receptor and initiation of the biological actions of the hormone on the target cell. In addition, recent work has demonstrated new pathways of steroid signaling through orphan and cell surface receptors that contribute to more rapid, “non-nuclear” or non-transcriptional effects of steroid hormones, often involving G-pro…
A novel intrinsically disordered outer membrane lipoprotein ofAggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitansbinds various cytokines and plays a role in biofil…
2017
Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) do not have a well-defined and stable 3-dimensional fold. Some IDPs can function as either transient or permanent binders of other proteins and may interact with an array of ligands by adopting different conformations. A novel outer membrane lipoprotein, bacterial interleukin receptor I (BilRI) of the opportunistic oral pathogen Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans binds a key gatekeeper proinflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-1b. Because the amino acid sequence of the novel lipoprotein resembles that of fibrinogen binder A of Haemophilus ducreyi, BilRI could have the potential to bind other proteins, such as host matrix proteins. However, from th…
Monitoring Commercial Starter Culture Development in Presence of Red Grape Pomace Powder to Produce Polyphenol-Enriched Fresh Ovine Cheeses at Indust…
2021
Red grape Nero d’Avola cultivar grape pomace powder (GPP) was applied during fresh ovine cheese production in order to increase polyphenol content. Before cheeses were produced, the bacteria of a freeze-dried commercial starter culture were isolated and tested in vitro against GPP. Two dominant strains, both resistant to GPP, were identified. Thestarter culture was inoculated in pasteurized ewe’s milk and the curd was divided into two bulks, one added with 1% (w/w) GPP and another one GPP-free. GPP did not influence the starter culture development, since lactic acid bacteria (LAB) counts were 109 CFU/g in both cheeses at 30 d. To exclude the interference of indigenous LAB, the pasteurized m…
Correlation of Metabolic Syndrome with Redox Homeostasis Biomarkers: Evidence from High-Fat Diet Model in Wistar Rats
2022
Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is an extremely complex disease. A non-balanced diet such as high-fat diet (HFD) induces metabolic dysfunction that could modify redox homeostasis. We here aimed at exploring redox homeostasis in male Wistar rats, following 8 weeks of HFD, correlating the eventual modification of selected biomarkers that could be associated with the clinical manifestations of MetS. Therefore, we selected parameters relative to both the glucose tolerance and lipid altered metabolism, but also oxidative pattern. We assessed some biomarkers of oxidative stress i.e., thiols balance, lipid peroxidation and antioxidant barriers, via the use of specific biochemical assays, individuating e…
Oxymetazoline modulates proinflammatory cytokines and the T‐cell stimulatory capacity of dendritic cells
2007
The nasal decongestant oxymetazoline (OMZ) is frequently used in the topical treatment of rhinitis/sinusitis. As proinflammatory cytokines play a critical role in the development and maintenance of local inflammation, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of OMZ on immune cells in order to diminish the mucosal infiltration of the nose. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from buffy coats of healthy volunteers were isolated and stimulated in the presence or absence of OMZ. In addition, monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DC) were generated and different concentrations of OMZ were added. DC phenotype and their T-cell stimulatory properties were analysed. The vasoactive su…