Search results for "Nitrogen"

Blue light activated photodegradation of biomacromolecules by N-doped titanium dioxide in a chitosan hydrogel matrix

2023

The use of photocatalysis activated by titanium dioxide nanostructured materials is a promising solution for many biomedical applications ranging from drug-free antibacterial to anticancer therapies, as well as for innovative hydrogel-supported phototherapies. This makes the effects of photocatalysis on the structure of biomolecules of a great relevance in order to define the applicability of photocatalytic materials in the biomedical fields. In this work, the effects of nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide (N-TiO2) dispersed in a biocompatible chitosan/PEG hydrogel on myoglobin and bovine serum albumin as target model proteins were investigated. The efficiency of this composite biocompatible ma…

Redox regulation of genome stability by effects on gene expression, epigenetic pathways and DNA damage/repair

2015

Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (e.g. H2O2, nitric oxide) confer redox regulation of essential cellular signaling pathways such as cell differentiation, proliferation, migration and apoptosis. In addition, classical regulation of gene expression or activity, including gene transcription to RNA followed by translation to the protein level, by transcription factors (e.g. NF-κB, HIF-1α) and mRNA binding proteins (e.g. GAPDH, HuR) is subject to redox regulation. This review will give an update of recent discoveries in this field, and specifically highlight the impact of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species on DNA repair systems that contribute to genomic stability. Emphasis will be placed …

Compatibility of Rhizobial Genotypes within Natural Populations of Rhizobium leguminosarum Biovar viciae for Nodulation of Host Legumes

2003

ABSTRACT Populations of Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae were sampled from two bulk soils, rhizosphere, and nodules of host legumes, fava bean ( Vicia faba ) and pea ( Pisum sativum ) grown in the same soils. Additional populations nodulating peas, fava beans, and vetches ( Vicia sativa ) grown in other soils and fava bean-nodulating strains from various geographic sites were also analyzed. The rhizobia were characterized by repetitive extragenomic palindromic-PCR fingerprinting and/or PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of 16S-23S ribosomal DNA intergenic spacers as markers of the genomic background and PCR-RFLP of a nodulation gene region, nodD , as a marker of the sy…

Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals Similarities and Dissimilarities in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Wine Strains Response to Nitrogen Availabili…

2015

Nitrogen levels in grape-juices are of major importance in winemaking ensuring adequate yeast growth and fermentation performance. Here we used a comparative transcriptome analysis to uncover wine yeasts responses to nitrogen availability during fermentation. Gene expression was assessed in three genetically and phenotypically divergent commercial wine strains (CEG, VL1 and QA23), under low (67 mg/L) and high nitrogen (670 mg/L) regimes, at three time points during fermentation (12 h, 24 h and 96 h). Two-way ANOVA analysis of each fermentation condition led to the identification of genes whose expression was dependent on strain, fermentation stage and on the interaction of both factors. The…

Sediment features, macrozoobenthic assemblages and trophic relationships (δ13C and δ15N analysis) following a dystrophic event with anoxia and sulphi…

2007

Macrozoobenthic assemblages and stable carbon (delta C-13) and nitrogen (delta N-15) isotope values of various primary producers (macroalgae and angiosperms) and consumers (macroinvertebrate filter/suspension feeders, deposit feeders, detritivores/omnivores and carnivores and fishes) were studied in the Santa Giusta lagoon (Sardinia, Italy) before (spring) and after (autumn) a dystrophic event which occurred in the summer of 2004. A few days after the dystrophy, the physico-chemical characteristics of sediments and macrozoobenthic assemblages were also investigated. In the latter occasion, high total organic carbon (3.9%) and organic matter (15.9%) contents of surface sediments went togethe…

Luminescence of GeO2 glass, rutile-like and α-quartz-like crystals

2006

Abstract The luminescence of GeO 2 rutile-like crystals was studied. Crystals were grown from a melt of germanium dioxide and sodium bicarbonate mixture. Luminescence of the crystal was compared with that of sodium germanate glasses produced in reduced and oxidized conditions. A luminescence band at 2.3 eV was observed under N 2 laser (337 nm). At higher excitation photon energies and X-ray excitation an additional band at 3 eV appears in luminescence. The band at 2.3 eV possesses intra-center decay time constant about 100 μs at 290 K and about 200 μs at low temperature. Analogous luminescence was obtained in reduced sodium germanate glasses. No luminescence was observed in oxidized glasses…

Laboratory parameters in centenarians of Italian ancestry

2008

Studies aimed at collecting reference parameters for haematochemical analysis in the elderly are scarce and for the oldest old subjects even more rare. In order to establish the reference values for the most common laboratory text in long living individuals, we measured haematochemical parameters in >100 years old subjects and in aged subjects as control. Six hundred and two centenarians accepted to be enrolled in the study. A case history containing the complete anamnesis, clinical examinations, evaluation of the clinical cognitive and functional tests, was prepared for each centenarian. Blood samples from 120 > 100 years old subjects free of chronic or acute Illness (i.e. Alzheimer’s dise…

2021

Bulk stable nitrogen isotope values of the carbonate-bound organic matrix in bivalve shells (δ15NCBOM) are increasingly used to assess past food web dynamics, track anthropogenic nitrogen pollution and reconstruct hydrographic changes. However, it remains unresolved if the δ15NCBOM values are also affected by directed ontogenetic trends which can bias ecological and environmental interpretations. This very aspect is tested here with modern and fossil specimens of the long-lived ocean quahog, Arctica islandica, collected from different sites and water depths in the NE Atlantic Ocean. As demonstrated, δ15NCBOM values from the long chronologies show a general decrease through lifetime by −0.00…

Importance of denitrifiers lacking the genes encoding the nitrous oxide reductase for N2O emissions from soil

2010

Analyses of the complete genomes of sequenced denitrifying bacteria revealed that approximately 1/3 have a truncated denitrification pathway, lacking the nosZ gene encoding the nitrous oxide reductase. We investigated whether the number of denitrifiers lacking the genetic ability to synthesize the nitrous oxide reductase in soils is important for the proportion of N2O emitted by denitrification. Serial dilutions of the denitrifying strain Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58 lacking the nosZ gene were inoculated into three different soils to modify the proportion of denitrifiers having the nitrous oxide reductase genes. The potential denitrification and N2O emissions increased when the size of ino…

DcuA of aerobically grownEscherichia coliserves as a nitrogen shuttle (L‐aspartate/fumarate) for nitrogen uptake

2018

DcuA of Escherichia coli is known as an alternative C4 -dicarboxylate transporter for the main anaerobic C4 -dicarboxylate transporter DcuB. Since dcuA is expressed constitutively under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, DcuA was suggested to serve aerobically as a backup for the aerobic (DctA) transporter, or for the anabolic uptake of C4 -dicarboxylates. In this work, it is shown that DcuA is required for aerobic growth with L-aspartate as a nitrogen source, whereas for growth with L-aspartate as a carbon source, DctA was needed. Strains with DcuA catalyzed L-aspartate and C4 -dicarboxylate uptake (like DctA), or an L-aspartate/C4 -dicarboxylate antiport (unlike DctA). DcuA preferred L-asp…