Search results for "Pori"

Flexible minerals: self-assembled calcite spicules with extreme bending strength.

2013

Flexi-Fibers Glass or metal fibers can show incredible flexibility. Natalio et al. (p. 1298 ; see the Perspective by Sethmann ) used the protein silicatein-α, which is responsible for the biomineralization of silicates in sponges, to guide the formation of spicules made of calcite. These synthetic spicules could be bent to a high degree because of their inherent elasticity, whilst retaining the ability to guide light.

Dissolution and precipitation of gypsum and carbonate minerals in soils on evaporite deposits, central Sicily: isotope geochemistry and microfabric a…

1993

Abstract Soil profiles developed from carbonate- and sulphate-rich deposits of the Gessoso-Solfifera Formation (Miocene) were sampled in central Sicily (544 mm annual precipitation and a strongly seasonal rainfall regime). Carbon and oxygen isotope data supported by mineralogical and thin section investigations indicate that meteoric waters and groundwaters dissolve and repricipitate carbonates and gypsum in the soil profiles. The boundary between the C horizon and the overlying one is the formation site of 18O depleted carbonates (calcite and/or dolomite) presumably precipitated from percolating waters during wet periods. Greater δ18O values of carbonates in the shallower horizons suggest …

The Understanding of the Metazoan Skeletal System, Based on the Initial Discoveries with Siliceous and Calcareous Sponges

2017

Initiated by studies on the mechanism of formation of the skeletons of the evolutionary oldest still extant multicellular animals, the sponges (phylum Porifera) have provided new insights into the mechanism of formation of the Ca-phosphate/hydroxyapatite skeleton of vertebrate bone. Studies on the formation of the biomineral skeleton of sponges revealed that both the formation of the inorganic siliceous skeletons (sponges of the class of Hexactinellida and Demospongiae) and of the calcareous skeletons (class of Calcarea) is mediated by enzymes (silicatein: polymerization of biosilica; and carbonic anhydrase: deposition of Ca-carbonate). Detailed studies of the initial mineralization steps i…

Comparative activity of idarubicin and idarubicinol in combination with cyclosporin A in multidrug-resistant leukemia cells

1996

4-Demethoxydaunorubicin (idarubicin, IDA) is an anthracycline that has shown good cytotoxic activity in vitro against tumor cell lines displaying the multidrug-resistant (MDR) phenotype. IDA is converted in the liver into idarubicinol (2HIDA) and, in this form, seems to exert its antitumoral activity in vivo. Recent studies have shown that 2HIDA has tumoricidal activity similar to that of the parent drug when tested in vitro in sensitive neoplastic cells. In this work we compared in vitro the effects of IDA and 2HIDA used alone and in combination with 2 microM cyclosporin A (CyA) in the MDR leukemic cell lines FLCR and K562R and in their sensitive parent cell lines FLC and K562. IDA and 2HI…

Malignant tumor-like gastric lesion by Candida albicans.

2011

Expression of PIP1 and PIP2 aquaporins is enhanced in olive dwarf genotypes and is related to root and leaf hydraulic conductance

2007

The expression of OePIP1.1 and OePIP2.1 aquaporins in root, stem and leaf was higher in Olea europaea L. (olive) plants carrying a dwarfing (D) clone as rootstock, than in plants carrying a vigorous (M) clone as rootstock. The highest difference of expression between plants with D and M rootstocks was detected in the root and for the PIP2 gene, the transcripts of which show a high water channel activity in oocytes.  Compared with plants with M rootstock, plants with D rootstock showed reduced root and canopy biomass and reduced hydraulic conductance of the bulk root system (Kroot). Hydraulic conductance of D roots was higher than that of M roots when Kroot was scaled by root DW, in agreemen…

Silicateins, the major biosilica forming enzymes present in demosponges: protein analysis and phylogenetic relationship.

2007

Silicateins are enzymes, which are restricted to sponges (phylum Porifera), that mediate the catalytic formation of biosilica from monomeric silicon compounds. The silicatein protein is compartmented in the sponges in the axial filaments which reside in the axial canals of the siliceous spicules. In the present study silicatein has been isolated from the freshwater sponge Lubomirskia baicalensis where it occurs in isoforms with sizes of 23 kDa, 24 kDa and 26 kDa. Since the larger protein is glycosylated we posit that it is a processed form of one of the smaller size forms. The silicatein isoforms are post-translationally modified by phosphorylation; at least four isoforms exist with pI's of…

Divalent Cations Reduce the pH Sensitivity of OmpF Channel Inducing the PKA Shift of Key Acidic Residues

2011

In contrast to the highly-selective channels of neurophysiology employing mostly the exclusion mechanism, different factors account for the selectivity of large channels. Elucidation of these factors is essential for understanding the permeation mechanisms in ion channels and their regulation in vivo. The interaction between divalent cations and a protein channel, the bacterial porin OmpF, has been investigated paying attention to the channel selectivity and its dependence on the solution pH. Unlike the experiments performed in salts of monovalent cations, the channel is now practically insensitive to pH, being anion selective all over the pH range considered. Electrostatic calculations bas…

Purification and characterization of two exopolyphosphatases from the marine sponge Tethya lyncurium

1995

Abstract Two exopolyphosphatases (exopolyphosphatase I and II; EC 3.6.1.11) which release orthophosphate from inorganic polyphosphates have been detected and purified for the first time from a marine sponge, Tethya lyncurium . Exopolyphosphatase I has a molecular mass of 45 kDa, a pH optimum of 5.0 and does not require divalent cations for activity, while exopolyphosphatase II has a molecular mass of 70 kDa, a pH optimum of 7.5 and displays optimal activity in the presence of Mg 2+ ions. Final purification of the enzymes could be achieved by affinity chromatography on polyphosphate-modified zirconia. The mode of action of both enzymes was found to be processive. Orthophosphate is the sole p…

Mechanisms of nitric-oxide-induced increase of free cytosolic Ca2+ concentration in Nicotiana plumbaginifolia cells.

2005

In this study, we investigated a role for nitric oxide (NO) in mediating the elevation of the free cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](cyt)) in plants using Nicotiana plumbaginifolia cells expressing the Ca(2+) reporter apoaequorin. Hyperosmotic stress induced a fast increase of [Ca(2+)](cyt) which was strongly reduced by pretreating cell suspensions with the NO scavenger carboxy PTIO, indicating that NO mediates [Ca(2+)](cyt) changes in plant cells challenged by abiotic stress. Accordingly, treatment of transgenic N. plumbaginifolia cells with the NO donor diethylamine NONOate was followed by a transient increase of [Ca(2+)](cyt) sensitive to plasma membrane Ca(2+) channel inhibitors …