Search results for "WESTERN"

Secretion of the rotavirus VP8* protein inLactococcus lactis

2001

Secretion of the VP8* subunit of the VP4 capsid protein of rotavirus by Lactococcus lactis has been achieved. For this purpose, a secretion vector has been constructed with the lactococcal signal sequence AL9 and the VP8*-encoding gene fragment. The amount of VP8* secreted by L. lactis in the culture supernatant was quantified and visualised by Western blot. Furthermore, it was shown to retain its hemagglutination capability, indicating that the conformation of the secreted peptide may be retaining its biological activity.

The Descriptions of Sicily in Chinese Travel Diaries and Geographic Works until Qing Dynasty

2013

Chinese traditional culture is full of ancient travellers’ accounts and geographical treatises: Chinese merchants and diplomats reached Western countries reporting their experiences, while Christian missionaries wished to describe their words to Chinese people. In this literary context, I conducted a strict research focused on the descriptions of Sicily circulating in China from the first descriptions up to the Qing period. The first description is also the first description ever found of an Italian region appeared in the Middle Kingdom. It was written by the Inspector of Foreign Sea-Trade of Fujian Zhao Rugua in his pilot’s book, the Zhufan zhi (1225). Since then a considerable number of a…

Meeting the West in a Conference Hall: Gilbert Reid’s Lectures at the International Institute in Shanghai

2018

During the late Qing dynasty, a profound social and cultural transformation was promoted in China by an élite group of intellectuals, inspired by the works of for- eign thinkers and scholars. In this context, the contribution of the Protestant Gil- bert Reid (1857-1927) – and his Mission among the Higher Classes in China, which later become the International Institute of Shanghai – went far beyond mere proselytism, promoting the intercultural dialogue as a basis for China’s progress. Such an innovative enterprise, accomplished through an original exploitation of the catalyst power of the newborn Chinese press, deserves a closer look. To do so, this paper focuses on Reid’s series of lectures…

2018

With a mounting communist threat from Eastern Europe after the Second World War, in Western Europe an attempt was made to create permanent structures not only to help in facilitating cooperation in...

4D paleoenvironmental evolution of the Early Triassic Sonoma Foreland Basin (western USA)

2017

In the wake of the Mesozoic, the Early Triassic (~251.95 Ma) corresponds to the aftermath of the most severe mass extinction of the Phanerozoic: the end-Permian crisis, when life was nearly obliterated (e.g., 90% of marine species disappeared). Consequences of this mass extinction are thought to have prevailed for several millions of years, implying a delayed recovery lasting the whole Early Triassic, if not more. Several paradigms have been established and associated to a delayed biotic recovery scenario expected to have resulted from harsh and deleterious paleoenvironments. These paradigms include a global anoxia in the marine realm, a “Lilliput” effect, and the presence of “disaster” tax…

New records of Lepidochelys olivacea (Eschscholtz, 1829) (Testudines, Cheloniidae) provide evidence that Uruguayan waters are the southernmost limit …

2017

We report 8 new records of Lepidochelys olivacea marine turtle in the Uruguayan waters, indicating this area as the southernmost limit of distribution for this species in the western Atlantic Ocean. In addition, 1 specimen was subjected to genetic analysis, revealing its population origin in the western Atlantic nesting colonies (Surinam, French Guiana, and Brazil). This report represents an update of the distribution of L. olivacea in the southwestern Atlantic and provides insight into the morphological and genetic characterization of the species at temperate waters.

Community action and planning. Contexts, drivers and outcomes

2014

With trust in top-down government faltering, community-based groups around the world are displaying an ever-greater appetite to take control of their own lives and neighbourhoods. Government, for its part, is keen to embrace the projects and the planning undertaken at this level, attempting to regularise it and use it as a means of reconnecting to citizens and localising democracy. This unique book analyses the contexts, drivers and outcomes of community action and planning in a selection of case studies in the global north: from emergent neighbourhood planning in England to the community-based housing movement in New York, and from active citizenship in the Dutch new towns to associative a…

Description, microhabitat selection and infection patterns of sealworm larvae (Pseudoterranova decipiens species complex, nematoda: ascaridoidea) in …

2013

Third-stage larvae of the Pseudoterranova decipiens species complex (also known as sealworms) have been reported in at least 40 marine fish species belonging to 21 families and 10 orders along the South American coast. Sealworms are a cause for concern because they can infect humans who consume raw or undercooked fish. However, despite their economic and zoonotic importance, morphological and molecular characterization of species of Pseudoterranova in South America is still scarce. Methods: A total of 542 individual fish from 20 species from the Patagonian coast of Argentina were examined for sealworms. The body cavity, the muscles, internal organs, and the mesenteries were examined to dete…

Oxacyclododecindione, a Novel Inhibitor of IL-4 Signaling from Exserohilum rostratum

2008

In a screening program for new metabolites from fungi inhibiting the IL-4 mediated signal transduction, a novel chlorinated macrocyclic lactone, designated as oxacyclododecindione, was isolated from fermentations of the imperfect fungus Exserohilum rostratum. The structure was determined by a combination of spectroscopic techniques. Oxacyclododecindione inhibits the IL-4 induced expression of the reporter gene secreted alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) in transiently transfected HepG2 cells with IC50 values of 20-25 ng/ml (54-67.5 nM). Studies on the mode of action of the compound revealed that the inhibition of the IL-4 dependent signaling pathway is caused by blocking the binding of the activat…

La utilización de marfil de cachalote en el Calcolítico de Portugal

2013

Scientific analysis were undertaken within a research project concerning ivory objects from the Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age of the Iberian Peninsula. In several of the analyses of objects from Portuguese Estremadura, especially V-perforated buttons, we could detect for the first time the presence of sperm whale ivory. This highlights the advantage and necessity of scientific analysis of ivory. It also clearly demonstrates that not all ivory used was ivory from African or Asian elephants, but we also did find ivory from the extinct Elephas antiquus, the hippopotamus and in this case sperm-whale. Thus, already in the Chalcolithic the raw material provenience was highly diverse, which in …