Search results for "Wester"

Paleodiversity of the Superfamily Ursoidea (Carnivora, Mammalia) in the Spanish Neogene, related to environmental changes

2014

In the present study we analyse the diversity of the Superfamily Ursoidea during the Neogene of the Iberian Peninsula to further compare it with that of the Neogene of Western Europe to find the different associations of this group. The results indicate that both the diversity and the taxonomy amongst these two regions show important variations, thus letting their interpretation in terms of climatic differentiation. We might relate variations in the abundance of the Ursoidea to the environmental fluctuations taking place during the Miocene and Pliocene. Therefore, they could enable us to reach the assessment of these biogeographical distributions in order to deduce the preferential niches o…

An unidentified harvestman Leiobunum sp. alarmingly invading Europe (Arachnida: Opiliones)

2007

Etwa seit dem Jahr 2000 breitet sich eine bisher nicht identifizierte Art der Gattung Leiobunum C. L. Koch, 1839 schnell in Mitteleuropa aus. Nachweise ab dem Jahr 2004 sind aus den Niederlanden (wahrscheinlich dem Land des ersten Auftretens in Europa), Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz bekannt. Die wahrscheinlich eingeschleppte Art besiedelt bisher lediglich Wände von Gebäuden und seltener felsähnliche Biotope in Wäldern. Adulte Individuen ruhen tagsüber selten einzeln oder in eng geklumpten Gruppen aus Dutzenden bis Hunderten von Individuen an leicht abgedunkelten Stellen in Mauerwinkeln, an glatten Hauswänden und überhängenden Dachtraufen. Jungtiere leben am Boden. Diese Art verfüg…

Overcoming the crisis : the changing profile and trajectories of Latvian migrants

2016

The work was funded by the National Research Programme [grant number 5.2.4] and the Latvian Council of Sciences [grant number 514/2012]. Taking mobility between Latvia and Western Europe as an empirical lens, this analysis explores the complex relationship between spatial disparities in earning potential and migration. The very dramatic shifts in the economic and political context against which migration from Latvia has occurred over the period 2004-2012 make it an especially apposite focus of research investigating the link between mobility and labour market circumstances. As an analytical starting point, conventional economic theory broadly explains the movement of workers from lower to h…

Outside‐in Politicization of EU–Western Africa Relations: What Role for Civil Society Organizations?

2021

This article explores the empirical relevance of researching outside-in politicization processes in European studies. To this end, it examines to what extent and how civil society organizations (CSOs) have contributed to the politicization of EU policies towards Western Africa in two cases: the negotiation of Economic Partnership Agreements and the EU's engagement with the G5 Sahel. CSOs were strongly engaged in the trade negotiations, while they were largely excluded from the G5 Sahel process. In both cases this was due to CSOs' own initiatives, or the absence thereof, with these strongly linked to being either invited or discouraged by official actors. The article argues that authority tr…

M. Tracy: Government and Agriculture in Western Europe, 1880–1980, 3.a ed., Herfordshire, Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1989, 382 pp.

1990

Therapeutic administration of 3,4,5-trimethoxy-4'-fluorochalcone, a selective inhibitor of iNOS expression, attenuates the development of adjuvant-in…

2003

We have previously investigated the effects of a series of dimethoxy- and trimethoxychalcone derivatives, with various patterns of fluorination, on nitric oxide production in LPS-stimulated murine RAW 264.7. The present study was designed to determine if 3,4,5-trimethoxy-4'-fluorochalcone (CH 17) could modulate the production of NO and/or prostaglandins in vivo. On the mouse macrophage cell line RAW 264.7 CH 17 inhibited dose-dependently NO production, with an IC(50) value in the nanomolar range, and reduced PGE(2) levels by a 58% at 10 microM. This compound had no direct inhibitory effect on iNOS and COX-2 activities. NO reduction was the consequence of inhibition of the expression of iNOS…

Characterization of two male-specific polypeptides in the tergal glands secretions of the cockroach Leucophaea maderae (Dictyoptera, Blaberidae)

1998

0965-1748 (Print) Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; During the sexual behavior of cockroaches, the female mounts the courting male to feed on the proteinaceous secretion of the tergal glands. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of male and female protein extracts after cuticle wiping revealed three major bands. Two of 18 and 22 kDa, named Lma-P18 and Lma-P22, are specific to the male tergal extracts. Moreover, Lma-P22 is only found in the male second tergite extracts. The third one of 54 kDa, named Lma-P54, is common to male and female extracts and could be considered as an ubiquitous surface protein. Several other minor proteins are also present on the body surface of adults…

Cadmium induces the expression of specific stress proteins in sea urchin embryos.

2004

Abstract Marine organisms are highly sensitive to many environmental stresses, and consequently, the analysis of their bio-molecular responses to different stress agents is very important for the understanding of putative repair mechanisms. Sea urchin embryos represent a simple though significant model system to test how specific stress can simultaneously affect development and protein expression. Here, we used Paracentrotus lividus sea urchin embryos to study the effects of time-dependent continuous exposure to subacute/sublethal cadmium concentrations. We found that, between 15 and 24 h of exposure, the synthesis of a specific set of stress proteins (90, 72–70, 56, 28, and 25 kDa) was ind…

EGFR signalling is required for Paracentrotus lividus endomesoderm specification

2008

The EGFR pathway is critical for cell fate specification throughout the development of several organisms. Here we identified in sea urchin an EGFR-related antigen maternally expressed and showing a dynamic pattern of localization during development. To investigate the role played by the EGFR in Paracentrotus lividus development we blocked its activity by using the EGFR kinase inhibitor AG1478. This treatment produces decrease of EGFR phosphorylation, and embryos with various defects especially in the endomesoderm territory until to obtain an animalized phenotype. These effects are rescued by the addition of TGF-alpha, an EGFR ligand. The role played by EGFR-like along the animal/vegetal axi…

Cadmium induces an apoptotic response in sea urchin embryos.

2007

Cadmium is a heavy metal toxic for living organisms even at low concentrations. It does not have any biological role, and since it is a permanent metal ion, it is accumulated by many organisms. In the present paper we have studied the apoptotic effects of continuous exposure to subacute/sublethal cadmium concentrations on a model system: Paracentrotus lividus embryos. We demonstrated, by atomic absorption spectrometry, that the intracellular amount of metal increased during exposure time. We found, using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling assay, that long treatments with cadmium triggered a severe DNA fragmentation. We demonstrated, by immunocytochemistry …