Search results for "Wester"
showing 10 items of 1157 documents
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 …
Selenium affects biosilica formation in the demosponge Suberites domuncula
2005
Selenium is a trace element found in freshwater and the marine environment. We show that it plays a major role in spicule formation in the demosponge Suberites domuncula. If added to primmorphs, an in vitro sponge cell culture system, it stimulates the formation of siliceous spicules. Using differential display of transcripts, we demonstrate that, after a 72-h exposure of primmorphs to selenium, two genes are up-regulated; one codes for selenoprotein M and the other for a novel spicule-associated protein. The deduced protein sequence of selenoprotein M (14 kDa) shows characteristic features of metazoan selenoproteins. The spicule-associated protein (26 kDa) comprises six characteristic repe…
Common and form-specific cell wall antigens of Candida albicans as released by chemical and enzymatic treatments.
1996
In order to investigate the antigenic properties of the proteins and mannoproteins present in the cell surface of Candida albicans, and to identify individual antigenic moieties and their distribution, a number of polyclonal antisera were obtained by immunizing rabbits with chemical and enzymatic cell wall extracts obtained from intact cells from both growth forms (yeast and mycelium) of the fungus. Prior to injection, wall moieties present in the extracts were subjected to different treatments and/or purification procedures such as adsorption onto polystyrenelatex microbeads or electrophoretic separation. When used as probes in indirect immunofluorescence assays, the different antisera gav…
Perspectives for Globalized Natural Medicines
2011
Natural medicines provide valuable resources to meet the requirements for global health care at affordable prices. Therefore, safety and efficacy need to be proven in a comparable manner to conventional drugs. Evidence-based natural and western medicine may merge to a “one-world medicine” for the sake of all patients in industrialized and developing countries. In the present review, we discuss strategies for (1) preservation of traditional knowledge on natural medicines, (2) sustainability of medicinal herbs and natural products, and (3) standardization and quality control. Novel technologies will impact research on natural medicines in the years to come, e.g. remote sensing to map medicina…
Let Me in! The Affirmation of a Radical “Other”
2021
In the preceding chapters, we carefully revised the history of colonial expeditions, the intersection of the native “Other” with science, and the evolution of leisure travels and the consolidation of the tourism industry. We make the point that after the terrorist attacks in 2001 in the US, Western civilization entered a state of crisis which gradually tended to demonize the non-Western “Other”. These chapters acted as conceptual platforms that guided readers to understand the role played by hospitality in the configuration of the modern nation-state. Although illustrative to some extent, these chapters lacked an empirical approach. This chapter, complementarily, keeps an empirically based …
First record of Anisian deposits in the Betic External Zone of southern Spain and its paleogeographical implications
2023
In the External Zones of the Betic Cordillera (S Spain), upper Muschelkalk (Ladinian) facies have been known for decades; however, so far there is no stratigraphic record of Anisian deposits. In the present study, new biostratigraphic data from a carbonate succession in the easternmost Subbetic domain reveal a Pelsonian-Illyrian (Anisian) age. The nautiloids Germanonautilus salinarius and Germanonautilus saharonicus are documented for the first time in the Iberian Peninsula, and together with the brachiopod Tetractinella trigonella and the bivalves Neoschizodus orbicularis and Myophoria vulgaris they represent marker fossils of Anisian deposits previously described from many other basins, b…
Long Non Coding RNA H19: A New Player in Hypoxia-Induced Multiple Myeloma Cell Dissemination
2019
The long non-coding RNA H19 (lncH19) is broadly transcribed in the first stage of development and silenced in most cells of an adult organism
Permeability properties of a three-cell type in vitro model of blood-brain barrier.
2005
We previously found that RBE4.B brain capillary endothelial cells (BCECs) form a layer with blood‐brain barrier (BBB) properties if co‐cultured with neurons for at least one week. As astrocytes are known to modulate BBB functions, we further set a culture system that included RBE4.B BCECs, neurons and astrocytes. In order to test formation of BBB, we measured the amount of (3)H‐sucrose able to cross the BCEC layer in this three‐cell type model of BBB. Herein we report that both neurons and astrocytes induce a decrease in the permeability of the BCEC layer to sucrose. These effects are synergic as if BCECs are cultured with both neurons and astrocytes for 5 days, permeability to sucrose decr…