58 research outputs found
β-diversity of deep-sea holothurians and asteroids along a bathymetric gradient (NE Atlantic)
No full textMeasuring and understanding patterns of ?-diversity remain major challenges in community ecology. Recently, ?-diversity has been shown to consist of 2 distinct components: (1) spatial turnover and (2) species loss leading to nestedness. Both components structure deep-sea macrofaunal assemblages but vary in importance among taxa and ocean basins and with energy availability. Here, we present the first evidence for turnover and nestedness along a bathymetric gradient in 2 major megafaunal taxa, holothurians and asteroids. Turnover is the dominant component of ?-diversity throughout bathyal and abyssal zones in both taxa, despite major differences in ?-diversity and trophic composition. High spatial turnover suggests a role for evolutionary adaptation to environmental circumstances within depth bands. This pattern differs fundamentally from those in some macrofaunal groups in low-energy environments where abyssal nestedness is high and diversity low, with diversity maintained partly by source-sink dynamics
DNA fusion gene vaccination mobilizes effective anti-leukemic cytotoxic T lymphocytes from a tolerized repertoire
No full textThe majority of known human tumor-associated antigens derive from non-mutated self proteins. T cell tolerance, essential to prevent autoimmunity, must therefore be cautiously circumvented to generate cytotoxic T cell responses against these targets. Our strategy uses DNA fusion vaccines to activate high levels of peptide-specific CTL. Key foreign sequences from tetanus toxin activate tolerance-breaking CD4+ T cell help. Candidate MHC class Ibinding tumor peptide sequences are fused to the C terminus for optimal processing and presentation. To model performance against a leukemia-associated antigen in a tolerized setting, we constructed a fusion vaccine encoding an immunodominant CTL epitopederived from Friend murine leukemia virus gag protein (FMuLVgag) and vaccinated tolerant FMuLVgag-transgenic (gag-Tg) mice. Vaccination with the construct induced epitopespecificIFN-c-producing CD8+ T cells in normal and gag-Tg mice. The frequency and avidity of activated cells were reduced in gag-Tg mice, and no autoimmune injury resulted. However, these CD8+ T cells did exhibit gag-specific cytotoxicity in vitro and in vivo. Also, epitope-specific CTL killed FBL-3 leukemia cells expressing endogenous FMuLVgag antigen and protected against leukemia challenge in vivo. These results demonstrate a simple strategy to engage anti-microbial T cell help to activate epitope-specific polyclonal CD8+ T cell responses from a residual tolerized repertoire
Expression and purification of recombinant human coagulation Factor VII fused to His-Tag through Gateway technology
No full textBackground. Factor VII is a plasma glycoprotein that participates in the coagulation process leading
to generation of fibrin. Construction, expression and purification of recombinant FVII fused to poly
histidin tag through gateway technology were aimed in this study.
Methods. To construct entry clone, blunt-end FVII cDNA and subsequent PCR product isolated from HepG2 cell line was TOPO cloned into pENTR TOPO vector. To construct expression clone,
LR recombination reaction was carried out between entry clone and destination vector, pDEST26.
CHO c ells were transfected with 1 g of DNA of PDEST26 FVII using the FuGENE HD transfection reagent. Two cell lines that permanently expressed recombinant factor VII were established. The expression of recombinant FVII was confirmed by RT-PCR and ELISA. Culture medium containing his-FVII was added to the nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid resin c olumn and bound protein was eluted. The purified protein was detected by SDS-PAGE and western blot analysis. Biological activity of the
recombinant factor VII was determined by prothrombin time assay using factor FVII-depleted plasma.
Results. The results showed that human recombinant FVII successfully was cloned and accuracy of the nucleotide sequence of the gene and its frame in the vector were confirmed by DNA sequencing. Stable clones transfected with the construct expressed FVII mRNA and related protein but any expression was not detected in the CHO cells containing empty vector. A protein of about 52KDa was detected in SDS-PAGE and was further confirmed by western blot analysis. A three-fold decrease in clotting time was observed by using this rFVII.
Conclusion. As we are a ware, this is the first report of expression of recombinant FVII fused with
his-tag through gateway technology. The next steps including large scale expression, purification,
activation and stabilization are underwa y
Deuterium NMR and x-ray crystallographic studies of guest and host motions in the thiourea/1, 4-di-tert-butylbenzene inclusion compound
No full textDeuterium nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra and spin-lattice relaxation times are used to investigate the guest and host molecular dynamics of solid 1,4-di-tert-butylbenzene-d4 (DTBB-d4), 1,4-di-tert-butylbenzene-d18 (DTBB-d18), the thiourea/ 1,4-di-tert-butylbenzene-d4 inclusion compound (TU/DTBB-d4), the thiourea/ 1,4-di-tert-butylbenzene-d22 inclusion compound (TU/DTBB-d22), the thiourea-d4/1,4-di-tert-butylbenzene inclusion compound (TU-d4/DTBB), and thiourea-d4 (TU-d4). X-ray crystallographic studies of TU/DTBB-d4 have been carried out at 291 K. In solid DTBB the phenyl ring is essentially static whereas the tert-butyl groups are undergoing rapid reorientation of both methyl and tert-butyl groups. Attempts to analyze the H-2 spectra and T1 data for DTBB-d18 suggest that the dynamics of the methyl and tert-butyl groups are nearly equivalent, and as a result, a satisfactory analysis, yielding methyl and tert-butyl rotational activation energies, was not possible. X-ray diffraction results for TU/DTBB-d4 suggest that, at 291 K, the phenyl ring is occupying three nearly equivalent sites. The H-2 NMR line shapes between 186 and 392 K were interpreted using a model in which the phenyl ring is rapidly flipping between three positions, with one position less favored, At 296 and 186 K the populations are 0.81:1.00:1.00 and 0.20:1.00.1.00, respectively. Relaxation times obtained between 111 and 322 K show no minimum, supporting the assumption of very rapid phenyl ring reorientation. For TU/DTBB-d22 a high-temperature T1 minimum is well-defined, and a second minimum, corresponding to tert-butyl group rotation, is reached at the lowest attainable temperatures. Line-shape simulations of the spectrum at 77 K yield methyl and tert-butyl group rotational rates of 1.0 x 10(3) and 2.0 x 10(6) s-1, respectively. Analysis of the higher temperature spectra (109-172 K) and T1 data (167-300 K) yield methyl rotation activation energies of 12.7 and 12.3 kJ/mol, respectively. Deuterium line-shape studies of the thiourea dynamics in TU-d4 and TU-d4/DTBB yield activation energies for 180-degrees flips about the C=S bond of 47 and 46 kJ/mol, respectively.PT: J; CR: 1974, INT TABLES XRAY CRYS, V4 ARONSON M, 1981, CHEM PHYS, V63, P349 ATWOOD JL, 1984, INCLUSION COMPOUNDS, V1 BECKMANN P, 1979, J MAGN RESON, V36, P199 BECKMANN P, 1981, CHEM PHYS, V63, P359 BECKMANN PA, 1984, J MAGN RESON, V59, P63 BLOEMBERGEN N, 1948, PHYS REV, V73, P679 CANNAROZZI GM, 1991, J PHYS CHEM-US, V95, P1525 CLEMENT R, 1974, J CHEM SOC CHEM COMM, P654 CLEMENT R, 1977, J CHEM PHYS, V67, P5381 COLLINS MJ, 1989, J PHYS CHEM-US, V93, P7495 DAVIS JH, 1976, CHEM PHYS LETT, V42, P390 DAVIS JH, 1991, ISOTOPES PHYSICAL BI, V2, CH2 DRAVERS MA, 1980, CRYST STRUCT COMMUN, V9, P951 ELCOMBE MM, 1968, ACTA CRYSTALLOGR A, V24, P410 FLOVENICIO F, 1976, ACTA CRYSTALLOGR B, V32, P2480 GABE EJ, 1981, ACTA CRYSTALLOGR B, V37, P197 GABE EJ, 1989, J APPL CRYSTALLOGR, V22, P384 GELERINTER E, 1990, J PHYS CHEM-US, V94, P5391 GELERINTER E, 1990, J PHYS CHEM-US, V94, P8845 GOPAL R, 1989, ACTA CRYSTALLOGR C, V45, P257 GREENFIELD MS, 1987, J MAGN RESON, V72, P89 GRIFFIN RG, 1981, METHOD ENZYMOL, V72, P108 GRIFFITH EAH, 1972, CAN J CHEM, V50, P2972 GRUWEL MLH, 1990, Z NATURFORSCH A, V45, P55 HEATON NJ, 1989, J AM CHEM SOC, V111, P3211 HEYES SJ, 1990, MAGN RESON CHEM S, V37 HEYES SJ, 1991, J PHYS CHEM-US, V95, P1547 HOUGH E, 1978, J CHEM SOC DA, P15 HUFFMAN JC, 1990, INORG CHEM, V19, P2749 IKEDA R, 1989, J PHYS CHEM-US, V93, P7315 IWASAKI F, 1979, ACTA CRYSTALLOGR B, V35, P2099 IWASAKI F, 1980, ACTA CRYSTALLOGR B, V36, P1700 JUNGK AE, 1971, CHEM BER, V104, P3289 KENNEDY MA, 1991, J MAGN RESON, V91, P301 KOERFER M, 1989, Z NATURFORSCH A, V44, P1177 KRAVERS MA, 1979, CRYST STRUCT COMMUN, V8, P427 KRAVERS MA, 1980, CRYST STRUCT COMMUN, V9, P955 LIFSHITZ E, 1986, J PHYS CHEM SOLIDS, V47, P1045 LOWERY MD, 1990, J AM CHEM SOC, V112, P4212 MACK JW, 1991, J PHYS CHEM-US, V95, P4207 MAGDOFF BS, 1951, ACTA CRYSTALLOGR, V4, P176 MCDANIEL PL, 1988, J PHYS CHEM-US, V92, P626 MEIROVITCH E, 1987, J PHYS CHEM-US, V91, P5014 NISHIKIORI S, 1990, J PHYS CHEM-US, V94, P8098 OK JH, 1989, J PHYS CHEM-US, V93, P7618 OREILLY DE, 1971, J CHEM PHYS, V54, P1304 POLSON JM, 1991, J CHEM PHYS, V94, P3381 POUPKO R, 1989, J AM CHEM SOC, V111, P6094 POUPKO R, 1991, J PHYS CHEM-US, V95, P407 RATCLIFFE CI, 1990, J PHYS CHEM-US, V94, P152 ROESSLER G, 1989, BER BUNSEN GEN PHYS, V93, P1241 ROY AK, 1990, PROGR NMR SPECTROSCO, V22 SPIESS HW, 1980, J CHEM PHYS, V72, P6755 SPIESS HW, 1985, ADV POLYM SCI, V66, P23 TAKEMOTO K, 1984, INCLUSION COMPOUNDS, V2, CH2 TORCHIA DA, 1981, J MAGN RESON, V42, P381 WASYLISHEN RE, COMMUNICATION WENDOLOSKI JJ, 1990, SCIENCE, V247, P431 WITTEBORT RJ, 1987, J CHEM PHYS, V86, P5411 ZAMIR S, 1991, J CHEM PHYS, V94, P5939; NR: 61; TC: 14; J9: J PHYS CHEM; PG: 9; GA: HY322Source type: Electronic(1
To help aging populations, classify organismal senescence
No full textComprehensive disease classification and staging is required to address unmet needs of aging populations</jats:p
Mining housekeeping genes with a Naive Bayes classifier
No full textThe first author was supported by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland. The second author is supported by BBSRC grant BBS RC BB/D006473/1, and under the Advanced Knowledge Technologies (AKT) Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration (IRC), which is sponsored by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council under grant number GR/N15764/01.Background: Traditionally, housekeeping and tissue specific genes have been classified using direct assay of mRNA presence across different tissues, but these experiments are costly and the results not easy to compare and reproduce. Results: In this work, a Naive Bayes classifier based only on physical and functional characteristics of genes already available in databases, like exon length and measures of chromatin compactness, has achieved a 97% success rate in classification of human housekeeping genes ( 93% for mouse and 90% for fruit fly). Conclusion: The newly obtained lists of housekeeping and tissue specific genes adhere to the expected functions and tissue expression patterns for the two classes. Overall, the classifier shows promise, and in the future additional attributes might be included to improve its discriminating power.Peer reviewe
Carolina Maria de Jesus and Clarice Lispector: representations of the feminine in contemporary brazilian literature
No full textThe present work has as objective to analyze the texts Quarto de Despejo (1960) and Onde
estaes felicidade? (2014) by Carolina Maria de Jesus as also Perto do Coração Selvagem
(1998) and Amor (1998) by Clarice Lispector. From the comparative studies of Tânia
Carvalhal (2006), we try to establish a dialogue between these two authors and some of their
texts, in order to consider how female participation in literary production interferes in the
representation of women (Butler, 2017). The course of analysis includes the ethnic, social and
cultural aspects that affect writing and, consequently, create points of dissonance between
these two authors, while convergence stems from the possibility of a woman to represent
herself. In the process of writing, women emerge the anxieties, conflicts and longings proper
to their universe; this means the opportunity for the subaltern to represent himself and, in this
sense, conscious of his voice, to be empowered (LÉON, 2001). Thus, it is hypothesized that
women's writing will reverberate the social, cultural and ethnic conditions to which the
woman was and is submitted, allowing a comparison that reflects on the path taken by this
gender in the attempt to leave the periphery and goes forward the conquest of an “own roof"
(WOOLF, 2004). If in the text of Clarice Lispector, the flow of consciousness and the
existential dimension prevail, there being room for the expansion and evaluation of feelings
such as love; in Carolina Maria de Jesus’ writing hatches the material aspect, represented in
incipient necessities like children’s education, the lack of money and food that will culminate
in the degradation of the individual without perspectives. In order to observe and contrast the
writing of these two authors, it is necessary to recognize the ethnic elements studied by
Regina Dalcastagnè (2012), to use the social and identity studies proposed by Stuart Hall
(2015) and to analyze the cultural analyzes of Pierre Bourdieu (2012) and Simone de
Beauvoir (1980), observing the influence of these markers in the writing process. The
Claricean text enjoys the privilege that comes from an educated woman, admitted in the niche
of the intellectuality, while the Carolinean production arises under the same marginalization
suffered by the author. In short, through the analysis, it can be seen that the woman in the text
of Clarice Lispector may not get rid of the social and cultural domination that has been
pursuing her for centuries, however, she begins to have a small right over her body and to
reflect about her desires. Although in more arid soil, it is in the same emancipatory sense that
goes through Carolina Maria de Jesus, who, under the prejudice of being a woman, without a
husband, with no schooling, money or professionalization, realizes the dream of becoming a
writer and opens space for other voices, subalternized like hers, to be heard and considered in the social and literary space.O presente trabalho tem como objetivo analisar os textos Quarto de Despejo (1960) e Onde
estaes felicidade? (2014) de Carolina Maria de Jesus e Perto do Coração Selvagem (1998) e
Amor (1998) de Clarice Lispector. A partir dos estudos comparados de Tânia Carvalhal
(2006), procuramos estabelecer um diálogo entre essas duas autoras e alguns de seus textos, a
fim de ponderar como a participação feminina na produção literária interfere na representação
da mulher (BUTLER, 2017). O percurso de análise compreende os aspectos étnicos, sociais e
culturais que repercutem na escrita e, consequentemente, criam pontos de dissonância entre
essas duas autoras, enquanto a convergência decorre da possibilidade de uma mulher
representar a si mesma. No processo de escritura, a mulher faz emergir as angústias, os
conflitos e os anseios próprios de seu universo, isso significa a oportunidade de o subalterno
se representar e, nesse sentido, consciente de sua voz, empoderar-se (LÉON, 2001). Assim,
suscita-se a hipótese de que a escrita feminina irá reverberar as condições sociais, culturais e
étnicas a que a mulher esteve e está submetida, possibilitando uma comparação que repercuta
no caminho trilhado por esse gênero na tentativa de sair da periferia da submissão rumo à
conquista de um “teto todo seu” (WOOLF, 2004). Se no texto de Clarice Lispector imperam o
fluxo de consciência e a dimensão existencial, havendo espaço para a expansão e avaliação de
sentimentos como o amor; na escrita de Carolina Maria de Jesus eclode o aspecto material,
representado em necessidades incipientes como a criação dos filhos, a falta de dinheiro e
comida que culminarão na degradação do indivíduo sem perspectivas. Para observar e
contrapor a escrita dessas duas autoras, é preciso, portanto, reconhecer os elementos étnicos
estudados por Regina Dalcastagnè (2012), recorrer aos estudos sociais e identitários propostos
por Stuart Hall (2015) e perfilhar as análises culturais de Pierre Bourdieu (2012) e Simone de
Beauvoir (1980), observando a influência desses marcadores no processo de escrita. O texto
clariceano goza do privilégio que advém de uma mulher escolarizada e admitida no nicho da
intelectualidade, enquanto a produção carolineana surge sob a mesma marginalização sofrida
pela autora. Em suma, por meio das análises, percebe-se que a mulher no texto de Clarice
Lispector pode não se livrar inteiramente da dominação social e cultural que por séculos a tem
perseguido, contudo, começa a ter um pequeno direito sobre seu corpo e a refletir sobre seus
desejos. Embora em solo mais árido, é no mesmo sentido emancipatório que caminha
Carolina Maria de Jesus, a qual, sob o preconceito de ser mulher, sem marido, sem
escolaridade, sem dinheiro nem profissionalização, realiza o sonho de se tornar escritora e
abre espaço para que outras vozes, subalternizadas como a sua, sejam ouvidas e consideradas
no espaço social e literário
Desire, identity and spaciality in James Baldwin
No full textCoordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPESThe aim of this academic paper is to do a cartography of the desire, the identitiy and the space, among other issues which are related to the difference, on the novel Giovanni`s Room, produced in 1956 by African American writer James Baldwin. From my particular reading of the novel, there is the perception that the relationship between the couple David and Giovanni is the core of the narrative. Concerning the issue of desire, I will discuss it as multiplicity. Furthermore, regarding identity, I will discuss its subversive character, the diaspora and the in-between, which are snippets that I consider very meaningful to the novel and its author. Regarding the matter of space, through my point of view, it has a peripheral atmosphere, which reflects the social marginalization of the characters that inhabit and move around it. Moreover, the masculinity, which I also consider as a significant issue in the work of Baldwin is connected, in my conception, to sexual ambiguity. I emphasize that, considering the matters of space and masculinity, this research will approach Giovannni`s Room, but it will be also extended to the novels Another Country and Just Above My Head, also written by Baldwin, for their construction is marked, through my point of view, by the difference. In order to better conduct this academic paper, I will select a theoretical framework, which includes Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, Stuart Hall, Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari, Georges Battaile, Homi Bhabha, Gaston Bachelard, Fernando Seffner and other contributors.Propõe-se neste trabalho cartografar o desejo, a identidade, a espacialidade e outros aspectos que estão permeados pela diferença, no romance Giovanni`s Room, de autoria do afro-americano James Baldwin, publicado em 1956. Na minha proposta de leitura do romance, com a percepção de que a sua narrativa gira em torno da relação do casal de amantes David e Giovanni, discuto o desejo como multiplicidade. No que concerne às questões relacionadas à identidade, as discussões abordam a transgressão, a diáspora e o entre-lugar, recortes que considero significativos com relação à obra e ao autor. Quanto à temática da espacialidade, esta tem, na minha percepção, uma configuração periférica, que remete à condição marginal das personagens que nela habitam e circulam. A masculinidade, na obra de Baldwin está ligada, na minha leitura, à ambiguidade sexual. Ressalto que, quanto à masculinidade e à espacialidade, a pesquisa abordará, além de Giovanni`s Room, os romances Another Country e Just Above My Head, de autoria de James Baldwin, por também terem, na minha concepção, sua configuração ligada à diferença. Como suporte teórico para as questões pertinentes a essa pesquisa, utilizarei as contribuições de Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari, Stuart Hall, Georges Bataille, Gaston Bachelard, Fernando Seffner, entre outros
Sitting behaviour is not associated with incident diabetes over 13 years: the Whitehall II cohort study
No full textThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Background/Aim: Although certain types of sedentary behaviour have been linked to
metabolic risk, prospective studies describing the links between sitting with incident diabetes
are scarce and often do not account for baseline adiposity. We investigate the associations
between context-specific sitting and incident diabetes in a cohort of mid-aged to older British
civil servants. Methods: Using data from the Whitehall II Study (n=4811), Cox proportional
hazards models (adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, employment grade, smoking, alcohol intake,
fruit and vegetable consumption, self-rated health, physical functioning, walking and
moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and BMI) were fitted to examine associations
between total sitting and context–specific sitting time (work, television (TV), non-TV leisure
time sitting at home) at Phase 5 (1997-99) and fasting glucose-defined incident diabetes up to
2011. Results: Total sitting (HR of top compared to the bottom group: 1.26; 95%CI: 1.00
to 1.62; p=0.01) and TV sitting (1.33; 1.03 to1.88; p=0.05) showed associations with
incident diabetes; once BMI was included in the model these associations were attenuated for
both total sitting (1.19; 0.92 to 1.55; p=0.22) and TV sitting (1.31; 0.96 to 1.76; p=0.14).
Conclusions: We found limited evidence linking sitting and incident diabetes over 13 years
in this cohort of civil servants.The Whitehall II study is supported by grants from the Medical Research Council
(G0902037), British Heart Foundation (RG/07/008/23674), Stroke Association, National
Heart Lung and Blood Institute (5RO1 HL036310) and National Institute on Aging
(5RO1AG13196 and 5RO1AG034454). A National Health and Medical Research Council
(Australia) Senior Research Fellowship and a National Institute for Health Research Career
Development Fellowship (UK) supported the first author of this article during different stages
of this work. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not
necessarily those of the above funders
The power to tax
No full textThis article describes the argumentative structure of Hayek on the relationship between power to tax and redistribution. It is observed throughout its work giving special attention to two works: The Constitution of Liberty (1959) and Law, Legislation and Liberty, vol3; The Political Order of Free People, 1979) Hayek describes one of the arguments most complete information bout SFP progressive tax systems (progressive tax). According to the author the history of the tax progressive system, works against such a tax model and deploys a variety of arguments in his favorite spot by critics: liberal democracy.Power to Tax, Redistribution, Government, Progressive Tax, Democracy, Hayek
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