196,806 research outputs found
The GIS for urban analysis and Risk map of Archeological site: the case of Sphinxes Avenue in Luxor
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Diversità, densità, centralità: l’immagine sfaccettata e pluriverso dell’asta della Vigevanese
No full textInteractions with retinol and retinoids of bovine cellular retinol-binding protein
No full textThe interactions with retinol and retinol analogs of bovine cellular retinol-binding protein (CRBP) have been investigated, by means of fluorescence titrations, to obtain more information on the structural features of retinoid that may be required for their interaction with the binding protein. An approximately stoichiometric binding of retinol to bovine CRBP (K'd approximately 2 nM) has been found in direct binding assays. Although retinal exhibited relatively high binding affinity to bovine CRBP (K'd approximately 30 nM), a large excess of the retinoid could not compete with retinol for the carrier protein. On the assumption that retinol and retinal interact with the same binding site, this result indicates that the above-mentioned apparent dissociation constant for retinol.CRBP may be an overestimate and that its value may be as low as 0.1 nM. The finding of an exceedingly tight binding of retinol to CRBP provides further support for the possible role of CRBP-bound retinol, rather than its uncomplexed labile form, as substrate of enzymes involved in the metabolism of the vitamin. The results of these and previous studies indicate that CRBP is particularly sensitive to modifications of the retinol hydroxyl end group. Axerophthene, a retinol analog bearing a hydrogen atom in place of the hydroxyl end group, and beta-ionone exhibit rather low binding affinities for CRBP (K'd approximately 0.2 microM and approximately 4 microM, respectively), suggesting that the hydroxyl group and isoprene tail moieties contribute substantially to the retinol-binding affinity and specificity. These findings are consistent with the indications emerging from the three-dimensional structure determination of retinol.CRBP [Cowan, S. W., Newcomer, M. E. & Jones, T. A. (1993) J. Mol. Biol. 230, 1225-1246]. Additionally, the bulky end groups of fenretinide and N-ethyl retinamide replacing the retinol hydroxyl group have been found to prevent retinoid binding to CRBP. The primary structure of bovine CRBP has been determined and is highly similar to the structures of both human and rat CRBP (97% and 95% identical, respectively)
Quality modeling for the Medium Grain Scalability option of H.264/SVC
No full textRate vs. quality is a crucial trade off not only for efficient video coding and transmission but also for adaptive transmission strategies in wireless networks and/or congestion-prone networks. Scalable coders are well suited to tackle the time-varying capacities of these environments. In this paper we propose a semi-analytical model suitable for the medium grain scalable option of the H.264 standard and discuss the parameters influencing its performance. Results show it can effectively be used to represent the expected rate for different quality layers and thus its applicability to algorithms for resource optimization
Insulin and dexamethasone regulate insulin receptors, insulin receptor substrate-1, and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase in Fao hepatoma cells
No full textInsulin rapidly stimulates tyrosine kinase activity of its receptor, resulting in phosphorylation of the cytosolic substrate, insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1), which, in turn, associates with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase), thus activating the enzyme. In the present study we have examined these three early postreceptor components of the insulin action pathway in rat hepatoma (Fao) cells and have determined the effects of two hormones that can induce insulin resistance, dexamethasone and insulin. Dexamethasone (1 microM) induced a time- and dose-dependent increase in insulin receptor levels in Fao cells, reaching 135 +/- 3% of basal levels after 24 h (P < 0.05). There was a simultaneous increase in IRS-1 protein to 255 +/- 66% of the control value (P < 0.05) and a parallel increase in IRS-1 phosphorylation. Insulin stimulation of IRS-1-associated PI 3-kinase was also increased by 70% in cells treated with dexamethasone despite only a minimal increase in PI 3-kinase protein, as determined by immunoblotting. Prolonged insulin treatment induced a time- and dose-dependent decrease in insulin receptor and IRS-1 protein levels, reaching nadirs of 40 +/- 4% (P < 0.01) and 15 +/- 6% (P < 0.005) of control levels, respectively, after 24 h with 100 nM insulin. There was also a decrease in the phosphorylation of insulin receptors and IRS-1, a marked decrease in the association between IRS-1 and PI 3-kinase, and an 82% decrease in insulin-stimulated PI 3-kinase activity without a significant change in PI 3-kinase protein levels. When cells were exposed to both insulin and dexamethasone, the effect of insulin to reduce insulin receptor and IRS-1 levels and insulin-stimulated IRS-1 phosphorylation dominated. These data suggest that regulation of the insulin receptor, IRS-1, and PI 3-kinase contributes significantly to the insulin resistance induced by chronic hyperinsulinemia, but that glucocorticoid-induced insulin resistance is located beyond these early steps in insulin action
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