212,206 research outputs found
Characterisation of Bombyx mori odorant-binding proteins reveals that a general odorant-binding protein discriminates between sex pheromone components
No full textIn many insect species, odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) are thought to be responsible for the transport of pheromones and other semiochemicals across the sensillum lymph to the olfactory receptors (ORs) within the antennal sensilla. In the silkworm Bombyx mori, the OBPs are subdivided into three main subfamilies; pheromone-binding proteins (PBPs), general odorant-binding proteins (GOBPs) and antennal-binding proteins (ABPs). We used the MotifSearch algorithm to search for genes encoding putative OBPs in B. mori and found 13, many fewer than are found in the genomes of fruit flies and mosquitoes. The 13 genes include seven new ABP-like OBPs as well as the previously identified PBPs (three), GOBPs (two) and ABPx. Quantitative examination of transcript levels showed that BmorPBP1, BmorGOBP1, BmorGOBP2 and BmorABPx are expressed at very high levels in the antennae and so could be involved in olfaction. A new two-phase binding assay, along with other established assays, showed that BmorPBP1, BmorPBP2, BmorGOBP2 and BmorABPx all bind to the B. mori sex pheromone component (10E,12Z)-hexadecadien-1-ol (bombykol). BmorPBP1, BmorPBP2 and BmorABPx also bind the pheromone component (10E,12Z)-hexadecadienal (bombykal) equally well, whereas BmorGOBP2 can discriminate between bombykol and bombykal. X-ray structures show that when bombykol is bound to BmorGOBP2 it adopts a different conformation from that found when it binds to BmorPBP1. Binding to BmorGOBP2 involves hydrogen bonding to Arg110 rather than to Ser56 as found for BmorPBP1
La libertà umana. Storia di una controversia filosofica
No full textSaggi di M. De Caro, L. Fonnesu, G. Lettieri, M. Mori, C. Natali, P. Porro, E. Spinelli, F. Trabatton
Redevelopment after the Abruzzo event
No full textNatural disasters raise quite a number of interdisciplinary issues concerning regional economic growth and local development, as well as public finance and sustainability, to mention only a few of them. These issues deserve special attention in our globalized world, given the expectation of a growing impact of climate-related disasters: no surprise that disaster management stands as a new discipline aimed at bridging the gap between theory and practice, so as to prevent natural disasters in the first place; afterwards, considerable efforts are required to accelerate business recovery, quickly restore vital energies, and hopefully carry out specific improvement projects as a sort of compensation for the (both personal and economic) losses suffered. Interesting lessons can be learned from natural disasters and can be shared as a payback to those who helped upon their occurrence. Actually, cooperation calls for cross-cultural activities that are likely to benefit from direct experience made by impacted scholars and practitioners: a case in point has to do with the earthquake that devastated L’Aquila and its environs on April 6, 2009 causing more than 300 deaths, apart from extensive damage in the Abruzzo region, in Central Italy; the Abruzzo event – as this natural disaster is currently referred to – fuels the debate on redevelopment problems to be faced under similar circumstances, that may obliterate the economic environment and attractiveness of an area in a few moments. Due to the huge amount of money needed to undertake appropriate strategies, finance plays a key role and useful insights can be gained by exploring the process of financial innovation. A supporting argument deals with the recourse to micro-finance in order to make the business and economic scenario revive after a natural disaster: micro-credit might be resorted to even within the framework of new financial engineering instruments, such as Urban Development Funds, recently promoted by the European Investment Bank; they include JESSICA (Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas) and JEREMIE (Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises), to be properly considered as strategic tools in sight of redeveloping L’Aquila and its surrounding boroughs.
The Imaginary and the Social Bond: The Unconscious Life of Representations—Durkheim, Bourdieu, Alexander
No full textThe hypothesis on which the whole chapter centres attempts to explore the relation we believe exists between the integrative efficacy of the social imaginary and the chances it has of concealing its own socially-constructed nature. That is to say, the idea that the more the arbitrary, artificial origin of the imaginary is removed from the consciousness of actors, the more it is able to realize its own potential for social integration. To test the grounds for such an interpretation, we will seek to track down its presence in the works of three thinkers who appear to share a certain sensibility towards the imaginary and the role played by the unconscious in collective life, in spite of their occasionally strident diversity. We are speaking of Émile Durkheim, Pierre Bourdieu and Jeffrey Alexander. We will try to prove the existence in these three authors of an underground dialogue focusing on the integrative force of the imaginary as a function of its potential for the unconscious penetration of the minds of social actors
Morpho-functional defences of Mediterranean sea urchin, Paracentrotus lividus and Arbacia lixula, against fish predator
No full textMorpho-functional features potentially involved in defence mechanisms against fish predators (i.e. attachment tenacity, spine length, and test robustness and thickness) have been assessed in two Mediterranean sea urchins, Paracentrotus lividus and Arbacia lixula. All four morpho-functional features were significantly and positively related to individual size for both species of sea urchins. Test robustness (i.e. static load needed to break sea urchin tests) was significantly greater for A. lixula (from 3,450 to 15,000 g depending on size) than for P. lividus (1,180–11,180 g). Attachment tenacity (i.e. force needed to dislodge sea urchins from the rocky substrate) was greater in A. lixula (280–3,300 g) than in P. lividus (110–1,450 g), and the difference tended to decrease in relation to smaller sea urchin size. Spine length was greater in A. lixula (1.5–2.9 cm) than in P. lividus (0.5–2.3 cm), but the difference decreased for larger sea urchin size. Test thickness was slightly greater (but not significantly) in A. lixula (0.35–1.10 mm) than in P. lividus (0.12–0.90 mm). These results provide evidence that morpho-functional features of sea urchins could be involved in affecting predation rates by fishes upon P. lividus and A. lixula, with potential implications for the population structure and distribution patterns of the two sea urchins in shallow rocky reefs
Improved performance of submicrometer-gate GaAs MESFET's with an Al0.3Ga0.7As buffer layer grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy
No full textL'identità giuridico culturale della famiglia migrante nel diritto internazionale privato
No full text1. Diritto internazionale privato e governo dei fenomeni migratori. – 2. Il coordinamento degli ordinamenti giuridici statali fra discrezionalità politica e imperativo della continuità nella tutela dei diritti. – 3. Integrazione sociale e identità culturale nel prisma delle norme sulla giurisdizione e sui conflitti di leggi: il criterio della residenza abituale e il criterio della cittadinanza. – 4. I possibili schemi secondo cui può essere organizzata la coesistenza del modello integrazionista e del modello identitario: l’esempio delle norme europee in materia di separazione personale e divorzio. – 5. Le ragioni della complessità degli schemi tecnici preposti all’accomodamento delle spinte all’integrazione e al rispetto dell’identità. – 6. L’identità giuridico culturale della famiglia nel diritto internazionale privato postmoderno: flessibilità e autonomia come risposte alla sfida della "velocità"
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