975 research outputs found
Drosophila melanogaster as a perspective organism for plastic waste management: preliminary investigation integrating transgenic techniques, with gut microbiota modification to develop a plastic-degrader fly model
No full textPlastics pollution management is one of the biggest challenges of our time; among plastics, polyolefins, such as polyethylene (PE), are the most recalcitrant for biodegradation, due to their chemical structure. Nevertheless, several microorganisms can grow using PE as sole carbon source, lowering its molecular weight, or introducing new functional groups on its surface. Some insects’ species have also shown the ability to consume PE, such as Galleria mellonella. G. mellonella saliva has been described as capable of PE oxidation and depolymerization. A novel enzyme, Demetra, has been purified from the greater wax worm saliva and shown to produce similar effects on PE. Currently, the low efficiency of the studied organisms is the main drawback to PE biodegradation. Merging enzymatic action with microorganisms’ metabolism hold potential to overcome this issue. This work laid the foundations to weaponize the model organism D. melanogaster against PE by combining transgenic techniques and gut microbiota modification.
A chimeric gene was constructed that allows expression of a secreted form of Demetra. A Demetra transgenic line was created and cross-mated with transgenic enhancer trap lines expressing the GAL4 transcription factor in salivary glands. Husbandry flies were grown on food supplemented with PE microplastics and adult flies’ fitness was studied. Fertility, locomotory and life span assays suggest that while microplastics in the diet affect D. melanogaster fitness, the expression of Demetra could help recovering it. At the same time, this work aimed to deepen our knowledge about Demetra enzymatic mechanism and its role in PE metabolism in G. mellonella. Different approaches for Demetra enzyme purification were attempted but were not successful. Demetra gene expression profile in G. mellonella fed on different substrates was studied and a higher expression rate of Demetra gene correlates with PE enrichment of standard diet or with a honey wax-based diet but not with a PE - only one.
Proof of concept experiment was realized to verify the possibility to implant external bacteria strains that usually can grow using chemically pre-treated PE (PE wax) as sole carbon source, in D. melanogaster larvae gut microbiota. Three strains isolated from PE – wax degrading consortium were able to survive on fly food supplemented with PE-wax. Larvae fed on it, retrieved all the three strains in their gut until pupation.
Finally, to advance the field of transgenic technology and genome manipulation in non-model organisms with plastic-degrading capability, such as G. mellonella, we have characterized new promoters that can be implemented in these applications
Eugenia Graziani Camillucci
No full textThe headword explains the biography and the contribution of the author Eugenia Graziani Camillucci to the children's literatur
The Ladder by Eugenia Kuznetsova: A queer reading of a wartime Ukrainian novel [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]
No full textThe article offers a queer phenomenological, after Sara Ahmed, and “queer world-making,” after José Muñoz, reading of the novel The Ladder (Драбина) by Ukrainian author Eugenia Kuznetsova. The article examines gendered dynamics in the novel, and draws attention to its queer moments and features: more specifically, “competitive queer world-making” where the protagonist and his family appear as minoritarian subjects; “expanded space of the war” and changing spatiotemporal gendered normativities of Ukrainian citizenship and nationhood mediated through the gadgets, and multiplicity of queer phenomenologist “straight lines” affecting the protagonist. The paper also argues for the necessity of employing further gender and queer perspectives in the analysis of wartime Ukrainian fiction literature
Innovative ventilated facade systems integrating multifoil RBS insulation: from 2D design to 3D model
No full textThis paper deals with the design of an innovative ventilated façade technological solution, which has been developed through subsequent steps, from 2D CAD project to 3D model, both virtual and physical. The design process will be carefully described in order to show how virtual prototyping and mock-up modeling are at the basis of complex design process management, enabling all construction process actors to take into consideration a number of variables concerning materials, products, installation procedures and construction time. Bi-dimensional design characterized mainly the initial study of the technical solution, leading to the definition of the functional layers needed to fulfill the performance targets together with their appropriate on-site installation.
Afterwards, reckoning that a virtual prototype would have certainly been useful to study interfaces and/or interferences among different elements, the work went through a 3D modeling phase which allowed the team to define specific functions of each system component down to the smallest detail, in order to identify and immediately solve any issue related to the installation. This is particularly significant when transferring any project to construction site, where a clear definition of installation procedures prior to initiation would obviously avoid time and costs variations due to unexpected problems related to components handling and operation. Finally, it is important to stress how tri-dimensional modeling has a central role in “communication”, as it allows both experts and non experts to understand immediately the key features of a project
Flying toward a plastic-free world: Can Drosophila serve as a model organism to develop new strategies of plastic waste management?
No full text: The last century was dominated by the widespread use of plastics, both in terms of invention and increased usage. The environmental challenge we currently face is not just about reducing plastic usage but finding new ways to manage plastic waste. Recycling is growing but remains a small part of the solution. There is increasing focus on studying organisms and processes that can break down plastics, offering a modern approach to addressing the environmental crisis. Here, we provide an overview of the organisms associated with plastics biodegradation, and we explore the potential of harnessing and integrating their genetic and biochemical features into a single organism, such as Drosophila melanogaster. The remarkable genetic engineering and microbiota manipulation tools available for this organism suggest that multiple features could be amalgamated and modeled in the fruit fly. We outline feasible genetic engineering and gut microbiome engraftment strategies to develop a new class of plastic-degrading organisms and discuss of both the potential benefits and the limitations of developing such engineered Drosophila melanogaster strains
150 Years after Dillmann’s Lexicon: Perspectives and Challenges of Gǝʿǝz Studies
No full textThe volume contains eleven essays which cast a look on the past, present, and future of Ge'ez (Classical Ethiopic) philological and linguistic studies on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the achievement of the Lexicon linguae Aethiopicae by August Dillmann, published in 1865. Most of the essays were presented at a conference convened by the ERC-project TraCES at the University of Hamburg in November 2015. On the one hand, they focus on the significance and importance of the Lexicon and of its author who was one of the greatest orientalists of the nineteenth century. Dillmann’s Lexicon has marked in-depth the development of Ethiopian and oriental studies. It still remains an indispensable tool for the analysis of Ge'ez style and phraseology, even though it has been surpassed by Wolf Leslau’s Comparative Dictionary of Ge'ez (1987), with respect to etymology and number of entries. On the other hand, the essays define more precisely which are (besides the obvious updating) the challenges posed by manuscripts, text editions, and epigraphic evidence emerged since 1865, with regard to Ge'ez language, orthography, lexicon and lexicography as well as digital humanities and corpus linguistics. The contributors are Maria Bulakh, Wolfgang Dickhut, Andreas Ellwardt, Serge A. Frantsouzoff, Martin Heide, Susanne Hummel, Manfred Kropp, Eugenia Sokolinski, Agostino Soldati, Cristina Vertan, Stefan Weninger, and Alessandro Bausi, who is also the editor of the volume
On using Directional Information for Parameter Space Decomposition in Ellipse Detection
No full textIn this paper we use the parametric polar representation to extend the application of edge directional information from circle to ellipse extraction. As a result we obtain a mapping which decomposes the parameter space required for ellipse extraction into two independent sub-spaces and one final histogram accumulator. The mapping includes the tangent of the angle of the first and second directional derivatives. These tangents are computed by considering edge direction at two border points. We show that the use of gradient information for parameter space decomposition avoids the intensive point labelling imposed by geometric constraints used by other approaches
Covalent organic frameworks for gas storage : a neural network-based molecular dynamics study
No full textauthor: Laura Eugenia Elisabeth Kronenberg, B.Sc.Kurzfassung in deutscher SpracheMasterarbeit Universität Innsbruck 202
Covalent organic frameworks for gas storage : a neural network-based molecular dynamics study
No full textauthor: Laura Eugenia Elisabeth Kronenberg, B.Sc.Kurzfassung in deutscher SpracheMasterarbeit Universität Innsbruck 202
Covalent organic frameworks for gas storage : a neural network-based molecular dynamics study
No full textauthor: Laura Eugenia Elisabeth Kronenberg, B.Sc.Kurzfassung in deutscher SpracheMasterarbeit Universität Innsbruck 202
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