1,721,001 research outputs found
Molecular and Cellular Approaches for Establishment of an In Vitro Spermatogenesis System
Centrosomes and cell division in apicomplexa
Apicomplexans are curious single-celled organisms. Belonging to the group of chromalveolates, life for an apicomplexan can be parasitic and some species can cause diseases such as malaria or toxoplasmosis. No apicomplexan is alike, although they share some common features such as being highly polar cells with unique apical organelles. They often change the cells of their metazoan hosts. When they move, apicomplexans do not crawl but glide; when they divide, apicomplexans go through mechanisms matched in cell biological bizarreness only by their names. They undergo schizogony or endodyogeny, processes that are usually not part of a regular molecular cell biology textbook; but they should, as their uniqueness might lead to insights into what proteins and processes are truly essential to make progeny. Here we highlight some of our current knowledge of centrosome and microtubule biology of selected apicomplexan parasites for the yeast and metazoan cell biologist to contemplate
Applications of Microscopy in <i>Salmonella </i>Research
Salmonella enterica is a Gram-negative enteropathogen that can cause localized infections, typically resulting in gastroenteritis, or systemic infection, e.g., typhoid fever, in humans and many other animals. Understanding the mechanisms by which Salmonella induces disease has been the focus of intensive research. This has revealed that Salmonella invasion requires dynamic cross-talk between the microbe and host cells, in which bacterial adherence rapidly leads to a complex sequence of cellular responses initiated by proteins translocated into the host cell by a type 3 secretion system. Once these Salmonella-induced responses have resulted in bacterial invasion, proteins translocated by a second type 3 secretion system initiate further modulation of cellular activities to enable survival and replication of the invading pathogen. Elucidation of the complex and highly dynamic pathogen–host interactions ultimately requires analysis at the level of single cells and single infection events. To achieve this goal, researchers have applied a diverse range of microscopy techniques to analyze Salmonella infection in models ranging from whole animal to isolated cells and simple eukaryotic organisms. For example, electron microscopy and high-resolution light microscopy techniques such as confocal microscopy can reveal the precise location of Salmonella and its relationship to cellular components. Widefield light microscopy is a simpler approach with which to study the interaction of bacteria with host cells and often has advantages for live cell imaging, enabling detailed analysis of the dynamics of infection and cellular responses. Here we review the use of imaging techniques in Salmonella research and compare the capabilities of different classes of microscope to address specific types of research question. We also provide protocols and notes on some microscopy techniques used routinely in our own research
High resolution scanning electron microscopy of the nuclear surface in Herpes Simplex Virus 1 infected cells
Toward Development of Pluripotent Porcine Stem Cells by Road Mapping Early Embryonic Development
The lack in production of bona fide porcine pluripotent stem cells has definitely been hampered by a lack of research into porcine embryo development. Embryonic development in mammals is the extraordinary transition of a single-celled fertilized zygote into a complex fetus, which occurs in the uterus of the maternal adult during the early stages of gestation. Biomedical pig models could serve as genetic backgrounds for establishment of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) or other pluripotent stem cells (such as iPSC), which may be used to model and study diseases in vitro. This chapter provides insight into the current knowledge of pluripotent states in the developing pig embryo and the current status in establishment of bona fide porcine ESC (pESC) and piPSCs. It reflects the potential causes underlying the difficulty in establishing pluripotent stem cells and reviews recent data on global profiling of the pluripotent states in this species
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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