399 research outputs found
Evaluation of the efficiency of synthesized efflux pump inhibitors on salmonella enterica ser. typhimurium cells
No full textMultidrug efflux pump inhibitors have a great potential
as pharmacological agents that increase the drug susceptibility
of bacterial pathogens. Our study was
focused on the synthesis and evaluation of the efficiency
of resistance–nodulation–division (RND) family
efflux pump inhibitors. The efficiency of these inhibitors
was investigated on Salmonella enterica ser. typhimurium
cells using tetraphenylphosphonium (TPP+) and
ethidium cations as the efflux pump substrates. Results
of our study indicated that efficiency of the inhibitors
depends on the cell outer membrane permeability and
method of the assay used. Temperature of the incubation
medium and a solvent of the inhibitor used have
only minor effect on results of the assay
Biopolymers from Urban Organic Waste: Influence of the Solid Retention Time to Cycle Length Ratio in the Enrichment of a Mixed Microbial Culture (MMC)
Get PDFIn this study, the performance of the selection process for polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production from mixed microbial cultures (MMCs) at pilot scale was deeply investigated with the solid retention time (SRT) to cycle length (CL) ratio as main affecting parameter. Four different runs were tested by varying the SRT/CL ratio maintaining the same organic loading rate (OLR). The pilot-scale selection and accumulation reactors were fed with a fermented mixture of source-selected organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) and waste activated sludge (WAS), refined with a centrifuge and membrane unit for the coarse solid removal. The selected biomass obtained in the most performing run was characterized by a specific storage rate of 375 mg CODP/g CODXa h and a storage yield of 0.46 CODP/CODSOL.
Accumulations performed with the same biomass were characterized by a storage yield of 0.62 CODP/CODVFA. The microbiome composition was assessed. In the most performing run, putative PHA-storing bacteria affiliated with Paracoccus genus were found at high abundance (36.8%), in contrast to all other runs. An overall PHA yield of 110 g PHA/kg VS was estimated for the best scenario, revealing an interesting perspective for biorefinery technology chains based on the three-stage process for PHA production
Digital Media and Knowledge Production Within Social Movements: Insights From the Transition Movement in Italy
Get PDFsponsorship: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This article grounds in research activites carried out in the period 2016-2017 within the framework of the project "MAKERS- Movements as knowledge producers and learning spaces in the digital age" funded by the Scuola Normale Superiore. (Scuola Normale Superiore)status: Publishe
Visualization of the three-dimensional structure of the human centromere in mitotic chromosomes by super-resolution microscopy
Get PDFThe human centromere comprises large arrays of repetitive alpha-satellite DNA at the primary constriction of mitotic chromosomes. In addition, centromeres are epigenetically specified by the centromere-specific histone H3 variant CENP-A that supports kinetochore assembly to enable chromosome segregation. Since CENP-A is bound to only a fraction of the alpha-satellite elements within the megabase-sized centromere DNA, correlating the three-dimensional (3D) organization of alpha-satellite DNA and CENP-A remains elusive. To visualize centromere organization within a single chromatid, we used a combination of the Centromere Chromosome Orientation Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization (Cen-CO-FISH) technique together with Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM). Cen-CO-FISH allows the differential labeling of the sister chromatids without the denaturation step used in conventional FISH that may affect DNA structure. Our data indicate that alpha-satellite DNA is arranged in a ring-like organization within prometaphase chromosomes, in presence or absence of spindle's microtubules. Using expansion microscopy (ExM), we found that CENP-A organization within mitotic chromosomes follows a rounded pattern similar to that of alpha-satellite DNA, often visible as a ring thicker at the outer surface oriented towards the kinetochore-microtubules interface. Collectively, our data provide a 3D reconstruction of alpha-satellite DNA along with CENP-A clusters that outline the overall architecture of the mitotic centromere. [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text
Esiste in Italia un diritto al figlio sano? (Riflessioni a margine della causa Costa et Pavan vs Italia)
No full textThe author, starting from the case Costa et Pavan vs Italy decided by the European Court of Human Rights, poses the question about the existence in Italy of the right to a healthy son. In the light of the data both legislative and jurisprudential, she concludes to deny the existence of such a right in italian law and casts doubt on the power of the Strasbourg Court to take basic policy decisions on "new rights", for which there are no specific constitutional requirements and there is a tragic conflict about them within society and societies
In Dowland’s Own Words: Poetry and Rhetoric in ‘Flow My Tears’ and ‘Lachrimae’ Pavan
No full textJohn Dowland (1563–1626) was among the finest lute players of his time and is widely recognized as the greatest English composer of lute music and lute song. Despite there being nearly 100 sources containing Dowland’s music, only 10 per cent of these can be directly connected to Dowland, and only his single-author songbooks can be considered authoritative texts. As a result, modern scholar-performers are required to look beyond the tablature to identify Dowland’s personal performance style, seeking justification for interpretive decisions in other historical sources. While treatises and organology dominate historical performance research, Dowland’s contrafacts—pieces existing as both songs and instrumental dances—offer equally valuable insights. This article focuses on the most famous example of this musical interrelationship: the instrumental solo ‘Lachrimae’ pavan and the corresponding lute song ‘Flow My Tears.’ The published lute song provides an important opportunity to directly examine an authoritative Dowland composition, with particular focus on his treatment of rhetorical devices, word stress, articulations, and punctuation. Although the links to the original instrumental pavan are not always immediately clear or easy to identify, once established, they provide robust opportunities to learn from the vocal version when interpreting the related solo piece
Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste Recovery by Conversion into Added-Value Polyhydroxyalkanoates and Biogas
No full textThe integrated-multistage process proposed herein is a practical example of a biorefinery platform in which the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) is used as a valued source for polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and biogas production. Technical and economical feasibilities of this approach have been demonstrated at pilot-scale, providing a possible upgrade to traditional biowaste management practices, presently based on anaerobic digestion (AD). A pH-controlled OFMSW fermentation stage produced a liquid VFA-rich stream with a high VFA/CODSOL ratio (0.90 COD/COD) that was easily used in the following aerobic stages for biomass and PHA production. The solid fraction was valorized into biogas through AD, obtaining energy and minimizing secondary flux waste generation. The reliable biomass enrichment was demonstrated by a stable feast-famine regime and supported by microbial community analysis. The selected consortium accumulated PHA up to 55% wt. Compared to the traditional AD process in an urban scenario of 900000 AE, the integrated approach for OFMSW valorization is preferable, and it is characterized by an electrical energy production of 85.7 MWh/d and 1.976 t/d as PHA productivity. The proposed process was also evaluated as economically sustainable if the PHA is marketed from 0.90 €/kg as the minimum threshold to a higher market price
- …
