646 research outputs found
A new class of separable Lagrangian systems generalizing Sawada–Kotera system
No full textSome characteristics of stationary flows of the Sawada–Kotera system lend themselves to generalization, producing a large class of separable Lagrangian systems with two degrees of freedom. All of these systems come in couples that have the same equations of motion, although they are not related by a gauge transform. Some nonpolynomial examples are provided
Nonlocal constants of motion in Lagrangian Dynamics of any order
No full textWe describe a recipe to generate ``nonlocal'' constants of motion for ODE Lagrangian systems. As a sample application, we recall a nonlocal constant of motion for dissipative mechanical systems, from which we can deduce global existence and estimates of solutions under fairly general assumptions. Then we review a generalization to Euler-Lagrange ODEs of order higher than two, leading to first integrals for the Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillator and other systems. Future developments may include adaptations of the theory to Euler-Lagrange PDEs
Plant Virus Nanoparticles for Vaccine Applications.
No full text-In the rapidly evolving field of nanotechnology, plant virus nanoparticles (pVNPs) are emerging as powerful tools in diverse applications ranging from biomedicine to materials science. The proteinaceous structure of plant viruses allows the capsid structure to be modified by genetic engineering and/or chemical conjugation with nanoscale precision. This means that pVNPs can be engineered to display peptides and proteins on their external surface, including immunodominant peptides derived from pathogens allowing pVNPs to be used for active immunization. In this context, pVNPs are safer than VNPs derived from mammalian viruses because there is no risk of infection or reversion to pathogenicity. Furthermore, pVNPs can be produced rapidly and inexpensively in natural host plants or heterologous production platforms. In this review, we discuss the use of pVNPs for the delivery of peptide antigens to the host immune in pre-clinical studies with the final aim of promoting systemic immunity against the corresponding pathogens. Furthermore, we described the versatility of plant viruses, with innate immunostimulatory properties, in providing a huge natural resource of carriers that can be used to develop the next generation of sustainable vaccines
Plant-Based Systems for Vaccine Production
No full text: Plant systems have been used as biofactories to produce recombinant proteins since 1983. The huge amount of data, collected so far in this framework, suggests that plants display several key advantages over existing traditional platforms when they are intended for therapeutic uses, including safety, scalability, and the speed in obtaining the final product.Here, we describe a method that could be applied for the expression and production of a candidate subunit vaccine in Nicotiana benthamiana plants by transient expression, defining all the protocols starting from plant cultivation to target recombinant protein purification
In the shadow of the church: the building of mosques in early medieval Syria
No full textIn his book In the Shadow of the Church: The Building of Mosques in Early Medieval Syria Mattia Guidetti examines the establishment of Muslim religious architecture within the Christian context in which it first appeared in the Syrian region, contributing to the debate on the transformation of late antique society to a Muslim one. He scrutinizes the slow process of conversion to Islam of the most important town centers by looking at religious places of both communities between the seventh and the eleventh century. The author assesses the relevancy of churches by analyzing the location of mosques and by researching phenomena of transfer of marble material from churches to mosques
mRNA stability and the unfolding of gene expression in the long-period yeast metabolic cycle
No full textIn yeast, genome-wide periodic patterns associated with energy-metabolic oscillations have been shown recently for both short (approx. 40 min) and long (approx. 300 min) periods. The dynamical regulation due to mRNA stability is found to be an important aspect of the genome-wide coordination of the long-period yeast metabolic cycle. It is shown that for periodic genes, arranged in classes according either to expression profile or to function, the pulses of mRNA abundance have phase and width which are directly proportional to the corresponding turnover rates. The cascade of events occurring during the yeast metabolic cycle (and their correlation with mRNA turnover) reflects to a large extent the gene expression program observable in other dynamical contexts such as the response to stresses/stimuli
Acqua. Sopratraccia, sottotraccia
No full textNella Tenuta di Castelporziano la presenza di acqua dolce e acqua salata caratterizza i diversi ambienti naturali. L’interazione tra i due sistemi segue regole complesse. Le misurazioni tradizionali non riescono a restituire con chiarezza l’entità e la geometria delle forze che quotidianamente scambiano “sopratraccia e sottotraccia”, è quindi necessario un approccio di studio più trasversale, che tenga in considerazione oltre alla dimensione scientifica del fenomeno anche quella paesaggistica e storico-culturale, soprattutto per la presenza nel suolo dei resti archeologici di epoca romana.
Si propone pertanto una struttura di indagine progettuale articolata in tre scenari di approfondimento.
Il primo livello, conoscitivo, rappresenta una fotografia dell’attuale geografia delle acque e un focus sugli aspetti storici circa le interferenze tra l’idrografia, i sistemi naturali, antropici ed archeologici.
Il secondo livello, interpretativo, riguarda la rappresentazione grafica e la spazializzazione delle dinamiche che intercorrono tra il sistema d’acqua dolce e quello d’acqua salata, nonché una stima di come potrebbero evolversi nel futuro.
Il terzo livello, propositivo, identifica possibili scenari progettuali - coerenti alle proiezioni che la letteratura scientifica delinea sui cambiamenti climatici - schemi “aperti” di assetto supportati da azioni strategiche tarate sia sul breve che sul lungo periodo
Investigating the conformational stability of prion strains through a kinetic replication model.
No full textPrion proteins are known to misfold into a range of different aggregated forms, showing different phenotypic and pathological states. Understanding strain specificities is an important problem in the field of prion disease. Little is known about which PrP(Sc) structural properties and molecular mechanisms determine prion replication, disease progression and strain phenotype. The aim of this work is to investigate, through a mathematical model, how the structural stability of different aggregated forms can influence the kinetics of prion replication. The model-based results suggest that prion strains with different conformational stability undergoing in vivo replication are characterizable in primis by means of different rates of breakage. A further role seems to be played by the aggregation rate (i.e. the rate at which a prion fibril grows). The kinetic variability introduced in the model by these two parameters allows us to reproduce the different characteristic features of the various strains (e.g., fibrils' mean length) and is coherent with all experimental observations concerning strain-specific behavior
Interaction of EBV latent origin of replication with the nuclear matrix:identificatio of S/MAR sequences and protein components
No full textAbstractDuring latency, Epstein Barr virus (EBV) genome, as an episome, is attached to the nuclear matrix (NM) via the latent origin of replication ori P. Within this element, we have found that a region, 580 bp long, encompassing the replicator DS element, shows the strongest affinity for the NM. In addition, by cross-linking with cis-diamminedichloroplatinum, we have identified two NM proteins with an apparent molecular weight of 85 and 60 kDa that, with high affinity and specificity, bind ori P. These proteins are not induced by EBV infection, but their interaction with ori P is lost upon induction of EBV lytic cycle. These data strongly suggest that the binding of ori P to specific components of the NM is required for EBV latent replication
RESVERATROL-INDUCED AUTOPHAGY CONTRIBUTES TO THE INHIBITION OF EPSTEIN BARR VIRUS REPLICATION IN BURKITT’S LYMPHOMA CELLS
No full textRESVERATROL-INDUCED AUTOPHAGY CONTRIBUTES TO THE INHIBITION OF EPSTEIN BARR VIRUS REPLICATION IN BURKITT’S LYMPHOMA CELLS
De Leo Alessandra (a), Colavita Francesca (a), Arena Giuseppe (b), Mattia Elena (a)
(a) Dip. di Scienze di Sanità Pubblica e Malattie Infettive “Sanarelli”, Univ. di Roma “Sapienza”
(b) Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza Hospital, CSS-Mendel Institute, Roma
Presenting author: De Leo Alessandra, [email protected]
We have previously examined the antiviral activity of resveratrol on the replication of Epstein Barr Virus (EBV), the etiologic agent of infectious mononucleosis and associated with several types of malignancies of epithelial and lymphoid origin.
In a cellular context that allows in vitro EBV activation and lytic cycle progression through mechanisms closely resembling those that in vivo initiate and enable productive infection, we found that RV inhibited EBV lytic genes expression and the production of viral particles in a dose-dependent manner
- …
