2,868 research outputs found
The inhibition of the apoptosis pathway by the Coxiella burnetii effector protein CaeA requires the EK repetition motif, but is independent of survivin
Coxiella burnetii is an obligate intracellular bacterium that causes Query (Q) fever, a zoonotic disease. It requires a functional type IV secretion system (T4SS) which translocate bacterial effector proteins into the host cell cytoplasm and thereby facilitates bacterial replication. To date, more than 130 effector proteins have been identified, but their functions remain largely unknown. Recently, we demonstrated that one of these proteins, CaeA (CBU1524) localized to the host cell nucleus and inhibited intrinsic apoptosis of HEK293 or CHO cells. In the present study we addressed the question whether CaeA also affects the extrinsic apoptosis pathway. Ectopic expression of CaeA reduced extrinsic apoptosis and prevented the cleavage of the executioner caspase 7, but did not impair the activation of initiator caspase 9. CaeA expression resulted in an up-regulation of survivin (an inhibitor of activated caspases), which, however, was not causal for the anti-apoptotic effect of CaeA. Comparing the sequence of CaeA from 25 different C. burnetii isolates we identified an EK (glutamic acid/ lysine) repetition motif as a site of high genetic variability. The EK motif of CaeA was essential for the anti-apoptotic activity of CaeA. From these data, we conclude that the C. burnetii effector protein CaeA interferes with the intrinsic and extrinsic apoptosis pathway. The process requires the EK repetition motif of CaeA, but is independent of the upregulated expression of survivin.This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB796 project B8) to AL and by the ERA-NET PathoGenoMics 3rd call to AL and JPG
Commune agroecosystem analysis to support decision making for water allocation for fisheries and agriculture in the Tonle Sap wetland system
The Project on Commune Agroecosystem Analysis to Support Decision Making for Water Allocation
for Fisheries and Agriculture in the Tonle Sap Wetland System was undertaken with the aim of
improving fisheries considerations in the Commune Agroecosystem Analysis (CAEA) process
undertaken in Cambodia, to facilitate better planning at the commune level. Under this project a
number of changes were made to the CAEA tools and process and pilot tested in an adaptive,
iterative manner in four communes – two that had conducted a CAEA previously and two that had
not. Results and analyses indicated that the project had significantly strengthened the manner in
which livelihoods, water resources and fisheries are now addressed by CAEA. The revised CAEA
guidance manual has also shown potential for having wider uptake, and a number of tools have
been used by several other projects within Cambodia
Null-Brane Solutions in Supergravities
We find a new class of time-dependent brane solutions in supergravities in
arbitrary dimensions . These are general intersecting light-like branes
(null-branes), and their superposition and intersection rules are obtained.
This is achieved by directly solving bosonic field equations for supergravity
coupled to a dilaton and antisymmetric tensor fields. We discuss their possible
significance.Comment: 12 pages, v2: minor corrections, refs. added, v3: expressions of the
solutions modifie
Intersection Rules for S-Branes
We give a model-independent derivation of general intersecting rules for
spacelike branes (S-branes) in arbitrary dimensions . This is achieved by
directly solving bosonic field equations for supergravity coupled to a dilaton
and antisymmetric tensor fields with minimal ans\"{a}tze. We compare the
results with those in eleven-dimensional supergravity and other solutions.Comment: 11 pages, v2: minor corrections, v3: minor corrections, v4: a typo
corrected, to appear in PL
Equivalence of Local and Separable Realizations of the Discontinuity-Inducing Contact Interaction and Its Perturbative Renormalizability
We prove that the separable and local approximations of the
discontinuity-inducing zero-range interaction in one-dimensional quantum
mechanics are equivalent. We further show that the interaction allows the
perturbative treatment through the coupling renormalization.
Keywords: one-dimensional system, generalized contact interaction,
renormalization, perturbative expansion. PACS Nos: 3.65.-w, 11.10.Gh, 31.15.MdComment: ReVTeX 7pgs, doubl column, no figure, See also the website
http://www.mech.kochi-tech.ac.jp/cheon
BPS pp-wave brane cosmological solutions in string theory
We construct time dependent BPS pp-wave brane solutions in the context of
M-theory and type II supergravity. It is found that N-brane solutions we
considered satisfy the crossing rule as S-brane solutions but 1/8 supersymmetry
remains. By applying them to the cosmological setting, inflationary solutions
are obtained. During this inflation, the size of the extradimensions becomes
smaller than our four-dimensional spacetime dynamically. We also discuss the
mechanism for terminating this inflation and recovering the hot big-bang
universe.Comment: 10 page
Independent Evaluation of the Jim Joseph Foundation's Education Initiative Year 4 Report
Research indicates that well-prepared educators help produce strong learning outcomes for students. For the continued health of Jewish education, higher education institutions should have the capacity to prepare sufficient numbers of highly qualified educators and education leaders for careers in Jewish education. Teachers, division heads, and school heads represent a substantial segment of the educator population in Jewish day schools. More than 5,000 educators enter new positions in Jewish day schools every year and are in need of adequate preparation. The most frequent obstacle to instructional quality in Jewish day schools is the difficulty in recruiting qualified teachers (Ben-Avie & Kress, 2006; Jewish Education Service of North America, 2008; Kidron et al., in press; Krakowski, 2011; Sales, 2007).A similar problem has been observed in supplementary schools in congregational or communal settings. These schools enroll the majority of Jewish children and adolescents receiving a Jewish education in the United States (Wertheimer, 2008). In recent years, congregations have begun to replace traditional educational programs with new approaches that aim to raise the quality of instruction and the level of parent and student satisfaction relative to their programs. These new approaches may include greater integration of experiential Jewish education and community service, family learning, and the integration of all aspects of congregational learning under the leadership of one director (Rechtschaffen, 2011; Sales, Samuel, Koren, & Shain, 2010). High-quality programs that are updated or reconstructed across time to meet the needs of the Jewish community require well-prepared directors and educators. However, many directors and educators in congregational schools have not participated in teacher preparation programs, and the depth of Jewish content knowledge among these teachers is highly variable (Stodolsky, Dorph, & Rosov, 2008)
Integrating fish resources to agro-ecosystem analyses
In October 2005, a consortium of partners led by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) proposed a project aimed at integrating fish resources management in agricultural management in the Tonle Sap area. This 2-years project assistance was accepted for funding by the Challenge Program on Water and Food and started in January 2008. The overall goal of this project is to improve allocation and use of water in combined farming and fishing systems in order to enhance food security of rural communities and water productivity. The general objectives of the Fisheries component are: 1) to contribute to the review of existing fisheries and aquaculture information, assessment and data collection systems and existing databases from a fisheries perspective 2) to determine key questions that could be asked at the commune level that would enable the identification of fisheries issues for different agroecosystem zones. These would include both threats and potential threats to fisheries based on key ecological variables and opportunities that fisheries and aquaculture could represent in local livelihoods.Research, Lake fisheries, Agropisciculture, Ecosystems, Analysis, Cambodia, Tonle Sap L.,
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