81 research outputs found
RelA/NF-kappaB recruitment on the bax gene promoter antagonizes p73-dependent apoptosis in costimulated T cells
The balance between antiapoptotic and proapoptotic proteins of the Bcl-2 family is critical in determining the fate of T cells in response to death stimuli. Proapoptotic genes, such as bax, are generally regulated by the p53 family of transcription factors, whereas NF-kappaB subunits can activate the transcription of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 members. Here, we show that CD28 activation protects memory T cells from irradiation-induced apoptosis by both upregulating bcl-xL and inhibiting bax gene expression. We found that p73, but not p53, binds to and trans-activates the bax gene promoter in irradiated T cells. The activation of RelA/NF-kappaB subunit in CD28 costimulated T cells and its binding onto the bax gene promoter results in suppression of bax transcription and decrease in both p73 and RNA polymerase II recruitment in vivo. RelA recruitment on the bax gene promoter is also accompanied by the lost of p300 binding and the parallel appearance of histone deacetylase-1-containing complexes. These findings identify RelA/NF-kappaB as a critical regulator of T-cell survival by affecting the balance of Bcl-2 family members
Energy Improvement in the Building Sector: An Economic Analysis Relating to the Most Common Italian Masonry
The construction sector is a major contributor to total energy consumption, therefore, it is crucial to adopt energy efficiency strategies capable of reducing energy impact in buildings. Among these strategies, exterior wall insulation is one of the most cost-effective options to achieve energy savings for both newly constructed and renovated buildings. In this paper, based on an economic analysis, we aim to determine the economically optimal thickness of insulation material to be used for retrofit interventions of masonry structures. The study analyzes 10 different insulating materials and 5 masonry structures widespread in Italy. The results show that each masonry structure requires a careful evaluation of the thickness of the insulating material to be applied in retrofit operations. Moreover, varying the type of insulating material used, even if applied to the same wall structure, there are different levels of thickness to be applied in order to optimize the performance of the structure
The Impact of Treated Urban Wastewaters and Flood Discharge on the Quality of Bathing Water
What do we know about the Adriatic Sea and the state of its health [...
2D continuous spectrum of shear Alfven waves in the presence of a magnetic island
The radial structure of the continuous spectrum of shear Alfven modes is
calculated in the presence of a magnetic island in tokamak plasmas. Modes with
the same helicity of the magnetic island are considered in a slab model
approximation. In this framework, with an appropriate rotation of the
coordinates the problem reduces to 2 dimensions. Geometrical effects due to the
shape of the flux surface's cross section are retained to all orders. On the
other hand, we keep only curvature effects responsible of the beta induced gap
in the low-frequency part of the continuous spectrum. New continuum
accumulation points are found at the O-point of the magnetic island. The
beta-induced Alfven Eigenmodes (BAE) continuum accumulation point is found to
be positioned at the separatrix flux surface. The most remarkable result is the
nonlinear modification of the BAE continuum accumulation point frequency
The Interreg Project AdSWiM: Managed Use of Treated Wastewater for the Quality of the Adriatic Sea
The Italy-Croatia Cross Border Cooperation (CBC) Programme is the financial instrument supporting the cooperation between the two European Member States overlooking the Adriatic Sea. The first call for proposals was launched in 2017, identifying four priority axes of intervention. Subsequently, in 2019, the kick-off of the AdSWiM project âManaged use of treated urban wastewater for the quality of the Adriatic Seaâ took place in Udine (IT). Adriatic marine waters are generally classified as good to excellent based on the Bathing Water Directive (2006/7/EC). Nevertheless, issues of low productivity or the lack of nutrients have been often suggested, especially on the Italian side. The project addresses the question of whether wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) discharging to the sea, after applying appropriate pollution control and management technologies, can modulate the nutrient content of their effluents to support localized depleted areas. This idea is borrowed from one of the motivations that support the reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation, thus leading to the return of nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, etc.) to natural biogeochemical cycles. However, the hypothesis of modulating the nutrient composition of wastewater opens up to several critical aspects, including legislative and technological ones. Being aware of the delicate environmental implications, we have undertaken the project involving WWTPs, research centers, municipalities, and legal experts with the aim of investigating in detail the problems related to wastewater reuse, especially with regard to the content of nutrients. Our experimental approach aimed to evaluate appropriate and possibly new treatment technologies to reduce the microbial load and to implement chemical and microbiological tests on the treated wastewater. Results have shown that it can be tricky to draw decisive conclusions because (i) the wastewater management systems differ between the two sides of the Adriatic sea due to the different levels of technological development of WWTPs; (ii) the Italian and Croatian coasts deeply differ in geographic characteristics (i.e., topography, orography, current circuits, presence of rivers) and anthropogenic pressure (i.e., exploitation levels, population density); (iii) the new treatment technologies to lower bacterial contamination need further efforts to raise their technological level of readiness (TRL) and make them implementable in the existing WWTPs. However, in terms of chemical control methodologies, the proposed sensors and biosensors gave positive results, managing to decrease the detection limits for the measured parameters, and the tested technologies for microbiological monitoring were also effective. In particular, the latter was carried out by using recent molecular biology techniques, capable of resolving the microbiota in treated wastewater, which emerged to be strictly related to the features of the WWTPs
Dynamical correlations and collective excitations of Yukawa liquids
In dusty (complex) plasmas, containing mesoscopic charged grains, the
grain-grain interaction in many cases can be well described through a Yukawa
potential. In this Review we summarize the basics of the computational and
theoretical approaches capable of describing many-particle Yukawa systems in
the liquid and solid phases and discuss the properties of the dynamical density
and current correlation spectra of three- and two-dimensional strongly coupled
Yukawa systems, generated by molecular dynamics simulations. We show details of
the dispersion relations for the collective excitations in these
systems, as obtained theoretically following the quasilocalized charge
approximation, as well as from the fluctuation spectra created by simulations.
The theoretical and simulation results are also compared with those obtained in
complex plasma experiments.Comment: 54 pages, 31 figure
Jets, Stickiness and Anomalous Transport
Dynamical and statistical properties of the vortex and passive particle
advection in chaotic flows generated by four and sixteen point vortices are
investigated. General transport properties of these flows are found anomalous
and exhibit a superdiffusive behavior with typical second moment exponent (\mu
\sim 1.75). The origin of this anomaly is traced back to the presence of
coherent structures within the flow, the vortex cores and the region far from
where vortices are located. In the vicinity of these regions stickiness is
observed and the motion of tracers is quasi-ballistic. The chaotic nature of
the underlying flow dictates the choice for thorough analysis of transport
properties. Passive tracer motion is analyzed by measuring the mutual relative
evolution of two nearby tracers. Some tracers travel in each other vicinity for
relatively large times. This is related to an hidden order for the tracers
which we call jets. Jets are localized and found in sticky regions. Their
structure is analyzed and found to be formed of a nested sets of jets within
jets. The analysis of the jet trapping time statistics shows a quantitative
agreement with the observed transport exponent.Comment: 17 pages, 17 figure
Energy Metabolism in H460 Lung Cancer Cells: Effects of Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors
BACKGROUND: Tumor cells are characterized by accelerated growth usually accompanied by up-regulated pathways that ultimately increase the rate of ATP production. These cells can suffer metabolic reprogramming, resulting in distinct bioenergetic phenotypes, generally enhancing glycolysis channeled to lactate production. In the present work we showed metabolic reprogramming by means of inhibitors of histone deacetylase (HDACis), sodium butyrate and trichostatin. This treatment was able to shift energy metabolism by activating mitochondrial systems such as the respiratory chain and oxidative phosphorylation that were largely repressed in the untreated controls. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Various cellular and biochemical parameters were evaluated in lung cancer H460 cells treated with the histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis), sodium butyrate (NaB) and trichostatin A (TSA). NaB and TSA reduced glycolytic flux, assayed by lactate release by H460 cells in a concentration dependent manner. NaB inhibited the expression of glucose transporter type 1 (GLUT 1), but substantially increased mitochondria bound hexokinase (HK) activity. NaB induced increase in HK activity was associated to isoform HK I and was accompanied by 1.5 fold increase in HK I mRNA expression and cognate protein biosynthesis. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and pyruvate kinase (PYK) activities were unchanged by HDACis suggesting that the increase in the HK activity was not coupled to glycolytic flux. High resolution respirometry of H460 cells revealed NaB-dependent increased rates of oxygen consumption coupled to ATP synthesis. Metabolomic analysis showed that NaB altered the glycolytic metabolite profile of intact H460 cells. Concomitantly we detected an activation of the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP). The high O(2) consumption in NaB-treated cells was shown to be unrelated to mitochondrial biogenesis since citrate synthase (CS) activity and the amount of mitochondrial DNA remained unchanged. CONCLUSION: NaB and TSA induced an increase in mitochondrial function and oxidative metabolism in H460 lung tumor cells concomitant with a less proliferative cellular phenotype
Milk coagulation properties and methods of detection
ABSTRACT: One of the most crucial steps in cheesemaking is the coagulation process, and knowledge of the parameters involved in the clotting process plays an important technological role in the dairy industry. Milk of different ruminant species vary in terms of their coagulation capacities because they are influenced by the milk composition and mainly by the milk protein genetic variants. The milk coagulation capacity can be measured by means of mechanical and/or optical devices, such as Lactodynamographic Analysis and Near-Infrared and Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy
Fast and Reversible FourâElectron Storage Enabled by Ethyl Viologen for Rechargeable Magnesium Batteries
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