Insights on the second phase of the multidisciplinary study of the Viceroys portrait gallery at Goa, India

"Old Goa Revelations" is an international collaborative project dedicated to the research of a shared heritage collection associated to the Portuguese Presence in India (1505 – 1961). The upper halls of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Museum in Old Goa, display the portrait gallery of these Viceroys and Governors who administrated these territories and used to commission their depictions before leaving their post. During the 400 years span of this gallery several interventions took place, leaving up to 4 full overpaints over the original compositions of the 16th and 17th centuries. Unfortunately, these can only be appreciated by comparing them with contemporaneous illustrations, which is hampered due to poor-quality restorations dating from the 19th c.: these completely altered the original paintings. The restoration process of 6 paintings in Lisbon during the 1950’s highlighted the complexity of undertaking irreversible procedures, such as the removal of repaints, in objects with such high documental value. Considering that these repaints also act as a protection of the original layers from the subtropical climate of Goa, what should be the best approach? Since 2019, The creation of a collaborative project[1] between the custodian and Portuguese research units enabled a comprehensive and multidisciplinary scientific study of the collection, supported by a mobile campaign, encompassing imaging techniques such as photography (visible and raking light), Infrared Reflectography and X-ray Radiography, complemented with non-destructive analytical approaches such as XRF spectrometry (point analysis), a Mobile macro-XRF mapping and mobile Raman spectrometry. The aims of this multidisciplinary research are the identification, characterization and contextualization of the existing layers, to assist to the interpretation of the collection, as well as it supports decision making towards long term preservation. Moreover, another important goal is the organization of a new exhibition narrative, where the public will have visual access to the information in each of these layers, allowing a different experience of the collection.FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia. Projeto Exploratório 2022.10305.PTDC; Fundação Orient

Riociguat treatment in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension: Final safety data from the EXPERT registry

Objective: The soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator riociguat is approved for the treatment of adult patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and inoperable or persistent/recurrent chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) following Phase

Whole-genome sequencing reveals host factors underlying critical COVID-19

Critical COVID-19 is caused by immune-mediated inflammatory lung injury. Host genetic variation influences the development of illness requiring critical care1 or hospitalization2,3,4 after infection with SARS-CoV-2. The GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care) study enables the comparison of genomes from individuals who are critically ill with those of population controls to find underlying disease mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome sequencing in 7,491 critically ill individuals compared with 48,400 controls to discover and replicate 23 independent variants that significantly predispose to critical COVID-19. We identify 16 new independent associations, including variants within genes that are involved in interferon signalling (IL10RB and PLSCR1), leucocyte differentiation (BCL11A) and blood-type antigen secretor status (FUT2). Using transcriptome-wide association and colocalization to infer the effect of gene expression on disease severity, we find evidence that implicates multiple genes—including reduced expression of a membrane flippase (ATP11A), and increased expression of a mucin (MUC1)—in critical disease. Mendelian randomization provides evidence in support of causal roles for myeloid cell adhesion molecules (SELE, ICAM5 and CD209) and the coagulation factor F8, all of which are potentially druggable targets. Our results are broadly consistent with a multi-component model of COVID-19 pathophysiology, in which at least two distinct mechanisms can predispose to life-threatening disease: failure to control viral replication; or an enhanced tendency towards pulmonary inflammation and intravascular coagulation. We show that comparison between cases of critical illness and population controls is highly efficient for the detection of therapeutically relevant mechanisms of disease

Oklahoma Neuigkeiten

Weekly German newspaper from Perry, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising

Transcriptional regulation of the rat bradykinin B2 receptor gene: Identification of a silencer element

Kinins are involved in a variety of physiological and pathophysiological processes related to cardiovascular homeostasis, inflammation, blood flow, and nociception. Under physiological conditions, the bradykinin B2 (BKB2) receptor is constitutively expressed and mediates most of kinins' actions. However, the mechanisms regulating BKB2 receptor gene expression are still poorly understood. In this study, 4.6 kilobases of the 5′-flanking region from the rat BKB2 receptor gene were sequenced, and computer analysis revealed several sites for transcriptional factors. Nine promoter mutants were cloned in luciferase reporter gene vectors and transfected in NG108-15 cells and rat aorta vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), showing several positive and negative regulatory elements. A classical silencer with 56 base pairs (bp) caused a decrease in reporter gene activity in NG108-15 cells and VSMCs and was able to inhibit the thymidine kinase promoter. Using electrophoretic mobility shift assay and surface plasmon resonance assay, protein-DNA interactions in the silencer region were determined and specific sets of protein-silencer complexes were detected in both cell types. More intense complexes were observed in the central 21 bp of the silencer and mutation in a putative SRE-1 site strongly impaired the protein-DNA binding. Down-regulation of the BKB2 receptor population in NG108-15 cells promoted by N6, 2′-O-dibutyryladenosine 3′:5′-cyclic monophosphate was paralleled by an increase in the amount of nuclear proteins bound to the silencer sequence showing an inverse relationship between protein-silencer complexes and the transcription of the BKB2 receptor gene. In summary, these data highlight the cell-specific regulation of the BKB2 receptor and the importance of a silencer element present in the regulatory region of the gene

Functional feeding groups of Brazilian Ephemeroptera nymphs : ultrastructure of mouthparts

In order to assign 18 mayfly taxa found in streams in the Macaé River basin into Functional Feeding Groups, the anatomy of their feeding apparatus was examined through scanning electron microscopy. Also, habitat preference and field observations of feeding behaviour were made to assure FFG assignment. Ephemeropteran taxa were classified into five FFGs: Passive Filterers - Hylister plaumanni; Active Filterer - Lachlania boanovae and Campylocia sp.; Brushers - Askola froehlichi, Farrodes carioca, Hagenulopsis spp., Massartela brieni, Miroculis froehlich, Miroculis sp., and Thraulodes spp; Grazers - Cloeodes spp., Americabaetis spp., Camelobaetidius spp.and Baetodes spp.; Scrapers - Leptohyphes pereirae, Leptohyphes spp., Tricorythodes spp. and Tricorythopsis spp. Species of the three best represented mayfly families in south-east Brazil were assigned to different FFGs (Leptophlebiidae - Brushers; Baetidae - Grazers and Leptohyphidae - Scrapers), with one exception, Hylister plaumanni (Leptophlebiidae; Active filterers). This information is useful to understand the role of mayflies in stream ecosystems, and to help the development of ecological theories for tropical streams