Micro-computed tomography reconstructions of tibiae of stem cell transplanted osteogenesis imperfecta mice

Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) is commonly used to assess bone quality and to evaluate the outcome of experimental therapies in animal models of bone diseases. Generating large datasets is however challenging and data are rarely made publicly available through shared repositories. Here we describe a dataset of micro-CT reconstructed scans of the proximal part of 21 tibiae from wild-type mice, osteogenesis imperfecta mice (homozygous oim/oim) and oim/oim mice transplanted with human amniotic fluid stem cells. The dataset contains, for each sample, 991 8-bit Bitmap reconstructed images and a 3D reconstruction of the bone in the PLY format, available at the online repository Figshare. In line with the increasing effort to make scientific datasets open-access, our data can be downloaded and used by other researchers to compare their observations with ours and to directly test scientific questions on osteogenesis imperfecta bones without the need to generate complete datasets

La Stop-Motion come risorsa per la didattica

L’Information Technology (IT) ha portato profondi cambiamenti nella società, non solo a livello economico, ma anche sociale. Nell’arco di una generazione si è passati ad un mondo in cui le dinamiche, le metodologie e i canali di informazione si sono moltiplicati, creando difficoltà di comprensione e di comunicazione intergenerazionale e, di conseguenza, problemi nell’educazione dei giovani. Le conquiste tecnologiche recenti non hanno però trovato terreno fertile nel mondo scolastico, anche a causa del corpo docente che non sempre è stato sufficientemente motivato a recepirle. In questo lavoro di Tesi si presenta un metodo alternativo di fare didattica utilizzando un approccio creativo basato sull’impiego dell’IT per realizzare cartoni animati personalizzati con la tecnica di animazione Stop-Motion. Con questa tecnica è possibile creare lezioni personalizzate di storia, di geografia o qualsiasi altra disciplina, con un linguaggio familiare per i discenti di oggi, i nativi digitali. Si propone inoltre un percorso di formazione per docenti, nello specifico un corso Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), al fine di rendere pubblicamente accessibile i contenuti del metodo proposto, tenendo conto dei diversi gradi di inclinazione dei docenti verso il mondo dell’IT

Haloferax volcanii, as a novel tool for producing mammalian olfactory receptors embedded in archaeal lipid bilayer

The aim of this study was to explore the possibility of using an archaeal microorganism as a host system for expressing mammalian olfactory receptors (ORs). We have selected the archaeon Haloferax volcanii as a cell host system and one of the most extensively investigated OR, namely I7-OR, whose preferred ligands are short-chain aldehydes, such as octanal, heptanal, nonanal. A novel plasmid has been constructed to express the rat I7-OR, fused with a hexahistidine-tag for protein immunodetection. The presence of the recombinant receptor at a membrane level was demonstrated by immunoblot of the membranes isolated from the transgenic archaeal strain. In addition, the lipid composition of archaeonanosomes containing ORs has been characterized in detail by High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) in combination with Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization—Time-Of-Flight/Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/MS) analysis

Osmotic shock induces the presence of glycocardiolipin in the purple membrane of Halobacterium salinarum

In the purple membrane (PM) of Halobacterium salinarum is present a phospholipid dimer consisting of sulfo-triglycosyl-diether (S-TGD-1) esterified to the phosphate group of phosphatidic acid (PA), i.e., S-TGD-1-PA, called glycocardiolipin (GlyC) (Corcelli, A., M. Colella, G. Mascolo, F. P. Fanizzi, and M. Kates. A novel glycolipid and phospholipid in the purple membrane. 2000. Biochemistry. 39: 3318–3326). The GlyC content of whole cells, PM, and other cell fractions of H. salinarum have been analyzed. GlyC is a nonabundant phospholipid in H. salinarum cells, and it represents one of the major phospholipids of isolated PM. In this report, we show that a) GlyC is formed during the isolation of PM, b) GlyC increase in H. salinarum cells is specifically induced by osmotic shock, and c) in correspondence with GlyC increase, a decrease of S-TGD-1 levels occurs. The changes in membrane lipid composition observed during the isolation of PM are due to de novo synthesis of GlyC from S-TGD-1

A CRISPR/Cas9-generated mutation in the zebrafish orthologue of PPP2R3B causes idiopathic scoliosis

Idiopathic scoliosis (IS) is the deformation and/or abnormal curvature of the spine that develops progressively after birth. It is a very common condition, affecting approximately 4% of the general population, yet the genetic and mechanistic causes of IS are poorly understood. Here, we focus on PPP2R3B, which encodes a protein phosphatase 2A regulatory subunit. We found that PPP2R3B is expressed at sites of chondrogenesis within human foetuses, including the vertebrae. We also demonstrated prominent expression in myotome and muscle fibres in human foetuses, and zebrafish embryos and adolescents. As there is no rodent orthologue of PPP2R3B, we used CRIPSR/Cas9-mediated gene-editing to generate a series of frameshift mutations in zebrafish ppp2r3b. Adolescent zebrafish that were homozygous for this mutation exhibited a fully penetrant kyphoscoliosis phenotype which became progressively worse over time, mirroring IS in humans. These defects were associated with reduced mineralisation of vertebrae, resembling osteoporosis. Electron microscopy demonstrated abnormal mitochondria adjacent to muscle fibres. In summary, we report a novel zebrafish model of IS and reduced bone mineral density. In future, it will be necessary to delineate the aetiology of these defects in relation to bone, muscle, neuronal and ependymal cilia function

Cardiolipin fingerprinting of leukocytes by MALDI-TOF/MS as a screening tool for Barth syndrome

Barth syndrome (BTHS), an X-linked disease associated with cardioskeletal myopathy, neutropenia, and organic aciduria, is characterized by abnormalities of cardiolipin (CL) species in mitochondria. Diagnosis of the disease is often compromised by lack of rapid and widely available diagnostic laboratory tests. The present study describes a new method for BTHS screening based on MALDI-TOF/MS analysis of leukocyte lipids. This generates a "CL fingerprint" and allows quick and simple assay of the relative levels of CL and monolysocardiolipin species in leukocyte total lipid profiles. To validate the method, we used vector algebra to analyze the difference in lipid composition between controls (24 healthy donors) and patients (8 boys affected by BTHS) in the high-mass phospholipid range. The method of lipid analysis described represents an important additional tool for the diagnosis of BTHS and potentially enables therapeutic monitoring of drug targets, which have been shown to ameliorate abnormal CL profiles in cells

In vivo synthesis of monolysocardiolipin and cardiolipin by Acinetobacter baumannii phospholipase D and effect on cationic antimicrobial peptide resistance

Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic pathogen, which has become a rising threat in healthcare facilities worldwide due to increasing antibiotic resistances and optimal adaptation to clinical environments and the human host. We reported in a former publication on the identification of three phopholipases of the phospholipase D (PLD) superfamily in A. baumannii ATCC 19606T acting in concerted manner as virulence factors in Galleria mellonella infection and lung epithelial cell invasion. This study focussed on the function of the three PLDs. A Δpld1-3 mutant was defect in biosynthesis of the phospholipids cardiolipin (CL) and monolysocardiolipin (MLCL), whereas the deletion of pld2 and pld3 abolished the production of MLCL. Complementation of the Δpld1-3 mutant with pld1 restored CL biosynthesis demonstrating that the PLD1 is implicated in CL biosynthesis. Complementation of the Δpld1-3 mutant with either pld2 or pld3 restored MLCL and CL production leading to the conclusion that PLD2 and PLD3 are implicated in CL and MLCL production. Mutant studies revealed that two catalytic motifs are essential for the PLD3-mediated biosynthesis of CL and MLCL. The Δpld1-3 mutant exhibited a decreased colistin and polymyxin B resistance indicating a role of CL in cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAMPs) resistance

O impacto dos gastos tributários sobre o crescimento brasileiro entre 2003 a 2015 : uma análise com dados em painel

Orientador: Prof. Dr. Marcelo Luiz CuradoDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Sociais Aplicadas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Desenvolvimento Econômico. Defesa : Curitiba, 28/02/2019Inclui referências: p.66-72Área de concentração:Resumo: Durante os Governos Lula e o primeiro Governo Dilma os gastos tributários federais cresceram a taxas expressivas e ganharam representatividade na política fiscal, com diversos objetivos, dentre eles a busca por sustentar o crescimento econômico. O crescimento dos gastos tributários combinado à desaceleração do PIB no período pós-crise lançou a controvérsia sobre seus reais efeitos para a atividade. O objetivo do trabalho é fornecer subsídios a esta controvérsia pelo lado quantitativo a partir da estimação de um modelo que capte o efeito das desonerações para a taxa de crescimento do produto per capita de longo prazo. O trabalho constrói um modelo com dados em Painel adaptando Rocha e Giuberti (2007) e utiliza como principal fonte de dados para as desonerações tributárias os Demonstrativos dos Gastos Tributários, divulgados pela Receita Federal. Apesar das limitações, os resultados deram razão à hipótese de efeitos negativos e próximos de zero dos gastos tributários para a taxa de crescimento de longo prazo da economia. Quando elevado à valores extremos, os gastos tributários mantém ainda o efeito negativo e próximo de zero sugerindo uma relação linear. O resultados vão ao encontro do que já foi apontado na literatura sobre o tema que já sugeria a revisão dos atuais desenhos e das contrapartidas dos programas de incentivo fiscal em direção a estímulos ao investimento e inovação. Palavras chaves: gastos tributários, crescimento econômicoAbstract: During Lula administrations and the first Dilma administration the Brazilian economy witnessed a significant increase in federal tax expenditures which gained prominence alongside a broad set of economic policy actions aimed at stimulating GDP growth. The tax expenditures growth also occurred alongside a deceleration of GDP in the post-crisis period. That fact has thrown controversy over the real effects of tax expenditures to foster growth rates in Brazil. The objective of the paper is to provide subsidies to this controversy on the quantitative side estimating a model that captures the effects of tax expenditures on the long-term growth rate of per capita GDP. A model with Panel data is constructed using the intuition of Rocha and Giuberti (2007) and data from the "Demonstrativos dos Gastos Tributários" which represents the officials reports with tax expenditures data published by the Brazilian's Revenue Service. Despite limitations, the main results of the paper gave rise to the hypothesis of negative and near-zero effects of tax expenditures on the economy's long-term growth rate. When raised to extreme values tax expenditures maintains the negative effect and close to zero effect suggesting a linear relationship. The results are in line with what has already been widely presented in the literature on the topic that suggested the revision of the shape and the counterparts of the current fiscal incentive programs putting them in direction of incentives to investiments and inovation. Key words: tax expenditures, economic growt

Energy efficiency and environmental assessment of papermaking from chemical pulp - A Finland case study

Pulp and paper manufacturing sector constitutes one of the largest industry segments in the world in terms of water and energy usage as well as of significant use and release of chemicals and combustion products. Since its chief feedstock -wood fiber- is renewable, this industry can play an important role in sustainable development, becoming an example of how a resource can be managed to provide a sustained supply to meet society's current and future needs. This calls for a thorough assessment of environmental costs and impacts associated to pulp and paper operations, including both direct and indirect inputs supporting the whole papermaking process as well as the main outputs, co-products and by-products. By means of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, this paper aims at assessing the environmental sustainability of the pulp and paper production so as to identify those phases across the whole supply chain that entail the highest environmental loads, thus requiring improvements. To determine the environmental impacts as accurately as possible, the manufacturing stages performed in the pulp and paper mill complex of Stora Enso Oyj Veitsiluoto Mills at Kemi, Northern Finland, were taken as a model and assessed by means of the SimaPro 8 LCA software, utilizing ReCiPe Midpoint (H) method for the impact assessment. As expected, most of the resulting impacts are caused by the industrial production phase. The production processes of pulp and paper jointly affect all the investigated impact categories with the highest shares, ranging from 50% of generated impacts on water depletion up to 88% on freshwater eutrophication. Generally, the main contributions to environmental loads come from the electricity and heat requirements and, only at a minor extent, from the use of chemicals such as the sodium hydroxide and sodium chlorate. In particular, pulp production process generates the main loads on global warming (46% of the total impacts), ozone depletion (39%), freshwater eutrophication (55%), human toxicity (46%), metal depletion (42%) and fossil depletion (46%). In the remaining investigated impact categories, namely terrestrial acidification, photochemical oxidant formation and terrestrial ecotoxicity, most of impacts derive from the use of optical brighteners and fillers in the final steps of paper production and from the intensive consumption of water in the recycling step of end-of-life affecting water depletion. Moreover, the implementation of measures for material and energy efficiency in the assessed system, such as the use of renewable energy generated in situ from black liquor and residual biomass to support the requirements of the integrated pulp and paper mills and the waste paper recycling, resulted to be crucial in lowering the environmental burdens. In particular, the partial fulfillment of electricity and heat requirements by means of a circular use of residues within the system leads to a noteworthy reduction of impacts in all the investigated impact categories, up to more than 70% in global warming and fossil depletion potentials, thus contributing to higher process sustainability compared with other averaged European systems for paper production.The obtained research results are a valuable source of management information for the decision makers, at both company and national levels, with the aim to improve the environmental performance of pulp and paper industry. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved