Effects of Tropical Climate and Language Format on Imagery Ability Among French-Creole Bilinguals

International audienc

Impact of Tropical Climate on Selective Attention and Affect

Heat has an impact on several aspects of human cognition but the effects of the tropical climate (i.e., hot and wet) have rarely been explored. The purpose of this study was to determine whether selective attention and affect are negatively impacted by the tropical climate. The study followed a within-participants design: participants responded to an affective scale (PANAS) and performed an attention task (d2 Test) in two experimental climate conditions (tropical vs. neutral) with a one-week interval between sessions. The results indicated that they had lower positive affect and selective attention in the tropical climate than in the neutral climate. However, there was no significant difference in the effect on negative affect between conditions. The impact of tropical climate on affects and selective attention is discussed

The Combination of Cooling Techniques in a Tropical Environment Improves Precision Performance in Young International Fencers

The performance of intense exercise in a tropical climate is associated with limited exercise capacity due to thermal strain. This limitation is exacerbated in sports requiring full protective equipment. Research evidence suggests disturbances in cognitive function due to thermal discomfort and/or protective equipment (e.g., helmets), and thus sports that require skills in decision-making, fast reaction times, precision, and/or inhibition can be greatly affected. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of countermeasures on the psychological and physiological responses in young international fencers wearing full protective equipment during an ecological fencing task. Nine young international fencers performed an aiming task in tropical conditions (1) without cooling interventions and (2) with cumulative cooling interventions (i.e., pre+percooling and head+torso). Participants completed a battery of cognitive (i.e., simple and choice reaction times, Stroop test), affective (i.e., PANAS), and perception (i.e., thermal environment, Feeling Scale, rating of perceived exertion) tests in each session, and their heart rate, skin temperature, and fencing performances (i.e., execution time and total score) were checked at several time points. Although the results revealed no differences in the perception of the thermal environment or the cognitive and affective scores, the cooling interventions seemed to improve movement precision during the fencing task and limit the decrease in pleasurable feelings related to the physical task. This study suggests that attentional resources are more available with cumulative cooling interventions, which leads to better performance during an ecological fencing task in tropical conditions

Apprendre le lancer-franc en basket-ball au moyen d’un dispositif d’enseignement combinant la vidéo et l’imagerie mentaleRubrique 14 • DOSSIER N° 4 LES DOSSIERS " ENSEIGNER L'EPS "

International audienc

1H, 13C and 15N resonance assignments of the Calmodulin-Munc13-1 peptide complex

Ca2+-Calmodulin binding to the variable N-terminal region of the diacylglycerol/phorbol ester-binding UNC13/Munc13 family of proteins modulates the short-term synaptic plasticity characteristics in neurons. Here, we report the sequential backbone and side chain resonance assignment of the Ca2+-Calmodulin/Munc13-1458–492 peptide complex at pH 6.8 and 35°C (BMRB No. 15470)

N-lauroylation during the expression of recombinant N- myristoylated proteins: implications and solutions

Incorporation of myristic acid to the N-terminus of proteins is a crucial modification that promotes membrane binding and proper localization of important components of signaling pathways. Recombinant expression of N-myristoylatyed proteins in E. coli can be achieved by co-expressing yeast N-myristoyltransferase and supplementing the growth medium with myristic acid. However, undesired incorporation of the 12-carbon fatty acid lauric acid can occur (leading to heterogeneous samples), especially when the available carbon sources are scarce, as it is the case in minimal medium for the expression of isotopically enriched samples. By applying this method to the Brain-acid soluble protein 1 and the 1- 185 N-terminal region of c-Src, we show the significant, and protein- specific, differences in the membrane binding properties of lauroylated and myristoylated forms. We also present a robust strategy for obtaining lauryl free-samples of myristoylated proteins in both rich and minimal media

p160/SRC/NCoA coactivators form complexes via specific interaction of their PAS-B domain with the CID/AD1 domain

Transcriptional activation involves the ordered recruitment of coactivators via direct interactions between distinct binding domains and recognition motifs. The p160/SRC/NCoA coactivator family comprises three members (NCoA-1, -2 and -3), which are organized in multiprotein coactivator complexes. We had identified the PAS-B domain of NCoA-1 as an LXXLL motif binding domain. Here we show that NCoA family members are able to interact with other full-length NCoA proteins via their PAS-B domain and they specifically interact with the CBP-interaction domain (CID/AD1) of NCoA-1. Peptide competition, binding experiments and mutagenesis of LXXLL motifs point at distinct binding motif specificities of the NCoA PAS-B domains. NMR studies of different NCoA-1-PAS-B/LXXLL peptide complexes revealed similar although not identical binding sites for the CID/AD1 and STAT6 transactivation domain LXXLL motifs. In mechanistic studies, we found that overexpression of the PAS-B domain is able to disturb the binding of NCoA-1 to CBP in cells and that a CID/AD1 peptide competes with STAT6 for NCoA-1 in vitro. Moreover, the expression of an endogenous androgen receptor target gene is affected by the overexpression of the NCoA-1 or NCoA-3 PAS-B domains. Our study discloses a new, complementary mechanism for the current model of coactivator recruitment to target gene promoters

Etude structurale, dynamique et fonctionnelle par résonance magnétique nucléaire de la méthionine sulfoxyde réductase A d'Escherichia coli :

Methionine sulfoxide reductases (Msr) are a class of enzymes able to reduced back methionine sulfoxide, generated during an oxidative stress, to methionine. We performed a structural, dynamical and functional study by NMR of the reduced form and of an oxidized form of Escherichia coli MsrA. We solved the solution structures of these two forms and characterized their dynamic in solution. We also studied the non covalent enzyme/substrate complex, in order to determine local KD values, and made a preliminary study of the sulfenic acid intermediate which occurs in the catalytic cycle. All these results lead to a better knowledge of the structural and dynamical factors involved in the catalytic cycle of this class of enzyme and involved in the interaction with substrate (in specificity terms) and thioredoxinLes méthionine sulfoxyde réductases (Msr) sont une famille d'enzymes capables de réduire les méthionines sulfoxydes, générées en condition de stress oxydant, en méthionine. Nous avons entrepris l'étude structurale et dynamique par RMN de la forme réduite et d'une forme oxydée de la Msr de classe A d'Escherichia coli. Nous avons ainsi résolu les structures tridimensionnelles en solution de ces deux formes et pu caractériser leur dynamique en solution. Nous avons, de plus, entrepris l'étude du complexe non covalent enzyme/substrat, déterminé les valeurs de KD locaux, et réalisé l'étude préliminaire de l'intermédiaire acide sulfénique intervenant lors du cycle catalytique. L'ensemble de ces résultats conduit à une meilleure connaissance des déterminants structuraux et dynamiques intervenant lors d'une cycle catalytique de cette classe d'enzyme mais aussi lors de l'interaction avec le substrat (notamment en terme de spécificité) et avec la thiorédoxin