562 research outputs found

    Networking strategies in streptomyces coelicolor

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    We are interested the soil dwelling bacteria Streptomyces coelicolor because its cells grow end to end in a line. New branches have the potential to extend from any point along this line and the result is a network of branches and connections. This is a novel form of colonisation in the bacterial world and it is advantageous for spreading through an environment resourcefully. Networking protocols for communication technologies have similar pressures to be resourceful in terms of time, computing power, and energy. In this preliminary investigation we design a computer model of the biological system to understand its limitations and strategies for survival. The decentralised capacity for organisation of both the bacterial system and the model reflects well on the now-popular conventions for path finding and ad hoc network building in human technologies. The project will ultimately become a comparison of strategies between nature and the man-made

    An overview of carbohydrate-based carbonic anhydrase inhibitors

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    Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) are metalloenzymes responsible for the reversible hydration of carbon dioxide to bicarbonate, a fundamental reaction involved in various physiological and pathological processes. In the last decades, CAs have been considered as important drug targets for different pathologies such as glaucoma, epilepsy and cancer. The design of potent and selective inhibitors has been an outstanding goal leading to the discovery of new drugs. Among the different strategies developed to date, the design of carbohydrate-based CA inhibitors (CAIs) has emerged as a versatile tool in order to selectively target CAs. The insertion of a glycosyl moiety as a hydrophilic tail in sulfonamide, sulfenamide, sulfamate or coumarin scaffolds allowed the discovery of many different series of sugar-based CAIs, with relevant inhibitory results. This review will focus on carbohydrate-based CAIs developed so far, classifying them in glycosidic and glycoconjugated inhibitors based on the conjugation chemistry adopted

    Transcorrência diacrônica Cenozóica no sudoeste da Bacia Colombiana

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    We propose a major Eocene tectonic inversion related to an oblique convergence between Farallon (after Cocos plate) and Caribbean plates in the offshore of Colombian Caribbean. Between EoceneOligocene occurred an extension and another tectonic inversion since Oligocene to Pleistocene. By structural and stratigraphic evidence extracted from seismic, gravity and well data, we identified diverse diachronic Cenozoic deformations related to an important syndepositional wrenching event. Diachronic wrench system corresponds with Riedel structures and subordinated related-structures which have been growing progressively from north to south as result of convergence of Farallon (after Cocos plate) and Caribbean plates. Older basement-involved structures were inverted since Eocene. Tectonic inversions were interpreted from different strata geometries, relations of strata, growth strata and erosive truncations. A regional Eocene unconformity defined by erosional truncations reveals the timing of tectonic inversion and consequently closure of Colombian basin at northern boundary. The Eocene erosional unconformity becomes conformable toward the basin and should be an important correlative stratigraphic surface in the Caribbean offshore.Propõe-se que uma inversão tectónica maior tenha ocorrido durante o Eocénico associada à convergência oblíqua entre as placas Farallon (actual placa de Cocos) e Caribe no offshore do Caribe Colombiano. No período Eocénico-Oligocénico ocorreu extensão e do Oligocénico ao Pleistocénico ocorreu outra inversão tectónica. Foram ainda identificados diferentes eventos de deformação diacrónica no Cenozóico a partir de evidências estruturais e estratigráficas obtidas a partir de dados sísmicos, gravimétricos e de poço. As diferentes deformações estão associadas a um importante evento de transcorrência sin-deposicional. O sistema de transcorrência diacrónica é evidenciado em estruturas riedel e outras subordinadas que se desenvolveram progressivamente de norte para sul no seguimento da convergência das placas Farallon e Caribe. As estruturas antigas que afectaram o substrato foram invertidas a partir do Eocénico. As inversões tectónicas foram interpretadas a partir das diferentes relações geométricas dos estratos. A discordância regional eocénica, identificada a partir de superfícies erosivas, revela o período da inversão tectónica associada ao fecho da Bacia Colombiana no limite norte. A discordância erosiva do Eocénico passa a conformidade à medida que tende para o interior da bacia e deve ser uma importante superfície estratigráfica de correlação no offshore do Caribe.Fil: Alfaro, E.. Universidade Federal Da Bahia; BrasilFil: Barrera, Daniel Florencio. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; Brasil. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Rossello, Eduardo Antonio. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

    Pomegranate: A Source of Multifunctional Bioactive Compounds Potentially Beneficial in Alzheimer’s Disease

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    Pomegranate fruit (PF) is a fruit rich in nutraceuticals. Nonedible parts of the fruit, especially peels, contain high amounts of bioactive components that have been largely used in traditional medicine, such as the Chinese, Unani, and Ayurvedic ones, for treating several diseases. Polyphenols such as anthocyanins, tannins, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and lignans are the major bioactive molecules present in PF. Therefore, PF is considered a source of natural multifunctional agents that exert simultaneously antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antidiabetic, cardiovascular, and neuroprotective activities. Recently, several studies have reported that the nutraceuticals contained in PF (seed, peel, and juice) have a potential beneficial role in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Research suggests that the neuroprotective effect of PF is mostly due to its potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities which contribute to attenuate the neuroinflammation associated with AD. Despite the numerous works conducted on PF, to date the mechanism by which PF acts in combatting AD is not completely known. Here, we summarize all the recent findings (in vitro and in vivo studies) related to the positive effects that PF and its bioactive components can have in the neurodegeneration processes occurring during AD. Moreover, considering the high biotransformation characteristics of the nutraceuticals present in PF, we propose to consider the chemical structure of its active metabolites as a source of inspiration to design new molecules with the same beneficial effects but less prone to be affected by the metabolic degradation process

    Developments in carbohydrate-based metzincin inhibitors

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    Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and A disintegrin and Metalloproteinase (ADAMs) are zinc-dependent endopeptidases belonging to the metzincin superfamily. Upregulation of metzincin activity is a major feature in many serious pathologies such as cancer, inflammations, and infections. In the last decades, many classes of small molecules have been developed directed to inhibit these enzymes. The principal shortcomings that have hindered clinical development of metzincin inhibitors are low selectivity for the target enzyme, poor water solubility, and long-term toxicity. Over the last 15 years, a novel approach to improve solubility and bioavailability of metzincin inhibitors has been the synthesis of carbohydrate-based compounds. This strategy consists of linking a hydrophilic sugar moiety to an aromatic lipophilic scaffold. This review aims to describe the development of sugar-based and azasugar-based derivatives as metzincin inhibitors and their activity in several pathological models

    Granito Los Chilenos: Una nueva unidad granítica jurásica en Cerro Colorado, Sierras Australes de Buenos Aires. Implicancias tectónicas

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    Los Chilenos granite: a new Jurassic granite unit in Cerro Colorado, Sierras Australes de Buenos Aires. Tectonic implication. The Sierras Australes of Buenos Aires are located in the south-west corner of the Province about 100 km west of Bahia Blanca. On the south-west flank of these hills, younger Palaeozoic sedimentary formations overlie poorly exposed granitic and volcanic basement rocks. Granitic Cerro Colorado outcrops, located 16 km strike to the south of the town of San Martin de Tours, and near Lago Los Chilenos, have been included in this broadly interpreted "basement" in many previous geological studies. This contribution is mainly based on detailed structural mapping of the cerro Colorado area, and systematic sampling of granitic and sedimentary rocks for petrographical, microtectonic and Rb/Sr isotopic age analysis. In contrast to previous studies, two Phanerozoic granitic units have been recognised and mapped in the cerro Colorado area of Sierras Australes. The older one, the Cerro Colorado Granite (CC), is composed of foliated and sheared anisotropic granitic rocks with a Rb/Sr isochron age of 381±9 Ma (ir= 0.7035). The younger one, Los Chilenos Granite (LCh), consists of isotropic granophiric microgranite with a Rb/Sr isochron age of 140 ± 14 Ma (ir= 0.7126). This granite has intrusive contacts with both, the folded quartzite of the Mascota Formation and Cerro Colorado Granite (CC).The older tectomagmatic event (CC) is correlated with the compressive Chañica Orogeny, which was associated in the Sierras Australes region, with the eruption of La Mascota - La Hermita rhyolites (360±21 Ma) and the unconformity between Lolén Formation (Middle Devonian) and Sauce Grande Formation (Carboniferous).The younger intrusive event of Los Chilenos Granite (LCh) is considered to be associated with an extensional tectonic regime during the Late Jurassic initial rifting of the Atlantic Ocean. © 1999 Asociación Geológica Argentina.Fil:Massabie, A.C. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina.Fil:Rossello, E.A. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina.Fil:Linares, E. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina.Fil:Párica, C. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina

    Granito Los Chilenos: Una nueva unidad granitica jurásica en Cerro Colorado, Sierras Australes de Buenos Aires. Implicancias tectónicas Los Chilenos eranite: a new Jurassic granite unit in Cerro Colorado, Sierras Australes de Buenos Aires. Tectonic implication

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    The Sierras Australes of Buenos Aires are located in the south-west corner Of the Province about 100 km west of Bahia Bianca. On the south-west flank of these hills, younger Palaeozoic sedimentary formations overlie poorly exposed granitic and volcanic basement rocks. Granitic Cerro Colorado outcrops, located 16 km strike to the south of the town of San Martin de Tours, and near Lago Los Chilenos, have been included in this broadly interpreted "basement" in many previous geological studies. This contribution is mainly based on detailed structural mapping of the cerro Colorado area, and systematic sampling of granitic and sedimentary rocks for petrographical, microtectonic and Rb/Sr isotopic age analysis. In contrast to previous studies, two Phanerozoic granitic units have been recognised and mapped in the cerro Colorado area of Sierras Australes. The older one, the Cerro Colorado Granite (CO, is composed of foliated and sheared anisotropic granitic rocks with a Rb/Sr isochron age of 381±9 Ma (ir= 0.7035 ). The younger one, Los Chilenos Granite (LCh), consists of isotropic granophiric microgranite with a Rb/Sr isochron age of 140 ±14 Ma (ir= 0.7126). This granite has intrusive contacts with both, the folded quartzite of the Mascota Formation and Cerro Colorado Granite (CC).The older tectomagmatic event (CO is correlated with the compressive Chanica Orogeny, which was associated in the Sierras Australes region, with the eruption of La Mascota - La Hermita rhyolites (360±21 Ma) and the unconformity between Lolén Formation (Middle Devonian) and Sauce Grande Formation (Carboniferous).The younger intrusive event of Los Chilenos Granite (LCh) is considered to be associated with an extensional tectonic regime during the Late Jurassic initial rifting of the Atlantic Ocean. O 1999 Asociación Gcológica.Fil:Massabie, A.C. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina.Fil:Rossello, E.A. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina.Fil:Linares, E. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina

    Closure of the Clymene Ocean and formation of West Gondwana in the Cambrian: Evidence from the Sierras Australes of the southernmost Rio de la Plata craton, Argentina

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    The formation of Gondwana took place across a series of Brasiliano?Pan African suture zones that record late Neoproterozoic to earliest Paleozoic collisions between Precambrian cratons. In South America, an internal suture zone marks the disappearance of the Clymene Ocean that separated the Amazon craton from the São Francisco and Rio de la Plata cratons. New geochronological data from the southern end of this massive collision zone in the Sierras Australes of central-eastern Argentina document Paleoproterozoic crust and suggest an Ediacaran age for the oldest sedimentary rocks. These two observations extend the known limit of the Rio de la Plata craton at least 200 km SW of previous estimates. New data also confirm the occurrence oflate Ediacaran to late Cambrian magmatism in the Sierras Australes. The age of these hypabyssal to volcanic rocks corresponds to igneous events in the Pampean belt along the western margin of the Rio de la Plata craton, although the shallow levelmagma emplacement in the Sierra da Ventana study area contrasts with the deeply exhumed rocks of the Pampean orogeny type locality. These new age data are compared with a broad compilation of geochronological age Clymene collision belts to the north, the Paraguai and Araguaia belts. The close overlap of the timing of orogenesis indicates the age of Clymene ocean closure in its northern reaches. In the south, the Pampean belt was unconfined, allowing continued tectonic activity and crustal accretion throughout the Paleozoic.Fil: Tohver, E.. University of Western Australia; AustraliaFil: Cawood, P. P.. University of Western Australia; Australia. University of St. Andrews; Reino UnidoFil: Rossello, Eduardo Antonio. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria; ArgentinaFil: Jourdan, J.. Curtin University; Australi

    P/A Forum Symposia Animal Labour A New Frontier of Interspecies Justice?

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    On April 15, 2021, a roundtable occurred at the annual conference of the Midwestern Political Science Association to discuss Animal Labour: A New Frontier of Interspecies Justice?, edited by Charlotte Blattner, Kendra Coulter, and Will Kymlicka, and published by Oxford University Press in February 2020. The following symposium contains expanded versions of the papers presented at the MPSA conference. Jishnu Guha-Majumdar introduces the edited volume and the contributions of the respondents in the symposium. Diego Rossello then discusses the book’s framing as “interspecies justice” and its definition of labor. Angie Pepper reflects on whether it is possible for animals to justly consent to labor occupations. Guha-Majumdar examines how the afterlives of transatlantic slavery shape the terms of debates over animal labour. Peter Niesen considers questions about the sequencing and types of labor rights for animals used in agriculture. Finally, Blattner and Kymlicka offer a reply
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