Living unicellular eukaryote Tetrahymena pyriformis as a model for study

Some animals are able to survive for a long time under conditions of drastically reduced oxidative metabolism, called metabolic depression. The most investigated type of metabolic depression is hibernation. Research into the basic properties of liver mitochondria energetics during hibernation is essential for fundamental biology and medicine. However, the absence of the suitable hepatocyte culture makes it impossible to study the characteristic features of mitochondrial metabolic states in living cells during hibernation. We proposed that under selected conditions, the unicellular eukaryote Tetrahymena pyriformis resembles hepatocytes under hibernation, as (i) both cell types survive under condition of restricted food supply, hypoxia, and accumulation of toxic products of metabolism; (ii) the mechanisms for survival during drastically reduced oxidative metabolism probably developed in the ancestors of the eukaryote mitochondria and may be conserved, in somewhat modified forms, in mitochondria of the ciliates and mammalian cells; (iii) mitochondria isolated from rat liver and Tetrahymena pyriformis are similar in their energetics properties. The already published results of experiments with Tetrahymena pyriformis and with mitochondria isolated from the liver of hibernating animals are considered. In this paper we support and develop this suggestion. Sharp decrease in the maximal uncoupler-stimulated respiration rates in liver mitochondria isolated from the hibernating animals was described in many publications. The respiration recordings and Mito Tracker Red fluorescence observations in the ciliates were tentatively explained by low ∆Ψ and high ∆pH. Prior to this study the strong decline in ∆Ψ and the subsequent remodeling of mitochondria into the condensed configuration was found during earlier apoptosis induced by suppression of the respiratory activity. On the grounds of these and other data, a hypothesis is put forward that the prerequisite for reducing the oxidative metabolism and mitochondrial transition to hibernation resembles early apoptosis, with initial ∆Ψ decline followed by mitochondrial matrix transition to a condense configuration. Correct comparison of ∆Ψ of mitochondria isolated from liver of active and hibernating animals is difficult as they probably have different matrix volumes and energy-independent binding with the ∆Ψ probes

How secular staganation can affect income class structure in european countries: institutional and policy implications

In recent years, there has been increasing debate about the low economic growth and the risk of secular stagnation in economically advanced countries. Some authors point out possible links between secular stagnation and income inequality, causally in both directions. Taking as a reference point the theoretical literature on the relationship between economic growth and income distribution, this study examines the extent to which different levels of economic growth are associated with the income class structure in European countries between 1993 and 2016, focusing on income distribution before taxes and transfers (market incomes). We highlight that in recession periods the size and income share of the middle class decrease, while the opposite occurs in periods with strong economic growth rates. Nevertheless, when growth rates are modest the patterns are much less clearly defined. Some policy and institutional implications are discussed in order to tackle the concerns of secular stagnation and inequality simultaneously.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

FCA as a means for consolidation of clustering results derived from multiple experiments

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The stability of the roommate problem revisited

The lack of stability in some matching problems suggests that alternative solution concepts to the core might be a step towards furthering our understanding of matching market performance. We propose absorbing sets as a solution for the class of roommate problems with strict preferences. This solution, which always exists, either gives the matchings in the core or predicts other matchings when the core is empty. Furthermore, it satisfies the interesting property of outer stability. We also determine the matchings in absorbing sets and find that in the case of multiple absorbing sets a similar structure is shared by all.roommate problem, core, absorbing sets

Bacteriophages and their structural organisation

Viruses are extremely small infectious particles that are not visible in a light microscope, and are able to pass through fine porcelain filters. They exist in a huge variety of forms and infect practically all living systems: animals, plants, insects and bacteria. All viruses have a genome, typically only one type of nucleic acid, but it could be one or several molecules of DNA or RNA, which is surrounded by a protective stable coat (capsid) and sometimes by additional layers which may be very complex and contain carbohydrates, lipids, and additional proteins. The viruses that have only a protein coat are named “naked”, or non- enveloped viruses. Many viruses have an envelope (enveloped viruses) that wraps around the protein capsid. This envelope is formed from a lipid membrane of the host cell during the release of a virus out of the cell

We are experienced! Jimi Hendrix in historical perspective

This article reflects on the decision of the Paris Tribunal de Grande Instance concerning copyright protection for a photograph of Jimi Hendrix by Gered Mankowitz (Bowstir Limited and Gered Mankowitz v. Egotrade SARL (2015)) and subsequent critical comment about the case, by providing an historical perspective on originality and photographic copyright. In doing so, it uncovers previously untold details of the history of photographic copyright and the first statutory originality criterion: introduced by section 1 Fine Arts Copyright Act 18621 and subsequently considered in Graves’ Case. 2 It argues that, while the decision in Bowstir seems surprising today, the points that complicated the Court’s reasoning are familiar from the standpoint of copyright history. An historical perspective, therefore, enables us to engage more critically with these issues. In commenting on the decision, the article draws on significant original research to be fully published in a forthcoming book (Art and Modern Copyright: The Contested Image, CUP, forthcoming 2016/173) which, in excavating a variety of little known perspectives on artistic copyright, shows history to be a rich terrain of ideas about copyright and the objects that it regulates

Cheltuielile publice ca baza a dezvoltarii educatiei

The paper advances the idea that although at a regional and global level education is considered to be a promoter of progress and development the investments in this field differ very much. A comparative analysis of education expenses of different countries form all over the world is done in terms of the objectives and indicators measuring the financing initiatives. The results are used as an argument showing that the educational systems need global, public and private support. At the same time, they reinforce the idea that sustainable highly competitive human resources can not be generated unless there are sufficient financial resources