46 research outputs found
The complete genome sequence of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis FRC41 isolated from a 12-year-old girl with necrotizing lymphadenitis reveals insights into gene-regulatory networks contributing to virulence
Trost E, Ott L, Schneider J, et al. The complete genome sequence of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis FRC41 isolated from a 12-year-old girl with necrotizing lymphadenitis reveals insights into gene-regulatory networks contributing to virulence. BMC Genomics. 2010;11(1): 728
Light regulation of metabolic pathways in fungi
Light represents a major carrier of information in nature. The molecular machineries translating its electromagnetic energy (photons) into the chemical language of cells transmit vital signals for adjustment of virtually every living organism to its habitat. Fungi react to illumination in various ways, and we found that they initiate considerable adaptations in their metabolic pathways upon growth in light or after perception of a light pulse. Alterations in response to light have predominantly been observed in carotenoid metabolism, polysaccharide and carbohydrate metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, nucleotide and nucleoside metabolism, and in regulation of production of secondary metabolites. Transcription of genes is initiated within minutes, abundance and activity of metabolic enzymes are adjusted, and subsequently, levels of metabolites are altered to cope with the harmful effects of light or to prepare for reproduction, which is dependent on light in many cases. This review aims to give an overview on metabolic pathways impacted by light and to illustrate the physiological significance of light for fungi. We provide a basis for assessment whether a given metabolic pathway might be subject to regulation by light and how these properties can be exploited for improvement of biotechnological processes
Neutrinos
229 pages229 pages229 pagesThe Proceedings of the 2011 workshop on Fundamental Physics at the Intensity Frontier. Science opportunities at the intensity frontier are identified and described in the areas of heavy quarks, charged leptons, neutrinos, proton decay, new light weakly-coupled particles, and nucleons, nuclei, and atoms
Electrophysiological and Structural Remodeling in Heart Failure Modulate Arrhythmogenesis. 1D Simulation Study
Background: Heart failure is a final common pathway or descriptor for various cardiac pathologies. It is associated with
sudden cardiac death, which is frequently caused by ventricular arrhythmias. Electrophysiological remodeling, intercellular
uncoupling, fibrosis and autonomic imbalance have been identified as major arrhythmogenic factors in heart failure
etiology and progression.
Objective: In this study we investigate in silico the role of electrophysiological and structural heart failure remodeling on the
modulation of key elements of the arrhythmogenic substrate, i.e., electrophysiological gradients and abnormal impulse
propagation.
Methods: Two different mathematical models of the human ventricular action potential were used to formulate models of
the failing ventricular myocyte. This provided the basis for simulations of the electrical activity within a transmural
ventricular strand. Our main goal was to elucidate the roles of electrophysiological and structural remodeling in setting the
stage for malignant life-threatening arrhythmias.
Results: Simulation results illustrate how the presence of M cells and heterogeneous electrophysiological remodeling in the
human failing ventricle modulate the dispersion of action potential duration and repolarization time. Specifically, selective
heterogeneous remodeling of expression levels for the Na+
/Ca2+ exchanger and SERCA pump decrease these
heterogeneities. In contrast, fibroblast proliferation and cellular uncoupling both strongly increase repolarization
heterogeneities. Conduction velocity and the safety factor for conduction are also reduced by the progressive structural
remodeling during heart failure.
Conclusion: An extensive literature now establishes that in human ventricle, as heart failure progresses, gradients for
repolarization are changed significantly by protein specific electrophysiological remodeling (either homogeneous or
heterogeneous). Our simulations illustrate and provide new insights into this. Furthermore, enhanced fibrosis in failing
hearts, as well as reduced intercellular coupling, combine to increase electrophysiological gradients and reduce electrical
propagation. In combination these changes set the stage for arrhythmias.This work was partially supported by (i) the "VI Plan Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica, Desarrollo e Innovacion Tecnologica" from the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of Spain (grant number TIN2012-37546-C03-01) and the European Commission (European Regional Development Funds - ERDF - FEDER), (ii) the Direccion General de Politica Cientifica de la Generalitat Valenciana (grant number GV/2013/119), and (iii) Programa Prometeo (PROMETEO/2012/030) de la Conselleria d'Educacio Formacio I Ocupacio, Generalitat Valenciana. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Gómez García, JF.; Cardona, K.; Romero Pérez, L.; Ferrero De Loma-Osorio, JM.; Trénor Gomis, BA. (2014). Electrophysiological and Structural Remodeling in Heart Failure Modulate Arrhythmogenesis. 1D Simulation Study. PLoS ONE. 9(9). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0106602S9
Exploratory Study of Executive Function Abilities Across the Adult Lifespan in Individuals Receiving an ASD Diagnosis in Adulthood
The few studies of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) across adulthood suggest different age-related associations in different aspects of executive function (EF). In this exploratory study we examined EF abilities and self-report autism traits in 134 adults (aged 18-75 years; mean=31 years) with abilities in the normal range, receiving a first diagnosis of ASD. Results suggest that in some EF relying on speed and sequencing (Trails A and B; Digit Symbol), late-diagnosed ASD individuals may demonstrate better performance than typical age-norms. On other EF (Digit Span, Hayling, Brixton tests) age-related correlations were similar to typical age-norms. Different domains of EF may demonstrate different trajectories for ageing with ASD, with patterns of slower, accelerated or equivalent age-related change observed across different measures
Exploratory Study of Executive Function Abilities Across the Adult Lifespan in Individuals Receiving an ASD Diagnosis in Adulthood
The few studies of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) across adulthood suggest different age-related associations in different aspects of executive function (EF). In this exploratory study we examined EF abilities and self-report autism traits in 134 adults (aged 18-75 years; mean=31 years) with abilities in the normal range, receiving a first diagnosis of ASD. Results suggest that in some EF relying on speed and sequencing (Trails A and B; Digit Symbol), late-diagnosed ASD individuals may demonstrate better performance than typical age-norms. On other EF (Digit Span, Hayling, Brixton tests) age-related correlations were similar to typical age-norms. Different domains of EF may demonstrate different trajectories for ageing with ASD, with patterns of slower, accelerated or equivalent age-related change observed across different measures