Phlebotomus (Euphlebotomus) barguesae n. sp. from Thailand (Diptera – Psychodidae)

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Економіко-математичне моделювання як спосіб підвищення ефективності діяльності суб’єктів рекреаційного бізнесу

Метою статті є дослідження можливості підвищення ефективності діяльності суб'єктів рекреаційної сфери за допомогою використання економіко-математичних моделей в процесах планування і управління діяльності суб'єкта господарювання

Les phlébotomes (Diptera-Psychodidae) de l'île de Chypre.II - Presence de Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum Nicolle, 1908 (zymodeme MON 1) chez Phlebotomus (Larroussius) tobbi Adler et Theodor, 1930

Dans le foyer leishmanien cypriote, les auteurs ont disseque 2910 femelles de phlebotomes appartenant a 11 especes : Phlebotomus papatasi, P. sergenti, P. jacusieli, P. alexandri, P. tobbi, P. galilaeus, P. mascittii, P. economidesi, Sergentomyia fallax, S. minuta et S. azizi . Les deux larroussius (P. galilaeus et P. tobbi ) sont les especes les plus abondantes. Elles representent plus de 60 % des captures realisees avec des pieges CDC. Des promastigotes ont ete observees chez un seul specimen appartenant a l'espece P. tobbi . Elles ont ete mises en culture puis identifiees selon la methode isoenzymatique. La souche de Leishmania isolee appartient a l'espece Leishmania infantum , zymodeme MON 1. Le meme zymodeme a ete aussi isole et identifie chez quatre chiens de l'ile. En l'absence des vecteurs habituels de L. infantum dans l'est mediterraneen (P. neglectus ef P. syriacus) et en raison de sa repartition a Chypre, P. tobbi constitue vraisemblablement un bon vecteur local. Sa faible anthropophilie expliquerait peut-etre le tres faible nombre de cas humains. Le role de P. galilaeus dans la transmission de la leishmaniose a Chypre reste a preciser

Ultrastructural localization of rRNA shows defective nuclear export of preribosomes in mutants of the Nup82p complex

To study the nuclear export of preribosomes, ribosomal RNAs were detected by in situ hybridization using fluorescence and EM, in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In wild-type cells, semiquantitative analysis shows that the distributions of pre-40S and pre-60S particles in the nucleolus and the nucleoplasm are distinct, indicating uncoordinated transport of the two subunits within the nucleus. In cells defective for the activity of the GTPase Gsp1p/Ran, ribosomal precursors accumulate in the whole nucleus. This phenotype is reproduced with pre-60S particles in cells defective in pre-rRNA processing, whereas pre-40S particles only accumulate in the nucleolus, suggesting a tight control of the exit of the small subunit from the nucleolus. Examination of nucleoporin mutants reveals that preribosome nuclear export requires the Nup82p–Nup159p–Nsp1p complex. In contrast, mutations in the nucleoporins forming the Nup84p complex yield very mild or no nuclear accumulation of preribosome. Interestingly, domains of Nup159p required for mRNP trafficking are not necessary for preribosome export. Furthermore, the RNA helicase Dbp5p and the protein Gle1p, which interact with Nup159p and are involved in mRNP trafficking, are dispensable for ribosomal transport. Thus, the Nup82p–Nup159p–Nsp1p nucleoporin complex is part of the nuclear export pathways of preribosomes and mRNPs, but with distinct functions in these two processes

Manifeste en faveur d'une réforme globale du droit de la famille : prise de position publique d'ex-ministres québécois

Manifeste signé par d’ex-ministres de la Justice et de la Famille du Québec à l’appui d’une réforme globale du droit de la famille québécois

Cholecystokinin B Receptor from Human Jurkat Lymphoblastic T Cells Is Involved in Activator Protein-1-Responsive Gene Activation

SUMMARY The aim of this study was to analyze the role of cholecystokinin (CCK B ) receptor in human lymphoblastic Jurkat T cells. We investigated the trophic effect resulting from activation of such a receptor by using the reporter gene strategy. For this purpose, we transiently transfected Jurkat T cells with the reporter plasmid p[(TRE)3-tk-Luc] and found that CCK-8 was able to dose-dependently induce luciferase expression related to activator protein-1 (AP-1) activation with a maximal response identical to that obtained with compounds known to activate AP-1 complex (quantitatively, the same level of induction was obtained with 1 nM 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate, 100 M diacylglycerol, or 4 nM epidermal growth factor). The involvement of the CCK B receptor in such a stimulation was demonstrated by the inhibiting effect of the selective CCK B receptor antagonist 158. This effect was confirmed in COS-7 cells transfected with the cDNA of CCK B receptor cloned from Jurkat T cells. To better understand the AP-1-dependent luciferase expression in Jurkat T cells, we tested two specific inhibitors of serine/threonine phosphatases-1 and -2A: okadaic acid and calyculin A. These compounds strongly increased the phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate response, whereas we have not observed a contribution of phosphatase inhibitors on a CCK-8-induced luciferase activity. To confirm that CCK B receptors are involved in AP-1 response, we investigated the CCK-8 effect on interleukin-2 expression, a natural endogenous gene regulated by several factors, including AP-1. In Jurkat T cells activated by phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate and phytohemagglutinin, CCK-8 induced IL-2 expression. This induction was abolished by PD-135,158. Our results indicate that CCK-8 exerts a trophic effect in Jurkat T cells through stimulation of CCK B receptors by modulation of expression of AP-1-regulated genes. Several studies have shown that various gastrointestinal peptides may be involved in the control of proliferation of various tissues and neoplastic cells (1). For example, CCK was shown to increase growth of tumors in nude mice bearing transplanted pancreatic cancer tissues (2). CCK is also known to increase the number of animals developing nitrosamine-induced pancreatic cancers (3), and CCK was shown to increase the rate of growth of cultured pancreatic cancer cells (2). Similar observations were described for bombesin/ gastrin-releasing peptide in human glioblastoma in vitro and in vivo in small-cell lung carcinoma, prostatic, mammary, and pancreatic cancer cell lines (1). In addition, gastrointestinal peptides can function as autocrine growth factors in neoplastic tissues as shown for bombesin/gastrin-releasing peptide in small-cell lung carcinoma cells, for gastrin an

A chemical survey of exoplanets with ARIEL

Thousands of exoplanets have now been discovered with a huge range of masses, sizes and orbits: from rocky Earth-like planets to large gas giants grazing the surface of their host star. However, the essential nature of these exoplanets remains largely mysterious: there is no known, discernible pattern linking the presence, size, or orbital parameters of a planet to the nature of its parent star. We have little idea whether the chemistry of a planet is linked to its formation environment, or whether the type of host star drives the physics and chemistry of the planet’s birth, and evolution. ARIEL was conceived to observe a large number (~1000) of transiting planets for statistical understanding, including gas giants, Neptunes, super-Earths and Earth-size planets around a range of host star types using transit spectroscopy in the 1.25–7.8 μm spectral range and multiple narrow-band photometry in the optical. ARIEL will focus on warm and hot planets to take advantage of their well-mixed atmospheres which should show minimal condensation and sequestration of high-Z materials compared to their colder Solar System siblings. Said warm and hot atmospheres are expected to be more representative of the planetary bulk composition. Observations of these warm/hot exoplanets, and in particular of their elemental composition (especially C, O, N, S, Si), will allow the understanding of the early stages of planetary and atmospheric formation during the nebular phase and the following few million years. ARIEL will thus provide a representative picture of the chemical nature of the exoplanets and relate this directly to the type and chemical environment of the host star. ARIEL is designed as a dedicated survey mission for combined-light spectroscopy, capable of observing a large and well-defined planet sample within its 4-year mission lifetime. Transit, eclipse and phase-curve spectroscopy methods, whereby the signal from the star and planet are differentiated using knowledge of the planetary ephemerides, allow us to measure atmospheric signals from the planet at levels of 10–100 part per million (ppm) relative to the star and, given the bright nature of targets, also allows more sophisticated techniques, such as eclipse mapping, to give a deeper insight into the nature of the atmosphere. These types of observations require a stable payload and satellite platform with broad, instantaneous wavelength coverage to detect many molecular species, probe the thermal structure, identify clouds and monitor the stellar activity. The wavelength range proposed covers all the expected major atmospheric gases from e.g. H2O, CO2, CH4 NH3, HCN, H2S through to the more exotic metallic compounds, such as TiO, VO, and condensed species. Simulations of ARIEL performance in conducting exoplanet surveys have been performed – using conservative estimates of mission performance and a full model of all significant noise sources in the measurement – using a list of potential ARIEL targets that incorporates the latest available exoplanet statistics. The conclusion at the end of the Phase A study, is that ARIEL – in line with the stated mission objectives – will be able to observe about 1000 exoplanets depending on the details of the adopted survey strategy, thus confirming the feasibility of the main science objectives.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Altimetry for the future: Building on 25 years of progress

In 2018 we celebrated 25 years of development of radar altimetry, and the progress achieved by this methodology in the fields of global and coastal oceanography, hydrology, geodesy and cryospheric sciences. Many symbolic major events have celebrated these developments, e.g., in Venice, Italy, the 15th (2006) and 20th (2012) years of progress and more recently, in 2018, in Ponta Delgada, Portugal, 25 Years of Progress in Radar Altimetry. On this latter occasion it was decided to collect contributions of scientists, engineers and managers involved in the worldwide altimetry community to depict the state of altimetry and propose recommendations for the altimetry of the future. This paper summarizes contributions and recommendations that were collected and provides guidance for future mission design, research activities, and sustainable operational radar altimetry data exploitation. Recommendations provided are fundamental for optimizing further scientific and operational advances of oceanographic observations by altimetry, including requirements for spatial and temporal resolution of altimetric measurements, their accuracy and continuity. There are also new challenges and new openings mentioned in the paper that are particularly crucial for observations at higher latitudes, for coastal oceanography, for cryospheric studies and for hydrology. The paper starts with a general introduction followed by a section on Earth System Science including Ocean Dynamics, Sea Level, the Coastal Ocean, Hydrology, the Cryosphere and Polar Oceans and the ‘‘Green” Ocean, extending the frontier from biogeochemistry to marine ecology. Applications are described in a subsequent section, which covers Operational Oceanography, Weather, Hurricane Wave and Wind Forecasting, Climate projection. Instruments’ development and satellite missions’ evolutions are described in a fourth section. A fifth section covers the key observations that altimeters provide and their potential complements, from other Earth observation measurements to in situ data. Section 6 identifies the data and methods and provides some accuracy and resolution requirements for the wet tropospheric correction, the orbit and other geodetic requirements, the Mean Sea Surface, Geoid and Mean Dynamic Topography, Calibration and Validation, data accuracy, data access and handling (including the DUACS system). Section 7 brings a transversal view on scales, integration, artificial intelligence, and capacity building (education and training). Section 8 reviews the programmatic issues followed by a conclusion