213 research outputs found

    Designing a Resilient Waterscape Using a Living Lab and catalyzing Polycentric Governance

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    The both polycentric governance and Living Labs concepts are based on decentralized participatory planning, co-design, and decisionmaking. While the concept of Living Lab is still emerging, the Isar-Plan (2000 ~ 2011) pioneered the approach for selecting, co-designing, and implementing nature-based solutions along the Isar River in Munich, Germany. Despite multiple governing authorities involved in the decisionmaking process of the Isar-Plan, the polycentric governance that led to the success of the project has to date not been analyzed. This paper presents the results of an ex-post-analysis of the Isar-Plan restoration planning process based on stakeholder interviews and a literature review. The contribution describes the evolution of Isar-Plan governance arrangements and discusses the Living Lab approaches to cooperative governance. The analysis demonstrates how polycentricity facilitated trust, learning, and the co-design of a resilient waterscape. The paper concludes that Living Labs can be a way of applying polycentric governance when autonomous and multi-scale decision-makers are collaboratively involved in the design of policy solutions, and vice-versa

    International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology. CV. Somatostatin Receptors: Structure, Function, Ligands, and New Nomenclature.

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    Somatostatin, also known as somatotropin-release inhibitory factor, is a cyclopeptide that exerts potent inhibitory actions on hormone secretion and neuronal excitability. Its physiologic functions are mediated by five G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) called somatostatin receptor (SST)1-5. These five receptors share common structural features and signaling mechanisms but differ in their cellular and subcellular localization and mode of regulation. SST2 and SST5 receptors have evolved as primary targets for pharmacological treatment of pituitary adenomas and neuroendocrine tumors. In addition, SST2 is a prototypical GPCR for the development of peptide-based radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. This review article summarizes findings published in the last 25 years on the physiology, pharmacology, and clinical applications related to SSTs. We also discuss potential future developments and propose a new nomenclature

    Human Intestinal Cells Modulate Conjugational Transfer of Multidrug Resistance Plasmids between Clinical Escherichia coli Isolates.

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    Bacterial conjugation in the human gut microbiota is believed to play a major role in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes and virulence plasmids. However, the modulation of bacterial conjugation by the human host remains poorly understood and there is a need for controlled systems to study this process. We established an in vitro co-culture system to study the interaction between human intestinal cells and bacteria. We show that the conjugation efficiency of a plasmid encoding an extended spectrum beta-lactamase is reduced when clinical isolates of Escherichia coli are co-cultured with human intestinal cells. We show that filtered media from co-cultures contain a factor that reduces conjugation efficiency. Protease treatment of the filtered media eliminates this inhibition of conjugation. This data suggests that a peptide or protein based factor is secreted on the apical side of the intestinal cells exposed to bacteria leading to a two-fold reduction in conjugation efficiency. These results show that human gut epithelial cells can modulate bacterial conjugation and may have relevance to gene exchange in the gut

    Communication in bacteria: an ecological and evolutionary perspective

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    Individual bacteria can alter their behaviour through chemical interactions between organisms in microbial communities - this is generally referred to as quorum sensing. Frequently, these interactions are interpreted in terms of communication to mediate coordinated, multicellular behaviour. We show that the nature of interactions through quorum-sensing chemicals does not simply involve cooperative signals, but entails other interactions such as cues and chemical manipulations. These signals might have a role in conflicts within and between species. The nature of the chemical interaction is important to take into account when studying why and how bacteria react to the chemical substances that are produced by other bacteria

    Fish Oil Enhances Recovery of Intestinal Microbiota and Epithelial Integrity in Chronic Rejection of Intestinal Transplant

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    The intestinal chronic rejection (CR) is the major limitation to long-term survival of transplanted organs. This study aimed to investigate the interaction between intestinal microbiota and epithelial integrity in chronic rejection of intestinal transplantation, and to find out whether fish oil enhances recovery of intestinal microbiota and epithelial integrity.. In addition, CR rats showed pronounced alteration of tight junction, depicted by marked changes in epithelial cell ultrastructure and redistribution of occuldin and claudins as well as disruption in TJ barrier function. Fish oil administration ameliorated disruption of epithelial integrity in CR, which was associated with an improvement of the mucosal structure leading to improved tight junctions.Our study have presented novel evidence that fish oil is involved in the maintenance of epithelial TJ integrity and recovery of gut microbiota, which may have therapeutic potential against CR in intestinal transplantation
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