Gender and unemployment. Analysis of Understanding Society: the UK Household Longitudinal Survey

Licensed under Creative Commons: AttributionNonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)This research, based on the UK Household Longitudinal Survey – Understanding Society – looks ta the wellbeing impacts of unemployment on men and women, beyond loss of income

Primjena višeenzimskih sustava iz kvasaca za poboljšanje ekstrakcije pigmenata, tehnoloških parametara i antioksidacijske aktivnosti vina

Research background. Wine yeasts are a heterogeneous microbial group with high enzymatic potential that makes them a useful tool in winemaking. With a better understanding of their oenological properties, selection procedures can be optimised to obtain more efficient strains. The present study aims to isolate and select yeasts from wine grape surface by studying their production of enzymes that hydrolyse plant cell wall polymers and by linking them to different technological parameters and antioxidant activity of wines. Experimental approach. Yeasts that are able to produce carbohydrolases and related enzymes of oenological importance were firstly selected on plates and subsequently identified. Then, a secondary selection of yeasts was carried out according to technological effects of their extracellular enzyme extracts on short macerations. In this way, the colour extraction, total polyphenol content, clarification, filterability and antioxidant activity were studied. This approach makes it possible to correlate the microorganism capacity to produce cell wall-depolymerizing enzymes with their technological effects. Results and conclusions. From 366 isolates, 96 strains (26.2%) showed at least one of the polysaccharidase activities and 55 strains (57.3%) of them exhibited activities of multiple enzymes that degrade plant cell wall polymers. Sixteen strains were selected and identified as Aureobasidium, Candida, Debaryomyces, Hanseniaspora, Metschnikowia, Pichia, Saccharomyces and Torulaspora. Pectinolytic enzymes had the highest hydrolytic activity. Aureobasidium pullulans had a broader enzyme blend and higher activity, dominated by pectinases and followed by xylanases and cellulases. Moreover, the Torulaspora delbrueckii m7-2 strain produced high amounts of polysaccharidase and this was strain-dependent. Strains that produced enzyme extracts with a wide range of activities that were also the highest, also had the best chromatic and technological properties. Cluster analysis confirmed that A. pullulans R-22, m11-2, m86-1 and m86-2 and T. delbrueckii m7-2 could be correlated with a better effect on filterability, clarification and extraction of bioactive compounds, encouraging future studies regarding their application in winemaking. Novelty and scientific contribution. The study of yeast multi-enzymatic systems impacting the grape maceration process enables a proper selection criterion for wine yeasts to improve colour extraction, technological parameters and antioxidant activity of Malbec wine. This work shows that A. pullulans and T. delbruekii have a high enzymatic potential for oenological purposes.Pozadina istraživanja. Vinski kvasci su heterogena skupina mikroorganizama velikog enzimskog potencijala, zbog čega imaju važnu ulogu u proizvodnji vina. Bolje razumijevanje njihovih enoloških svojstav omogućuje optimiranje postupka selekcije kvasaca radi izolacije sojeva učinkovitijih u proizvodnji vina. Svrha je ovoga rada bila izolirati i odabrati kvasce s površine grožđa ispitivanjem njihove sposobnosti proizvodnje enzima koji hidroliziraju polimere staničnih stijenki biljaka, te povezati ih s tehnološkim parametrima i antioksidacijskom aktivnosti vina. Eksperimentalni pristup. Prvo su selekcionirani i identificirani kvasci koji proizvode karbohidrolaze i srodne enzime od enološkog značaja. Zatim su odabrani kvasci prema tehnološkim utjecaju njihovih izvanstaničnih ezima na kratkotrajnu maceraciju. Na taj su način ispitani sljedeći parametri: ekstrakcija pigmenata, ukupni udjel polifenola, bistrenje, filtrabilnost i antioksidacijska aktivnost vina. Ovim se pristupom može povezati sposobnost mikroorganizma da proizvodi enzime što razgrađuju staničnu stijeku biljaka s njihovim tehnološkim učinkom. Rezultati i zaključci. Od 366 izolata, njih 96 (26,2 %) pokazalo je aktivnost barem jedne polisaharidaze, a 55 sojeva (57,3 %) pokazalo je aktivnost više enzima koji razgrađuju stanične stijenke biljaka. Odabrano je šesnaest sojeva kvasaca, koji su identificirani kao vrste rodova Aureobasidium, Candida, Debaryomyces, Hanseniaspora, Metschnikowia, Pichia, Saccharomyces i Torulaspora. Utvrđeno je da su pektinolitički enzimi imali najveću hidrolitičku aktivnost. Vrsta Aureobasidium pullulans proizvodila je velik broj različitih enzima izraženije aktivnosti, i to najviše pektinaza, zatim ksilanaza i celulaza. Osim toga, soj Torulaspora delbrueckii m7-2 proizveo je veliku količinu polisaharidaze, za čiju je aktivnost potvrđeno da ovisi o soju kvasca. Sojevi koji su proizvodili enzime sa širokim spektrom najizraženijih aktivnosti imali su i najbolje kromatske i tehnološke značajke. Klaster analiza potvrdila je da su sojevi A. pullulans R-22, m11-2, m86-1 i m86-2 te T. delbrueckii m7-2 odgovorni za bolja svojstva filtrabilnosti, bistrenja i ekstrakcije bioaktivnih spojeva, što predstavlja poticaj za buduća istraživanja njihove primjene u proizvodnji vina. Novina i znanstveni doprinos. Ispitivanje višeenzimskih sustava u kvascima koji utječu na maceraciju grožđa omogućava pravilnu uspostavu kriterija odabira vinskih kvasaca za poboljšanje ekstrakcije pigmenata, tehnoloških parametara i antioksidacijske aktivnosti vina Malbec. U radu je pokazano da sojevi A. pullulans i T. delbruekii sadržavaju enzime s velikim potencijalom u proizvodnji vina

Developing a Protocol for Ensemble and Vibrational Probe-Containing Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Nipah Ntail-XD Complex

International audienceno abstrac

N-myristoylation determines dual targeting of mammalian NADH-cytochrome b(5) reductase to ER and mitochondrial outer membranes by a mechanism of kinetic partitioning

Mammalian NADH-cytochrome b(5) reductase (b5R) is an N-myristoylated protein that is dually targeted to ER and mitochondrial outer membranes. The N-linked myristate is not required for anchorage to membranes because a stretch of hydrophobic amino acids close to the NH2 terminus guarantees a tight interaction of the protein with the phospholipid bilayer. Instead, the fatty acid is required for targeting of b5R to mitochondria because a nonmyristoylated mutant is exclusively localized to the ER. Here, we have investigated the mechanism by which N-linked myristate affects b5R targeting. We find that myristoylation interferes with interaction of the nascent chain with signal recognition particle, so that a portion of the nascent chains escapes from cotranslational integration into the ER and can be post-translationally targeted to the mitochondrial outer membrane. Thus, competition between two cotranslational events, binding of signal recognition particle and modification by N-myristoylation, determines the site of translation and the localization of b5R

Molecular genetics and genomics of the Rosoideae: state of the art and future perspectives

The Rosoideae is a subfamily of the Rosaceae that contains a number of species of economic importance, including the soft fruit species strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa), red (Rubus idaeus) and black (Rubus occidentalis) raspberries, blackberries (Rubus spp.) and one of the most economically important cut flower genera, the roses (Rosa spp.). Molecular genetics and genomics resources for the Rosoideae have developed rapidly over the past two decades, beginning with the development and application of a number of molecular marker types including restriction fragment length polymorphisms, amplified fragment length polymorphisms and microsatellites, and culminating in the recent publication of the genome sequence of the woodland strawberry, Fragaria vesca, and the development of high throughput single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-genotyping resources for Fragaria, Rosa and Rubus. These tools have been used to identify genes and other functional elements that control traits of economic importance, to study the evolution of plant genome structure within the subfamily, and are beginning to facilitate genomic-assisted breeding through the development and deployment of markers linked to traits such as aspects of fruit quality, disease resistance and the timing of flowering. In this review, we report on the developments that have been made over the last 20 years in the field of molecular genetics and structural genomics within the Rosoideae, comment on how the knowledge gained will improve the efficiency of cultivar development and discuss how these advances will enhance our understanding of the biological processes determining agronomically important traits in all Rosoideae species

Structure-activity relationships of chromogranin A in cell adhesion. Identification of an adhesion site for fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells.

Previous studies showed that chromogranin A (CgA), a glycoprotein stored and co-released with various hormones by neuroendocrine cells and neurons, can modulate cell adhesion. We have investigated the structure-activity relationships of CgA using fibroblasts and coronary artery smooth muscle cells in adhesion assays. A recombinant CgA fragment 1-78 and a peptide 7-57 containing reduced and alkylated cysteines (Cys(17) and Cys(38)) induced cell adhesion after adsorption onto solid phases at 50-100 nm. Peptides lacking the disulfide loop region, including residues 47-68, 39-59, and 39-68, induced cell adhesion, either bound to solid phases at 200-400 nm or added to the liquid phase at 5-10 microm, whereas peptide 60-68 was inactive, suggesting that residues 47-57 are important for activity. The effect of CgA-(1-78) was blocked by anti-CgA antibodies against epitopes including residues Arg(53), His(54), and Leu(57). Substitutions of residues His(54), Gln(55), and Asn(56) with alanine decreased the cell adhesion activity of peptide 47-68. These results suggest that the region 47-57 (RILSILRHQNL) contains a cell adhesion site and that the disulfide bridge is not necessary for the proadhesive activity. The ability of soluble peptides to elicit proadhesive effects suggests an indirect mechanism. The high sequence conservation and accessibility to antibodies suggest that this region is important for the physiological role of CgA

Exploring Potentialities and Limitations of Stapled o- Oligo(PhenyleneEthynylene)s (o-OPEs) as Efficient Circularly Polarized Luminescence Emitters

In this paper we have studied the chiroptical properties of a family of o-OPE derivatives with different steric hindrance. Experimental results show high dissymmetry factors (gabs and glum up to 1.1x10-2) and very similar ECD and CPL for all the derivatives, that makes this basic o-OPE scaffold a robust pure organic emitter. VCD spectra are used to characterize conformational properties in solution. DFT and TD-DFT calculations support experimental results also proving that ECD and CPL are almost exclusively linked to helical moiety and not to size or conformation of substituents. As chiroptical properties of these emitters are independent of substituents, this OPE scaffold can be used as basic skeleton for the design of sensing probes with high CPL efficiencies.We thank MICINN (CTQ2014-53598-R) and Junta de Andalucía (FQM1484) for financial support. Computing Center CINECA Via Magnanelli 6/3 40033 – Casalecchio di Reno (Bologna) Italy and Regione Lombardia for the LISA Grant No. “ChiPhyto: HPL13POZE1” is acknowledged for access to computational facilities. P. Reiné thanks MICINN for a FPU fellowship

Expression of AMPA and NMDA receptor subunits in the cervical spinal cord of wobbler mice

BACKGROUND: The localisation of AMPA and NMDA receptor subunits was studied in a model of degeneration of cervical spinal motoneurons, the wobbler mouse. Cervical regions from early or late symptomatic wobbler mice (4 or 12 weeks of age) were compared to lumbar tracts (unaffected) and to those of healthy mice. RESULTS: No differences were found in the distribution of AMPA and NMDA receptor subunits at both ages. Western blots analysis showed a trend of reduction in AMPA and NMDA receptor subunits, mainly GluR1 and NR2A, exclusively in the cervical region of late symptomatic mice in the triton-insoluble post-synaptic fraction but not whole homogenates. Colocalisation experiments evidenced the expression of GluR1 and NR2A receptors in activated astrocytes from the cervical spinal cord of wobbler mice, GluR2 did not colocalise with GFAP positive cells. No differences were found in the expression of AMPA and NMDA receptor subunits in the lumbar tract of wobbler mice, where neither motoneuron loss nor reactive gliosis occurs. CONCLUSION: In late symptomatic wobbler mice altered levels of GluR1 and NR2A receptor subunits may be a consequence of motoneuron loss rather than an early feature of motoneuron vulnerability