1,156 research outputs found
Metallothioneins pattern during ontogeny of coastal dolphin, Pontoporia blainvillei, from Argentina
Metallothioneins are signals of metal exposure and widely used in biomonitoring. Franciscana dolphin is an endemic cetacean from the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean, classified as Vulnerable A3d by the IUCN. Metallothionein, copper and zinc in Franciscana were assessed in two geographic groups; one inhabits La Plata River estuary, anthropogenically impacted, and the other inhabits marine coastal ecosystems, with negligible pollution. Despite the environment, hepatic and renal MT concentrations were similar, but there was a declining trend from early to later developmental stages. Metallothionein K/L, Cu and Zn levels corresponded to normal reported ranges. MT was not related with Cd. Fetal concentrations were higher than its mother. These results and the health status of dolphins are suggesting that MT correspond to physiological ranges for the species, and they are closely to homeostasis of Zn and Cu, according to its ontogenetic changes. The information constitutes the first MT information on Franciscana dolphin and can be considered as baseline for the species conservation
Roles of Noncoding RNAs in Islet Biology.
The discovery that most mammalian genome sequences are transcribed to ribonucleic acids (RNA) has revolutionized our understanding of the mechanisms governing key cellular processes and of the causes of human diseases, including diabetes mellitus. Pancreatic islet cells were found to contain thousands of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), including micro-RNAs (miRNAs), PIWI-associated RNAs, small nucleolar RNAs, tRNA-derived fragments, long non-coding RNAs, and circular RNAs. While the involvement of miRNAs in islet function and in the etiology of diabetes is now well documented, there is emerging evidence indicating that other classes of ncRNAs are also participating in different aspects of islet physiology. The aim of this article will be to provide a comprehensive and updated view of the studies carried out in human samples and rodent models over the past 15 years on the role of ncRNAs in the control of α- and β-cell development and function and to highlight the recent discoveries in the field. We not only describe the role of ncRNAs in the control of insulin and glucagon secretion but also address the contribution of these regulatory molecules in the proliferation and survival of islet cells under physiological and pathological conditions. It is now well established that most cells release part of their ncRNAs inside small extracellular vesicles, allowing the delivery of genetic material to neighboring or distantly located target cells. The role of these secreted RNAs in cell-to-cell communication between β-cells and other metabolic tissues as well as their potential use as diabetes biomarkers will be discussed. © 2020 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 10:893-932, 2020
Constraining the period of the ringed secondary companion to the young star J1407 with photographic plates
Context. The 16 Myr old star 1SWASP J140747.93-394542.6 (V1400 Cen) underwent
a series of complex eclipses in May 2007, interpreted as the transit of a giant
Hill sphere filling debris ring system around a secondary companion, J1407b. No
other eclipses have since been detected, although other measurements have
constrained but not uniquely determined the orbital period of J1407b. Finding
another eclipse towards J1407 will help determine the orbital period of the
system, the geometry of the proposed ring system and enable planning of further
observations to characterize the material within these putative rings. Aims. We
carry out a search for other eclipses in photometric data of J1407 with the aim
of constraining the orbital period of J1407b. Methods. We present photometry
from archival photographic plates from the Harvard DASCH survey, and Bamberg
and Sonneberg Observatories, in order to place additional constraints on the
orbital period of J1407b by searching for other dimming and eclipse events.
Using a visual inspection of all 387 plates and a period-folding algorithm we
performed a search for other eclipses in these data sets. Results. We find no
other deep eclipses in the data spanning from 1890 to 1990, nor in recent
time-series photometry from 2012-2018. Conclusions. We rule out a large
fraction of putative orbital periods for J1407b from 5 to 20 years. These
limits are still marginally consistent with a large Hill sphere filling ring
system surrounding a brown dwarf companion in a bound elliptical orbit about
J1407. Issues with the stability of any rings combined with the lack of
detection of another eclipse, suggests that J1407b may not be bound to J1407.Comment: 8 pages, 3 tables, 4 figures, accepted for publication in A&A. LaTeX
files of the paper, scripts for the figures, and a minimal working FPA can be
found under https://github.com/robinmentel/Constraining-Period
Spontaneous kanamycin-resistant Escherichia coli mutant with altered periplasmic oligopeptide permease protein (OppA) and impermeability to aminoglycosides
Small RNAs derived from tRNA fragmentation regulate the functional maturation of neonatal β cells.
tRNA-derived fragments (tRFs) are an emerging class of small non-coding RNAs with distinct cellular functions. Here, we studied the contribution of tRFs to the regulation of postnatal β cell maturation, a critical process that may lead to diabetes susceptibility in adulthood. We identified three tRFs abundant in neonatal rat islets originating from 5' halves (tiRNA-5s) of histidine and glutamate tRNAs. Their inhibition in these islets reduced β cell proliferation and insulin secretion. Mitochondrial respiration was also perturbed, fitting with the mitochondrial enrichment of nuclear-encoded tiRNA-5 <sup>HisGTG</sup> and tiRNA-5 <sup>GluCTC</sup> . Notably, tiRNA-5 inhibition reduced Mpc1, a mitochondrial pyruvate carrier whose knock down largely phenocopied tiRNA-5 inhibition. tiRNA-5 <sup>HisGTG</sup> interactome revealed binding to Musashi-1, which was essential for the mitochondrial enrichment of tiRNA-5 <sup>HisGTG</sup> . Finally, tiRNA-5s were dysregulated in the islets of diabetic and diabetes-prone animals. Altogether, tiRNA-5s represent a class of regulators of β cell maturation, and their deregulation in neonatal islets may lead to diabetes susceptibility in adulthood
Selberg Supertrace Formula for Super Riemann Surfaces III: Bordered Super Riemann Surfaces
This paper is the third in a sequel to develop a super-analogue of the
classical Selberg trace formula, the Selberg supertrace formula. It deals with
bordered super Riemann surfaces. The theory of bordered super Riemann surfaces
is outlined, and the corresponding Selberg supertrace formula is developed. The
analytic properties of the Selberg super zeta-functions on bordered super
Riemann surfaces are discussed, and super-determinants of Dirac-Laplace
operators on bordered super Riemann surfaces are calculated in terms of Selberg
super zeta-functions.Comment: 43 pages, amste
SARDINE FISHERIES: RESOURCE ASSESSMENT AND SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SITUATION
This study describes fisheries, stock status, ICES advice and management measures for the Northern and Southern sardine stocks in EU Atlantic waters. Information on sardine biology and ecology is provided for a better understanding of stock development. Social and economic dimensions are addressed for sardine fisheries in France, Spain and Portugal. The study provides recommendations to improve knowledge on the species and indicates management measures which might be considered for the sustainability of the fisheries.Versión del edito
Response, relaxation and transport in unconventional superconductors
We investigate the collision-limited electronic Raman response and the
attenuation of ultrasound in spin-singlet d-wave superconductors at low
temperatures. The dominating elastic collisions are treated within a t-matrix
approximation, which combines the description of weak (Born) and strong
(unitary) impurity scattering. In the long wavelength limit a two-fluid
description of both response and transport emerges. Collisions are here seen to
exclusively dominate the relaxational dynamics of the (Bogoliubov)
quasiparticle system and the analysis allows for a clear connection of response
and transport phenomena. When applied to quasi-2-d superconductors like the
cuprates, it turns out that the transport parameter associated with the Raman
scattering intensity for B1g and B2g photon polarization is closely related to
the corresponding components of the shear viscosity tensor, which dominates the
attenuation of ultrasound. At low temperatures we present analytic solutions of
the transport equations, resulting in a non-power-law behavior of the transport
parameters on temperature.Comment: 22 pages, 3 figure
Masses of ground and excited-state hadrons
We present the first Dyson-Schwinger equation calculation of the light hadron
spectrum that simultaneously correlates the masses of meson and baryon ground-
and excited-states within a single framework. At the core of our analysis is a
symmetry-preserving treatment of a vector-vector contact interaction. In
comparison with relevant quantities the
root-mean-square-relative-error/degree-of freedom is 13%. Notable amongst our
results is agreement between the computed baryon masses and the bare masses
employed in modern dynamical coupled-channels models of pion-nucleon reactions.
Our analysis provides insight into numerous aspects of baryon structure; e.g.,
relationships between the nucleon and Delta masses and those of the
dressed-quark and diquark correlations they contain.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures, 4 table
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