Centriole Assembly Requires Both Centriolar and Pericentriolar Material Proteins

AbstractCentrioles organize pericentriolar material to form centrosomes and also template the formation of cilia. Despite the importance of centrioles in dividing and differentiated cells, their assembly remains poorly understood at a molecular level. Here, we develop a fluorescence microscopy-based assay for centriole assembly in the 1-cell stage C. elegans embryo. We use this assay to characterize SAS-6, a centriolar protein that we identified based on its requirement for centrosome duplication. We show that SAS-6, a member of a conserved metazoan protein family, is specifically required for new centriole assembly, a result we confirm by electron microscopy. We further use the centriole assembly assay to examine the roles of three pericentriolar material proteins: SPD-5, the kinase aurora-A, and γ-tubulin. Our results suggest that the pericentriolar material promotes daughter centriole formation by concentrating γ-tubulin around the parent centriole. Thus, both centriolar and pericentriolar material proteins contribute to centriole assembly

Stop it! Relationship between sport expertise and response inhibition in elite athletes

IntroductionThe dynamic structure of sport games forces players to make time-sensitive decisions and to initiate actions that may then have to be canceled in response to sudden changes in the game situation. Whether and up to which time already initiated movements can still be inhibited is an important criterion for game performance in elite sport. Research indicates that elite athletes show superior motor inhibition performance compared to recreational athletes. However, no study has examined whether differences also emerge among professional elite athletes themselves. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether motor inhibition performance is a differential feature among elite athletes, and whether inhibition performance increases with greater expertise.MethodsIn total of 106 elite athletes (ice hockey, basketball, volleyball, American football, handball, and soccer) completed a PC-based procedure to determine motor inhibition performance using the stop-signal reaction time (SSRT) task for hands and feet. In addition, an expertise score was determined for each elite athlete. Multiple linear regression was used to calculate the relationship between expertise and SSRT.ResultsResults showed that the expertise score of the elite athletes was between 3.7 and 11.7 out of 16 possible points (MExpertise = 6.8 points, SD = 1.76). The average SSRT of the hands was 224.0 ms (SD = 35.0); of the feet, 257.9 ms (SD = 48.5). Regression results showed a significant relationship between expertise and SSRT (F(2,101) = 9.38, p = 0.04, R2 = 0.06). SSRTs of the hands were significant predictors of expertise (b = −0.23, t = −2.1, p = 0.04).DiscussionTaken together, results suggest that elite athletes with higher expertise outperform elite athletes with lower expertise, indicating that it is possible to differentiate within elite athletes with respect to inhibition performance of the hands. However, whether expertise affects inhibition performance or vice versa cannot be answered at present

Avaliação da qualidade do leite de propriedades da região do Vale do Taquari no estado do Rio Grande do Sul

A melhoria da qualidade do leite é um grande desafio para o setor leiteiro, tendo em vista que uma matéria prima de boa qualidade resulta num maior rendimento e qualidade dos derivados lácteos produzidos, trazendo benefícios para a indústria e para o consumidor. A análise da composição (teor de gordura e proteína bruta), a contagem de células somáticas (CCS) e a contagem bacteriana total (CBT) são instrumentos importantes na avaliação da qualidade do leite. O Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento implantou a Instrução Normativa 51/2002, que estabeleceu parâmetros para os componentes do leite. O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar a situação da qualidade do leite na região do Vale do Taquari, sua variação ao longo do ano e sua adequação aos parâmetros da IN51. O estudo foi realizado no período de agosto de 2006 a agosto de 2007 (13 meses). Foram coletadas amostras de leite de 11 propriedades selecionadas, totalizando 143 amostras. Foram realizadas as análises de: CCS, CBT e composição do leite (teores de gordura e proteína bruta). Os valores médios das análises realizadas foram: gordura - 3,34%, proteína bruta - 3,09%, CCS - 6,0x10 5 células/mL e CBT - 1,07x106 UFC/mL. Com relação aos padrões da IN51, encontravam-se fora dos padrões estabelecidos para gordura, proteína bruta, CCS e CBT, respectivamente 9,79; 7,69; 14,69% e 29,37% das amostras. A composição química e a CCS do leite analisado, na região do Vale do Taquari, demonstraram a boa qualidade da matéria prima. A contagem bacteriana total foi o fator limitante para a adequação do leite à IN51

A marker of biological age explains individual variation in the strength of the adult stress response

This research was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) under grants BB/J016446/1, BB/J015091/1 and BB/J016292/1. The project has also received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no. AdG 666669 (D.N.) and 268926 (P.M.)) K.A.S. was also funded by a BBSRC David Phillips Research Fellowship. The raw data and R script from this experiment are publicly available at: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.846830 [38].The acute stress response functions to prioritize behavioural and physiological processes that maximize survival in the face of immediate threat. There is variation between individuals in the strength of the adult stress response that is of interest in both evolutionary biology and medicine. Age is an established source of this variation-stress responsiveness diminishes with increasing age in a range of species-but unexplained variation remains. Since individuals of the same chronological age may differ markedly in their pace of biological ageing, we asked whether biological age-measured here via erythrocyte telomere length-predicts variation in stress responsiveness in adult animals of the same chronological age. We studied two cohorts of European starlings in which we had previously manipulated the rate of biological ageing by experimentally altering the competition experienced by chicks in the fortnight following hatching. We predicted that individuals with greater developmental telomere attrition, and hence greater biological age, would show an attenuated corticosterone (CORT) response to an acute stressor when tested as adults. In both cohorts, we found that birds with greater developmental telomere attrition had lower peak CORT levels and a more negative change in CORT levels between 15 and 30 min following stress exposure. Our results, therefore, provide strong evidence that a measure of biological age explains individual variation in stress responsiveness: birds that were biologically older were less stress responsive. Our results provide a novel explanation for the phenomenon of developmental programming of the stress response: observed changes in stress physiology as a result of exposure to early-life adversity may reflect changes in ageing.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Treatment of invasive fungal infections in clinical practice: a multi-centre survey on customary dosing, treatment indications, efficacy and safety of voriconazole

Invasive fungal infections are frequent and often deadly complications in patients with malignant hematological diseases. Voriconazole is a third generation triazole antifungal with broad activity against most clinically relevant fungal pathogens. Clinical practice often deviates from insights gained from controlled randomized trials. We conducted a multi-centre survey to evaluate efficacy, safety, treatment indications and dosing of voriconazole outside clinical trials. Patients receiving voriconazole were documented via electronic data capturing. An analysis was conducted after submission of 100 episodes from September 2004 to November 2005. Voriconazole was administered for suspected or proven invasive fungal infection (IFI) (57%), as empirical treatment in patients with fever of unknown origin (21%) and secondary (19%) as well as primary (3%) prophylaxis of IFI. Investigators’ assessment of fungal infection often diverted from EORTC/MSG 2002 criteria. A favorable response was reported in 61.4% for suspected or proven IFI and 52.4% for empirical treatment. Mortality was 15%, 26.7% of which was attributable to IFI. Breakthrough fungal infections occurred in four (21.1%) patients with voriconazole as secondary prophylaxis. Toxicity and adverse events comprised elevated liver enzymes and visual disturbances. Although indications frequently deviated from clinical evidence and legal approval, voriconazole showed efficacy and safety, comparable to major controlled clinical trials. Data from this survey demonstrate the difficulty of putting drugs to their approved use in IFI

Catalytic Hydrogenation and Hydrodeoxygenation of Furfural over Pt(111): A Model System for the Rational Design and Operation of Practical Biomass Conversion Catalysts

Furfural is a key bioderived platform chemical whose reactivity under hydrogen atmospheres affords diverse chemical intermediates. Here, temperature-programmed reaction spectrometry and complementary scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) are employed to investigate furfural adsorption and reactivity over a Pt(111) model catalyst. Furfural decarbonylation to furan is highly sensitive to reaction conditions, in particular, surface crowding and associated changes in the adsorption geometry: furfural adopts a planar geometry on clean Pt(111) at low coverage, tilting at higher coverage to form a densely packed furfural adlayer. This switch in adsorption geometry strongly influences product selectivity. STM reveals the formation of hydrogen-bonded networks for planar furfural, which favor decarbonylation on clean Pt(111) and hydrogenolysis in the presence of coadsorbed hydrogen. Preadsorbed hydrogen promotes furfural hydrogenation to furfuryl alcohol and its subsequent hydrogenolysis to methyl furan, while suppressing residual surface carbon. Furfural chemistry over Pt is markedly different from that over Pd, with weaker adsorption over the former affording a simpler product distribution than the latter; Pd catalyzes a wider range of chemistry, including ring-opening to form propene. Insight into the role of molecular orientation in controlling product selectivity will guide the design and operation of more selective and stable Pt catalysts for furfural hydrogenation

The Lantern Vol. 45, No. 1, November 1978

• Here is the Dance • To V.E.H. • The Hard Fist of the North • Early Ridicule • Spectrum - October 6, 1978 • Finally Someone Looks • Windjammer • Bereft • Waiting • Solitary Season • Drifting Downstream • The Dirtiest Joke • The Mannequin Factory • Me • When I am Famous • A Letter to John Hansen • Who Said the Sound of Laughter is Nice? • Throwing Back Her Hair • Don\u27t Let the Cold Become You • Sister • Marxist Drama • Fleeting Love • Music of Spain • (A Selection of Happy Poems) • Sterling St. Jacques • Winter, Verse II • Aventure Chez Le Psychiatre • For Marya • The Night Train • A Rude Awakeninghttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/lantern/1113/thumbnail.jp

The Role of γ-Tubulin in Centrosomal Microtubule Organization

As part of a multi-subunit ring complex, γ-tubulin has been shown to promote microtubule nucleation both in vitro and in vivo, and the structural properties of the complex suggest that it also seals the minus ends of the polymers with a conical cap. Cells depleted of γ-tubulin, however, still display many microtubules that participate in mitotic spindle assembly, suggesting that γ-tubulin is not absolutely required for microtubule nucleation in vivo, and raising questions about the function of the minus end cap. Here, we assessed the role of γ-tubulin in centrosomal microtubule organisation using three-dimensional reconstructions of γ-tubulin-depleted C. elegans embryos. We found that microtubule minus-end capping and the PCM component SPD-5 are both essential for the proper placement of microtubules in the centrosome. Our results further suggest that γ-tubulin and SPD-5 limit microtubule polymerization within the centrosome core, and we propose a model for how abnormal microtubule organization at the centrosome could indirectly affect centriole structure and daughter centriole replication

Pandemia da Covid-19: vivências de mães de lactentes que nasceram prematuros

Objetivo: Conocer las experiencias de madres de bebés que nacieron prematuros en la pandemia de Covid-19. Método: Estudio cualitativo basado en la Teoría Bioecológica del Desarrollo Humano, desarrollado en una maternidad pública en Paraíba, Brasil, entre junio y julio de 2020 con 21 madres de bebés que nacieron prematuros, mediante entrevista semiestructurada. Los datos se sometieron a análisis temático inductivo. Resultados: Las madres conocen las medidas de prevención, transmisión y síntomas de la enfermedad, según se informa en los medios, pero tienen diferentes percepciones sobre el aislamiento social. Sus experiencias estuvieron impregnadas de dificultades económicas, menor apoyo social y estrés emocional. Consideraciones finales: Se recomienda monitorear la salud del niño y brindar apoyo social al binomio madre-hijo de manera remota, para que no se rompa la continuidad del vínculo y el cuidado de la familia en este momento de vulnerabilidad. Palabras clave: Infecciones por Coronavirus. Madres. Recien nacido prematuro