Period Stabilization in the Busse-Heikes Model of the Kuppers-Lortz Instability

The Busse-Heikes dynamical model is described in terms of relaxational and nonrelaxational dynamics. Within this dynamical picture a diverging alternating period is calculated in a reduced dynamics given by a time-dependent Hamiltonian with decreasing energy. A mean period is calculated which results from noise stabilization of a mean energy. The consideration of spatial-dependent amplitudes leads to vertex formation. The competition of front motion around the vertices and the Kuppers-Lortz instability in determining an alternating period is discussed.Comment: 28 pages, 11 figure

Differential expression of proteins in omental and subcutaneous adipose tissue related to sexual stedroids concentrations

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Culturable aerobic and facultative bacteria from the gut of the polyphagic dung beetle Thorectes lusitanicus Jeckel

Unlike other dung beetles, the Iberian geotrupid Thorectes lusitanicus exhibits polyphagous behavior; for example, it is able to eat acorns, fungi, fruits, and carrion in addition to the dung of different mammals. This adaptation to digest a wider diet has physiological and developmental advantages and requires key changes in the composition and diversity of the beetle's gut microbiota. In this study, we isolated aerobic, facultative anaerobic, and aerotolerant microbiota amenable to grow in culture from the gut contents of T. lusitanicus and resolved isolate identity to the species level by sequencing 16S rRNA gene fragments. Using BLAST similarity searches and maximum likelihood phylogenetic analyses, we were able to reveal that the analyzed fraction (culturable, aerobic, facultative anaerobic, and aerotolerant) of beetle gut microbiota is dominated by the phyla Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria. Among Proteobacteria, members of the order Enterobacteriales (Gammaproteobacteria) were the most abundant. The main functions associated with the bacteria found in the gut of T. lusitanicus would likely include nitrogen fixation, denitrification, detoxification, and diverse defensive roles against pathogens.This study was supported by the project 065/2002 of the Ministry of Environment, and the projects “Thorbellota” (CGL2008/03878/BOS) and “NiTerDist” (CGL2011-515 25544) of the Secretaría de Estado de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación

Catalytically Active Imine-based Covalent Organic Frameworks for Detoxification of Nerve Agent Simulants in Aqueous Media

A series of imine-based covalent organic frameworks decorated in their cavities with di erent alkynyl, pyrrolidine, and N-methylpyrrolidine functional groups have been synthetized. These materials exhibit catalytic activity in aqueous media for the hydrolytic detoxification of nerve agents, as exemplified with nerve gas simulant diisopropylfluorophosphate (DIFP). These preliminary results suggest imine-based covalent organic frameworks (COFs) as promising materials for detoxification of highly toxic molecules.MINECO (MAT2016-77608-C3-1-P and 2-P, CTQ2017-84692-R) and EU FEDER fundin

Functional Improvement of Human Cardiotrophin 1 Produced in Tobacco Chloroplasts by Co-Expression with Plastid Thioredoxin m

Human cardiotrophin 1 (CT1), a cytokine with excellent therapeutic potential, was previously expressed in tobacco chloroplasts. However, the growth conditions required to reach the highest expression levels resulted in an impairment of its bioactivity. In the present study, we have examined new strategies to modulate the expression of this recombinant protein in chloroplasts so as to enhance its production and bioactivity. In particular, we assessed the effect of both the fusion and co-expression of Trx m with CT1 on the production of a functional CT1 by using plastid transformation. Our data revealed that the Trx m fusion strategy was useful to increase the expression levels of CT1 inside the chloroplasts, although CT1 bioactivity was significantly impaired, and this was likely due to steric hindrance between both proteins. By contrast, the expression of functional CT1 was increased when co-expressed with Trx m, because we demonstrated that recombinant CT1 was functionally active during an in vitro signaling assay. While Trx m/CT1 co-expression did not increase the amount of CT1 in young leaves, our results revealed an increase in CT1 protein stability as the leaves aged in this genotype, which also improved the recombinant protein’s overall production. This strategy might be useful to produce other functional biopharmaceuticals in chloroplasts

Overexpression of thioredoxin m in chloroplasts alters carbon and nitrogen partitioning in tobacco

In plants, there is a complex interaction between carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) metabolism, and its coordination is fundamental for plant growth and development. Here, we studied the influence of thioredoxin (Trx) m on C and N partitioning using tobacco plants overexpressing Trx m from the chloroplast genome. The transgenic plants showed altered metabolism of C (lower leaf starch and soluble sugar accumulation) and N (with higher amounts of amino acids and soluble protein), which pointed to an activation of N metabolism at the expense of carbohydrates. To further delineate the effect of Trx m overexpression, metabolomic and enzymatic analyses were performed on these plants. These results showed an up-regulation of the glutamine synthetase-glutamate synthase pathway; specifically tobacco plants overexpressing Trx m displayed increased activity and stability of glutamine synthetase. Moreover, higher photorespiration and nitrate accumulation were observed in these plants relative to untransformed control plants, indicating that overexpression of Trx m favors the photorespiratory N cycle rather than primary nitrate assimilation. Taken together, our results reveal the importance of Trx m as a molecular mediator of N metabolism in plant chloroplasts.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Carbonation of Wollastonite: A Model Reaction to Test Natural and Biomimetic Catalysts for Enhanced CO2 Sequestration

One of the most promising strategies for the safe and permanent disposal of anthropogenic CO2 is its conversion into carbonate minerals via the carbonation of calcium and magnesium silicates. However, the mechanism of such a reaction is not well constrained, and its slow kinetics is a handicap for the implementation of silicate mineral carbonation as an effective method for CO2 capture and storage (CCS). Here, we studied the different steps of wollastonite (CaSiO3) carbonation (silicate dissolution -> carbonate precipitation) as a model CCS system for the screening of natural and biomimetic catalysts for this reaction. Tested catalysts included carbonic anhydrase (CA), a natural enzyme that catalyzes the reversible hydration of CO2(aq), and biomimetic metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Our results show that dissolution is the rate-limiting step for wollastonite carbonation. The overall reaction progresses anisotropically along different [hkl] directions via a pseudomorphic interface-coupled dissolution–precipitation mechanism, leading to partial passivation via secondary surface precipitation of amorphous silica and calcite, which in both cases is anisotropic (i.e., (hkl)-specific). CA accelerates the final carbonate precipitation step but hinders the overall carbonation of wollastonite. Remarkably, one of the tested Zr-based MOFs accelerates the dissolution of the silicate. The use of MOFs for enhanced silicate dissolution alone or in combination with other natural or biomimetic catalysts for accelerated carbonation could represent a potentially effective strategy for enhanced mineral CCS.This research was funded by the Spanish Government (grants CGL2015-70642-R, CGL2015-73103-EXP, CTQ2017-84692-R), EU FEDER funding, the University of Granada (“Unidad Científica de Excelencia” UCE-PP2016-05) and the Junta de Andalucía (grant P11-RNM-7550 and Research Group RNM-179). We thank the personnel of the Centro de Instrumentación Científica (CIC) of the University of Granada for their help during TG-DSC, FESEM, -XRD, and ICP-OES analyses

Heterometallic Titanium-Organic Frameworks as Dual Metal Catalysts for Synergistic Non-Buffered Hydrolysis of Nerve Agent Simulants

Heterometallic metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) can offer important advantages over their homometallic counterparts to enable targeted modification of their adsorption, structural response, electronic structure, or chemical reactivity. However, controlling metal distribution in these solids still remains a challenge. The family of mesoporous titanium-organic frameworks, MUV-101(M), displays heterometallic TiM2 nodes assembled from direct reaction of Ti(IV) and M(II) salts. We use the degradation of nerve agent simulants to demonstrate that only TiFe2 nodes are capable of catalytic degradation in non-buffered conditions. By using an integrative experimental-computational approach, we rationalize how the two metals influence each other, in this case, for a synergistic mechanism reminiscent of bimetallic enzymes. Our results highlight the importance of controlling metal distribution at an atomic level to span the interest of heterometallic MOFs to a broad scope of cascade or tandem reactions. Summary Mixed-metal or heterometallic metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are gaining importance as a route to produce materials with increasing chemical and functional complexities. We report a family of heterometallic titanium frameworks, MUV-101(M), and use them to exemplify the advantages of controlling metal distribution across the framework in heterogeneous catalysis by exploring their activity toward the degradation of a nerve agent simulant of Sarin gas. MUV-101(Fe) is the only pristine MOF capable of catalytic degradation of diisopropyl-fluorophosphate (DIFP) in non-buffered aqueous media. This activity cannot be explained only by the association of two metals, but to their synergistic cooperation, to create a whole that is more efficient than the simple sum of its parts. Our simulations suggest a dual-metal mechanism reminiscent of bimetallic enzymes, where the combination of Ti(IV) Lewis acid and Fe(III)–OH Brönsted base sites leads to a lower energy barrier for more efficient degradation of DIFP in absence of a base.Financial support for this work was provided by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellowships (749359-EnanSET, N.M.P) within the European Union research and innovation framework programme (2014-2020

Staphylococcal phages and pathogenicity islands drive plasmid evolution

Conjugation has classically been considered the main mechanism driving plasmid transfer in nature. Yet bacteria frequently carry so-called non-transmissible plasmids, raising questions about how these plasmids spread. Interestingly, the size of many mobilisable and non-transmissible plasmids coincides with the average size of phages (~40 kb) or that of a family of pathogenicity islands, the phage-inducible chromosomal islands (PICIs, ~11 kb). Here, we show that phages and PICIs from Staphylococcus aureus can mediate intra- and inter-species plasmid transfer via generalised transduction, potentially contributing to non-transmissible plasmid spread in nature. Further, staphylococcal PICIs enhance plasmid packaging efficiency, and phages and PICIs exert selective pressures on plasmids via the physical capacity of their capsids, explaining the bimodal size distribution observed for non-conjugative plasmids. Our results highlight that transducing agents (phages, PICIs) have important roles in bacterial plasmid evolution and, potentially, in antimicrobial resistance transmission