Transcription of satellite DNAs in insects

Chromatin condensation is an important regulatory mechanism of gene silencing as well as gene activation for the hundreds of functional protein genes harbored in heterochromatic regions of different insect species. Being the major heterochromatin constituents, satellite DNAs serve important roles in heterochromatin regulation in insect in general. Their expression occurs in all developmental stages, being the highest during embryogenesis. Satellite DNA transcrips range from small RNAs, corresponding in size to siRNA, and piwiRNAs, to large, a few Kb long RNAs. The long transcripts are preferentially nonpolyadenylated and remain in the nucleus. The actively regulated expression of satDNAs by cis or trans elements as well as by environmental stress, rather than constitutive transcription, speaks in favour of their involvement in differentiation, development, and environmental response

Changes and trends of climate elements and indices in the region of Mediterranean Croatia

Climate is complex ecological factor described by different climate elements and phenomena that effect development of vegetation and its natural distribution. Climate elements the most important for vegetation are air temperatures, amount of precipitations, air humidity and wind. The aim of this research was to determine trends and changes of climate elements in the region of Mediterranean Croatia. Meteorological stations with the longest monitoring period in the region of the Mediterranean Croatia were chosen in order to determine trends of the climate elements. Decreasing or increasing trends of individual climate elements and indices were analysed using linear trend of regression analysis. Climate elements and indices of the referent line were compared with period between 1991 and 2010. At all meteorological stations was found negative trend of annual amount of precipitations and Lang ´s rain factor. Exception was meteorological station Rijeka with increase of annual amount of precipitations and Lang ´s rain factor. Trends of air temperatures at all meteorological stations were positive. Values of Lang ´s rain factor in the researched region are decreasing resulting higher aridity of the region. Trends of potential evapotranspiration are significant and positive at all meteorological stations. Changes of air temperatures are more noticeable than those of precipitations, while changes of potential evapotranspiration are more noticeable than those of Lang ´s rain factor. Forest vegetation and crop plants of Mediterranean Croatia are adapted to certain climate conditions predominating in this region. This conditions change through time effecting growth and development of all organisms

Epigenetic regulation of genes mediated by satellite DNA

Satellite DNA is a highly repetitive DNA, organized in long tandem arrays, located in the heterochromatic regions of chromosomes. Repeats of satellite DNAs can be excised from their heterochromatin loci and integrate into euchromatin. This scenario was proposed to describe euchromatic dispersion of TCAST1, the species-specific major satellite DNA of beetle Triboliumcastaneum, which is associated with numerous protein-coding genes. Dispersed repeats of TCAST1 (dTcast1) were present as monomeric or multimeric repeat units in intragenic (introns), as well as, intergenic regions. Our assumption was that dTcast1can influence the expression of associated genes. Our results show that dTcast1 affects the adjacent genes under physiological condition by inducing a slight downregulation of gene expression. The effect is more pronounced after heat stress when transient increase of satellite DNA transcripts processed into TCAST1-siRNAs is induced. We showed that a temporary formation of heterochromatic state characterized by increased level of H3K9met2/3 at dTcast insertion sites and their spreading to the proximal regions is responsible for downregulation of nearby genes. In conclusion, dTcast1 satellite elements influence the level of expression of their associated genes through RNA interference-based „heterochromatinization“and the level of suppression is positively correlated with the amount of transcripts of TCAST1 satellite DNA. Insertion of satellite DNA repeats within euchromatin provides genes with regulatory elements that modulate their activity in particular in response to environmental stress. Variation in satellite repeats insertion among individuals can in some cases provide phenotypic variation that could be acted upon by selection enabling satellite DNA to contribute to the evolution of gene regulatory networks

What is Parliamentarism to Populists? The Populist Redefinition of the Concept of Parliamentarism in Parliamentary Debates in Post-Milošević Serbia

This paper analyzes the semantic aspect of the effect of populism in power on parliamentarism. The research focuses on the case of Serbia between 2001 and 2022, which corresponds to the post-Milošević era of contemporary Serbian political history and includes a decade before and after the populist Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) took power in 2012. Drawing on the traditions of conceptual history and rhetorical political analysis, this paper reconstructs the debate over the concept of parliamentarism in Serbian parliamentary debates during the period under observation in order to analyze how populist agents’ interpretation and use of the concept of parliamentarism related to and affected established conceptual conventions. The paper argues that the excessive centralization of power in the hands of the populist executive, which marked the first decade of SNS rule, was accompanied by SNS deputies’ attempt to redefine the concept of parliamentarism through the rhetorical reconstruction of its internal morphology. This attempt was manifested in SNS deputies’ contestation of the established conventions of articulating the concept of parliamentarism with the concepts of parliamentary sovereignty, which implied the superiority of parliament in the institutional system of the polity, and ministerial responsibility, understood as the effective scrutiny of the executive by the institution of parliament as a whole

Populism versus Parliamentarism: Towards Non- Antagonistic Forms of Democratic Politics

Este trabajo se suma al debate sobre la relación entre las categorías de antagonismo y política, pues aborda la cuestión de si la política debe ser vista como intrínsecamente antagónica, o podríamos hablar de formas no antagónicas de pensar y actuar políticamente. Al hacerlo, se involucra críticamente con el argumento de Laclau mediante una revision de su postura sobre la centralidad del  antagonismo para la política, que se ve como resultado de la fusión del populismo con la política, con la consiguiente dificultad para anticipar la posibilidad de una lógica política no populista. Con el telón de fondo del argumento de Laclau, este artículo se pregunta si puede existir una lógica política no populista o una forma de política democrática que, junto con el populismo, se opondría a las formas apolíticas de administración. Basándose en el proyecto intelectual de Kari Palonen, este trabajo retrata el parlamentarismo como una lógica política no populista basada en una forma no antagónica de construcción del “pueblo” como sujeto democrático. Por último, al diferenciar entre las nociones de política democrática y política de la democracia, el artículo termina destacando la naturaleza contingente del efecto que las formas populistas y parlamentarias de política democrática tienen sobre lo que a menudo se construye y percibe como la calidad de la democracia

Statistical Approaches for Dissolution Profile Comparisons of Metformin Film-Coated Tablets

The objective of this work was to apply several statistical approaches to profile comparison on dissolution data of Metformin immediate release film-coated tablets to assure that the developed formulation of the test product that is similar to the reference product (Glucophage film-coated tablets). The evaluated medicinal product belongs to BCS Class III (high solubility, low permeability). The similarity testing of the dissolution profile was performed on the highest strength of the dosage form, following the regulatory requirements for bioequivalence study. The obtained results showed that the simple standard difference and similarity (f1 and f2)-factors are not applicable and therefore practically not useful for comparison of dissolution profiles because one of the regulatory requirements that the relative standard deviation or coefficient of variation of any product should be less than 20% for the first point and less than 10% from second to last time point, which was not achieved in the present case. Therefore, more advanced multivariate methods such as model-dependent approaches coupled to multivariate statistics, the multivariate model-independent approach based on generalized statistical distance (such as e.g. Mahalanobis distance) have been applied for evaluation of dissolution profiles. This approach appeared to provide extra arguments when deciding if two profiles are similar, as it allows for a better description of the dissolution processes (in the sense of e.g. the rate and amount of the active substance dissolved) and thus a better prediction of in vivo performance. Comparison with traditional methods such as those based on fit-factors is made, and their shortcomings pinpointed out. Dissolution profiles can be tested for differences in both level and shape by multivariate-based methods and these methods provide detailed information about dissolution data, which can be useful also in formulation development to achieve the final goal – match the actual performance of the released test product to the performance of a target reference product.publishedVersio

Identifying key denning habitat to conserve brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Croatia

CONTEXT: The preservation of denning habitat is paramount to the recovery of threatened bear populations because of the effect that den site disturbance can have on cub mortality. Understanding habitat suitability for denning can allow management efforts to be directed towards the regions where conservation interventions would be most effective. AIM: We sought to identify the environmental and anthropogenic habitat variables associated with the presence of Eurasian brown bear (Ursus arctos) den sites in Croatia. Based on these associations, in order to inform future conservation decisions, we also sought to identify regions of high suitability for denning across Croatia. METHODS: Using the locations of 91 dens inhabited by bears between 1982 and 2011, we opted for the presence-only modelling option in software Maxent to determine the most important predictors of den presence, and thus predict the distribution of high-value denning habitat across Croatia. KEY RESULTS: We found that structural elements were the most important predictors, with ruggedness and elevation both relating positively to den presence. However, distance to nearest settlement was also positively associated with den presence. CONCLUSION: We determine that there is considerable denning habitat value in areas with high and rugged terrain as well as areas with limited human activity. We suspect that high and rugged terrain contains a greater concentration of the karstic formations used for denning than lower-lying regions. IMPLICATIONS: Our study presents the first habitat suitability model for brown bears in Croatia, and identifies core areas suitable for denning both within and outside the species’ current range. As such, it provides useful evidence for conservation decision making and the development of scientifically-based management plans. Our results also support the need for finer spatial scale studies that can reveal specific denning preferences of subpopulations

Alpha Satellite RNA Levels Are Upregulated in the Blood of Patients with Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

The aberrant overexpression of alpha satellite DNA is characteristic of many human cancers including prostate cancer; however, it is not known whether the change in the alpha satellite RNA amount occurs in the peripheral tissues of cancer patients, such as blood. Here, we analyse the level of intracellular alpha satellite RNA in the whole blood of cancer prostate patients at different stages of disease and compare it with the levels found in healthy controls. Our results reveal a significantly increased level of intracellular alpha satellite RNA in the blood of metastatic cancers patients, particularly those with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer relative to controls. In the blood of patients with localised tumour, no significant change relative to the controls was detected. Our results show a link between prostate cancer pathogenesis and blood intracellular alpha satellite RNA levels. We discuss the possible mechanism which could lead to the increased level of blood intracellular alpha satellite RNA at a specific metastatic stage of prostate cancer. Additionally, we analyse the clinically accepted prostate cancer biomarker PSA in all samples and discuss the possibility that alpha satellite RNA can serve as a novel prostate cancer diagnostic blood biomarker