Organelle Genome Evolution Within The Green Algal Genus Dunaliella

A large amount of diversity in genomic size and content exists within the mitochondrial and plastid genomes of green algae. However, there are still many un-sequenced green algal organelle genomes. In Smith et al. 2010, the green algal species Dunaliella salina, isolated from Western Australia (strain CCAP 19/18), had its organelle genomes fully sequenced. The genomes of this organism were found to contain large amounts of noncoding DNA. The lack of sequenced organelle genomes of green algae prevented the comparison of genomic architectures in other closely related species. In this study, I expanded on the information from the 2010 study by sequencing the organelle genomes from two Dunaliella species (D. salina CONC-001 and D. viridis CONC-002) isolated from a saline pond in Chile and compared their genomic architectures to that of D. salina CCAP 19/18. Sequencing, assembly, and bioinformatics analyses of the Chilean strains revealed genomic expansion within their mitochondrial and plastid genomes. Accompanying the increase in organelle genome size were highly inflated noncoding regions and an excess of introns. Upon further investigation, D. salina CCAP 19/18 and D. salina CONC-001 were found to be more similar to each other than to D. viridis CONC-002. Nevertheless, the two D. salina strains, given their major differences in organelle genome size, appear to represent distinct species

Immunity & Ageing: a new journal looking at ageing from an immunological point of view

In the elderly, many alterations of both innate and clonotypic immunity have been described. Alterations to the immune system in the elderly are generally viewed as a deterioration of immunity, leading to the use of the term immunosenescence. However, although many immunological parameters are often notably reduced in the elderly, retained function of both innate and clonotypic immunity in the elderly is tightly correlated to health status. Recognising the important role of the immune system in ageing, over the last few years, journals oriented towards gerontology and geriatric sciences have increasingly published articles dealing with the immunology of ageing, but a specialised journal in this area does not exist. Immunity & Ageing is a new Open Access, peer reviewed journal that aims to cover all the topics dealing with innate and clonotypic immunity which are relevant to ageing. The journal will provide an opportunity to focus on this topic, which is emerging as one of the critical mechanisms of ageing. Furthermore, as an online, Open Access journal, Immunity & Ageing will promote immediate accessibility to research, which is generally not possible for articles published in printed journals. We hope this forum, concentrating on the themes of ageing and immunology with a strong focus on human studies, will create a new perspective for viewing a world that is inevitably becoming older

La rendición de cuentas y la transparencia de los gobiernos centrales en Sudamérica

Tesis inédita de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Departamento de Administración Financiera y Contabilidad, leída el 27-05-2020This dissertation studies the disclosure of information on governance, corruption, and socio-economic development in the period 1996-2016 as best transparency practices of South American central governments, answering research questions about whether there are differences in the indicators that measure governance,corruption, and socio-economic development, and how central government reports can be evaluated through a novel measurement. This subject is of great interest at present, although the financial and on-line reports have not been studied in depth in the governmental context. Therefore, this dissertation aims to contribute to increase the knowledge about the reporting, accountability and governance in such a way as to ensure the comparison is allowed to support a benchmarking process, which can serve as a basis and as an example for other countries since the literature seems to emphasize a framework of interrelationships between governance, transparency and socio-economic development indicators...En esta tesis se estudia la divulgación de información sobre gobernabilidad, corrupción, y desarrollo socioeconómico en el periodo 1996-2016 como mejores practicas de transparencia de los gobiernos centrales sudamericanos, respondiendo a preguntas de investigación sobre si existen diferencias en los indicadores que miden la gobernanza, la corrupción y el desarrollo socioeconómico y cómo se pueden evaluar los informes de los gobiernos centrales a través de una novedosa medición. Este tema suscita gran interés en la actualidad si bien los informes financieros y los informes en internet no han sido estudiados en profundidad en el contexto gubernamental. Por tanto, esta tesis quiere contribuir a aumentar el conocimiento sobre la presentación de informes, la rendición de cuentas y la gobernanza de tal manera que se permita la comparación para respaldar un proceso de benchmarking, que pueda servir de ejemplo para los demás países puesto que la literatura parece destacar un marco de interrelaciones entre gobernabilidad, transparencia e indicadores de desarrollo socioeconómico...Fac. de Ciencias Económicas y EmpresarialesTRUEunpu

Age and immunity

Longitudinal studies are defining progressive alterations to the immune system associated with increased mortality in the very elderly. Many of these changes are exacerbated by or even caused by chronic T cell stimulation by persistent antigen, particularly from Cytomegalovirus. The composition of T cell subsets, their functional integrity and representation in the repertoire are all markedly influenced by age and by CMV. How these findings relate to epidemiological, functional, genetic, genomic and proteomic studies of human T cell immunosenescence was the subject of intense debate at an international conference held just before Christmas 2005 in the Black Forest

Possible role of ABO system in age-related diseases and longevity: a narrative review

ABO blood group antigens are expressed either on the surface of red blood cells either on a variety of other cells. Based on the available knowledge of the genes involved in their biosynthesis and their tissue distribution, their polymorphism has been suggested to provide intraspecies diversity allowing to cope with diverse and rapidly evolving pathogens. Accordingly, the different prevalence of ABO group genotypes among the populations has been demonstrated to be driven by malaria selection. In the similar manner, a particular ABO blood group may contribute to favour life-extension via biological mechanisms important for surviving or eluding serious disease. In this review, we will suggest the possible association of ABO group with age-related diseases and longevity taking into account the biological role of the ABO glycosyltransferases on some inflammatory mediators as adhesion molecule

Centenarians and diet: what they eat in the Western part of Sicily.

This paper pays attention to the modifiable lifestyle factors such as diet and nutrition that might influence life extension and successful ageing. Previous data reported that in Sicily, the biggest Mediterranean island, there are some places where there is a high frequency of male centenarians with respect to the Italian average. The present data show that in Sicani Mountain zone there are more centenarians with respect to the Italian average. In fact, in five villages of Sicani Mountains, there were 19 people with an age range of 100-107 years old from a total population of 18,328 inhabitants. So, the centenarian number was 4.32-fold higher than the national average (10.37 vs. 2.4/10,000); the female/male ratio was 1.1:1 in the study area, while the national ratio is 4.54:1. Unequivocally, their nutritional assessment showed a high adherence to the Mediterranean nutritional profile with low glycemic index food consumed. To reach successful ageing it is advisable to follow a diet with low quantity of saturated fat and high amount of fruits and vegetables rich in phytochemicals

Is the Secret in the Gut? SuperJump Activity Improves Bone Remodeling and Glucose Homeostasis by GLP-1 and GIP Peptides in Eumenorrheic Women

We showed that twenty weeks of SuperJump activity, an innovative workout training performed on an elastic minitrampoline, reduced bone resorption and increased bone formation in eumenorrheic women acting on the key points of the regulation of bone metabolism. The present study analyzed whether the gastrointestinal hormones are involved in the mechanism of action and if it has an impact on glucose homeostasis. The control group was composed of twelve women, similar to the exercise group that performed SuperJump activity for twenty weeks. The analysis was performed on blood samples and investigated GLP-1, GIP, GLP-2, PYY, ghrelin, glucose, insulin, insulin resistance, β-cell function, and insulin sensitivity. The results showed that the activity contributes to raising the GLP-1and GIP levels, and not on GLP-2, PYY, and ghrelin, which did not change. Moreover, SuperJump activity significantly reduced fasting insulin, glucose, insulin resistance, and increased insulin sensitivity but did not affect beta cell function. These data suggest that GLP-1, and GIP are involved in the mechanism of action that improves bone and glucose homeostasis following 20 weeks of SuperJump activity in eumenorrheic women