Living unicellular eukaryote Tetrahymena pyriformis as a model for study

Some animals are able to survive for a long time under conditions of drastically reduced oxidative metabolism, called metabolic depression. The most investigated type of metabolic depression is hibernation. Research into the basic properties of liver mitochondria energetics during hibernation is essential for fundamental biology and medicine. However, the absence of the suitable hepatocyte culture makes it impossible to study the characteristic features of mitochondrial metabolic states in living cells during hibernation. We proposed that under selected conditions, the unicellular eukaryote Tetrahymena pyriformis resembles hepatocytes under hibernation, as (i) both cell types survive under condition of restricted food supply, hypoxia, and accumulation of toxic products of metabolism; (ii) the mechanisms for survival during drastically reduced oxidative metabolism probably developed in the ancestors of the eukaryote mitochondria and may be conserved, in somewhat modified forms, in mitochondria of the ciliates and mammalian cells; (iii) mitochondria isolated from rat liver and Tetrahymena pyriformis are similar in their energetics properties. The already published results of experiments with Tetrahymena pyriformis and with mitochondria isolated from the liver of hibernating animals are considered. In this paper we support and develop this suggestion. Sharp decrease in the maximal uncoupler-stimulated respiration rates in liver mitochondria isolated from the hibernating animals was described in many publications. The respiration recordings and Mito Tracker Red fluorescence observations in the ciliates were tentatively explained by low ∆Ψ and high ∆pH. Prior to this study the strong decline in ∆Ψ and the subsequent remodeling of mitochondria into the condensed configuration was found during earlier apoptosis induced by suppression of the respiratory activity. On the grounds of these and other data, a hypothesis is put forward that the prerequisite for reducing the oxidative metabolism and mitochondrial transition to hibernation resembles early apoptosis, with initial ∆Ψ decline followed by mitochondrial matrix transition to a condense configuration. Correct comparison of ∆Ψ of mitochondria isolated from liver of active and hibernating animals is difficult as they probably have different matrix volumes and energy-independent binding with the ∆Ψ probes

How secular staganation can affect income class structure in european countries: institutional and policy implications

In recent years, there has been increasing debate about the low economic growth and the risk of secular stagnation in economically advanced countries. Some authors point out possible links between secular stagnation and income inequality, causally in both directions. Taking as a reference point the theoretical literature on the relationship between economic growth and income distribution, this study examines the extent to which different levels of economic growth are associated with the income class structure in European countries between 1993 and 2016, focusing on income distribution before taxes and transfers (market incomes). We highlight that in recession periods the size and income share of the middle class decrease, while the opposite occurs in periods with strong economic growth rates. Nevertheless, when growth rates are modest the patterns are much less clearly defined. Some policy and institutional implications are discussed in order to tackle the concerns of secular stagnation and inequality simultaneously.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Di-jet measurements in heavy-ion collisions at STAR

Jets are produced from hard scatterings in the early stages of heavy-ion collisions. It is expected that these high-$p_T$ partons travel through the hot and dense medium before fragmenting. Therefore they are expected to suffer energy loss in the QGP via gluon radiation and elastic collisions along their path. Measurements of fully reconstructed jets help understand the effect of the energy loss on the jet structure and energy profile. A data-driven characterization of the background in Au+Au is needed in order to compare the results to p+p. The full azimuthal coverage of STAR Time Projection Chamber and Electromagnetic Calorimeter allows measurements of fully reconstructed di-jets, defined by jets that match the online trigger and recoil jets on the away side. A tight selection of the trigger jets allows for a selection of those coming from the surface. Hence, the population of jets on the recoil side is biased towards a maximal energy loss because of the extreme in-medium pathlength. We present measurements of di-jets, exploring their structure and properties in Au+Au and p+p at $\sqrt s_{NN}=$200 GeV in the STAR experiment.Comment: Proceedings for the Jets in Proton-Proton and Heavy-Ion Collisions worksho

Photo filter apps: understanding analogue nostalgia in the new media ecology

As digital media have become more pervasive and entrenched in our daily routines, a nostalgic countertrend has increasingly valued the physical and tactile nature of the analogue image. In the past few years, technologically obsolete devices, such as lo-fi cameras and vinyl records, have not faded out of sight completely but are instead experiencing a comeback. At the same time, digital media capitalise on the nostalgia for the analogue and fetishise the retro aesthetics of old technologies. This article explores the emergence of photo filter and effect applications which allow users to modify digital photos, adding signifiers of age such as washed-out colours, scratches and torn borders. It is argued that these new technologies, with programs such as Instagram, Hipstamatic and Camera 360, bring back the illusory physicality of picture-taking through digital skeuomorphism. Drawing on media archaeology practice, this article interrogates the limits of the retro sensibility and the fetishisation of the past in the context of digital media, in particular by focusing on the case study of the start-up Instagram. This photo filter application neither merely stresses the twilight nature of photography nor represents the straightforward digital evolution of previous analogue features. Rather, it responds to the necessity to feel connected to the past by clear and valued signs of age, mimicking a perceived sense of loss. Faced with the persistent hipster culture and the newness of digital media, photo filter apps create comfortable memories, ageing pictures and adding personal value. As such, it will be argued that this phenomenon of nostalgia for analogue photography can be linked to the concepts of ritual and totem. By providing a critical history of Instagram as a photo-sharing social network, this article aims to explain new directions in the rapidly changing system of connective media

Transcriptional regulation in mouse macrophages : the role of enhancers in macrophage activation and infection

The results presented in Chapter 3 of this thesis were published as (the Authors retain copyright): Denisenko, E., Guler, R., Mhlanga, M. M., Suzuki, H., Brombacher, F., & Schmeier, S. (2017). Genome-wide profiling of transcribed enhancers during macrophage activation. Epigenetics & Chromatin, 10(1), 50. doi: 10.1186/s13072-017-0158-9Macrophages are sentinel cells essential for tissue homeostasis and host defence. Owing to their plasticity, macrophages acquire a range of functional phenotypes in response to microenvironmental stimuli. Of those, M(IFN-γ) and M(IL-4/IL-13) macrophage activation states are well known for their opposing pro- and anti-inflammatory roles. Imbalance in these populations of macrophages has been implicated in progression of various diseases. Macrophages also comprise the first line of an organism’s defence against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis; interactions between the bacteria and host macrophages define the infection outcome. The area of mammalian transcriptional regulation progressed remarkably with recent advances in high-throughput technologies. Enhancers emerged as crucial regulatory DNA elements capable of activating transcription of target genes at distance in an orientation-independent manner. A recent discovery revealed that enhancers can be transcribed themselves into enhancer RNAs, or eRNAs. Enhancers were shown to be pervasive, yet the associated regulatory patterns remain largely unknown and require further research. In this thesis, we investigated in silico transcribed enhancers in mouse tissues and cell lines, with a particular focus on macrophages. We have performed a large-scale study to identify transcribed enhancers across multiple tissues and to characterise their properties. In macrophages, we have established the most accurate, to our knowledge, genome-wide catalogue of transcribed enhancers and enhancer-gene regulatory interactions. We have inferred enhancers that might drive transcriptional responses of protein-coding genes upon M(IFN-γ) and M(IL-4/IL-13) macrophage activation, and demonstrated stimuli specificity of regulatory associations. We have conducted the first to our knowledge study of the role of transcribed enhancers in macrophage response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Taken together, the present work provides new insights into genome-wide enhancer-mediated transcriptional control of macrophage protein-coding genes in different conditions. Given the increasing promise for enhancer and chromatin-directed therapy, this work paves the way for further studies towards hostdirected therapies and novel treatments for tuberculosis and immune diseases associated with macrophage dysfunction

On complex and real identifiability of tensors

We report about the state of the art on complex and real generic identifiability of tensors, we describe some of our recent results obtained in [6] and we present perspectives on the subject.Comment: To appear on Rivista di Matematica dell'Universit\`a di Parma, Volume 8, Number 2, 2017, pages 367-37