Review: Formation and Metabolic Function of Coral Rubble Biofilms in the Reef Ecosystem

When coral dies, their calcareous skeletons constitute coral rubble in conjunction with the cementing activity of coralline algae and bacteria, creating a secondary reef structure which takes from years to decades to form. Healthy coral reefs differ from coral—rubble dominated reefs in microbial taxonomic composition and metabolic functional roles. The metabolisms of healthy reefs are dominated by autotrophic pathways, where carbon and nitrogen fixation dominate, while the metabolism of rubble—dominated reefs predominate in degradation of organic matter. Nitrogen fixation is 3 orders of magnitude lower in rubble—dominated reefs than in healthy reefs. Coral—rubble harbors a vast diversity of microbes that can precipitate carbonate through coupling several metabolic processes including photosynthesis, ureolysis, ammonification, denitrification, sulfate reduction, methane oxidation, and anaerobic sulfide oxidation. All these metabolic processes were found in rubble microbial communities, but ammonification and sulfate reduction were most prevalent. Anthropogenic and non—anthropogenic perturbations of healthy coral reefs in the past decades have led to the prevalence of rubble—dominated reefs in areas of the Caribbean where the ecological and functional shifts of the community still need further study

DEVELOPING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN DIGITAL ECONOMY: THE ECOSYSTEM STRATEGY FOR STARTUPS GROWTH

The transition of the economies towards the digital economy is determining the arising of a type of entrepreneurship based on factors and characteristics widely different from traditional game rules. These changes disclose a series of opportunities for those firms which will be able to adapt at the new parameters and functionalities related to digital technologies diffusion. This contribution underlines some dynamics that should be considered from policy makers who aspire, on the one hand, to promote the emergence of a significant number of startups operating in the digital field and, on the other hand, to nurture the growth process of startups into scale ups. Due to social and economic troubles of many western areas, this latter aspect is even more important. According to a flourishing research stream on entrepreneurship, an interpretative approach to achieving the dual objective is to implement a specific strategy to create an appropriate regional ecosystem. This ecosystem represents a clear change within entrepreneurial policies frame, whose results have so far often been unsatisfactory. Despite its initially selective approach, from an ecosystem many potential benefits can descend. However, creating an ecosystem for digital startup is a complex and burdensome task, which requires a safe and competent guidance, as well as the active involvement of many local actors

Evolution of Collaborative Networks Supporting Startup Sustainability: Evidences from Digital Firms

The aim of this paper is to investigate whether startup evolution can be conceptualized in a life cycle model intended as an unpredictable sequence of stages, where startups need to find actors with whom to collaborate to acquire knowledge and resources supporting the effectiveness and the sustainability of their mission. The creation and implementation of collaborative networks is observed through the lens of the holistic approach to the entrepreneurial ecosystem, whose purpose is to build “bridges” between different actors through the creation of communities of best practices or entrepreneurial networks. The creation of a specific ecosystem is suggested to ease the new digital entrepreneurship generation toward acquiring an appropriate level of knowledge, skills, financial facilitations, and entrepreneurial culture. Following a multiple case study analysis based on nine successful Italian digital firms, the empirical evidence seems to confirm that firms collaborate with different actors in different stages, as knowledge and resource networks play a critical role in sustaining the evolution and success of new firms

Regulation of NFKB through the nuclear processing of p105 (NFKB1) in Epstein-Barr Virus immortalized B cell lines.

Transcription factors of the NF-κB/Rel family are retained in the cytoplasm as inactive complexes through association with IκB inhibitory proteins. Several NF-κB activators induce the proteolysis of IκB proteins, which results in the nuclear translocation and DNA binding of NF-κB complexes. Here, we report a novel mechanism of NF-κB regulation mediated by p105 (NF-κB1) precursor of p50 directly at the nuclear level. In Epstein- Barr virus-immortalized B cells, p105 was found in the nucleus, where it was complexed with p65. In concomitance with NF-κB activation, mitomycin C induced the processing of p105 to p50 in the nucleus, while it did not affect the steady-state protein levels of IκBα and p105 in the cytoplasm. Differently, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate induced a significant proteolysis of both IκBα and p105 in the cytoplasm, while it did not affect the protein level of p105 in the nucleus. These results suggest that in Epstein-Barr virus-positive B cell lines the nuclear processing of p105 can contribute to NF-κB activation in response to specific signaling molecules, such as DNA-damaging agents

An NF-kB site in the 5'-untraslated leader region of the Human Immunodeficiency virus type 1 enhances the viral expression in response to NF-kB-activating stimuli.

The 5'-untranslated leader region of human immunodeficiency virus, type 1 (HIV-1), includes a complex array of putative regulatory elements whose role in the viral expression is not completely understood. Here we demonstrate the presence of an NF-κB-responsive element in the trans- activation response (TAR) region of HIV-1 that confers the full induction of HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) in response to NF-κB-activating stimuli, such as DNA alkylating agents, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, and tumor necrosis factor-α. The TAR NF-κB site GGGAGCTCTC spans from positions +31 to +40 and cooperates with the NF-κB enhancer upstream of the TATA box in the NF-κB-mediated induction of HIV-1 LTR. The conclusion stems from the following observations: (i) deletion of the two NF-κB sites upstream of the TATA box reduces, but does not abolish, the HIV-1 LTR activation by NF-κB inducers; (ii) deletion or base pair substitutions of the TAR NF-κB site significantly reduce the HIV-1 LTR activation by NF-κB inducers; (iii) deletions of both the NF-κB sites upstream of the TATA box and the TAR NF- κB site abolish the activation of HIV-1 LTR in response to NF-κB inducers. Moreover, the p50·p65 NF-κB complex binds to the TAR NF-κB sequence and trans-activates the TAR NF-κB-directed expression. The identification of an additional NF-κB site in the HIV-1 LTR points to the relevance of NF-κB factors in the HIV-1 life cycle

Bayesian modeling of two- and three-species bacterial competition in milk

Listeria monocytogenes is a well-known food-borne pathogen and is among the bacteria best adapted to grow at low temperatures. Psychrotrophic spoilage microorganisms present in milk and milk products are primarily in the genus Pseudomonas, and their numbers increase during cold storage leading to deterioration and/or spoilage. The nature of the competition in two- or three-species bacterial systems with L. monocytogenes, L. innocua, and P. fluorescens in skimmed milk at 7 or 14°C was studied. The Baranyi growth model was used to estimate the growth rate and the maximum population density of the three microorganisms for each strain in single cultures or in two- or three-strains co-cultures. The highest Listeria populations were achieved by pure cultures, decreasing in co-culture with P. fluorescens at both temperatures. A modified deterministic logistic model was applied which includes inhibition functions for single cultures, and two- or three-species cultures. A subsequent Bayesian approach was applied for modelling the bacterial interactions. There was not a direct correlation between the growth rate of P. fluorescens and its inhibitory effect on Listeria species. The use of some species from the natural food microflora to inhibit pathogen growth may be an important tool to enhance the safety of refrigerated foods such as milk and dairy products

Discourse-centric learning analytics

Drawing on sociocultural discourse analysis and argumentation theory, we motivate a focus on learners' discourse as a promising site for identifying patterns of activity which correspond to meaningful learning and knowledge construction. However, software platforms must gain access to qualitative information about the rhetorical dimensions to discourse contributions to enable such analytics. This is difficult to extract from naturally occurring text, but the emergence of more-structured annotation and deliberation platforms for learning makes such information available. Using the Cohere web application as a research vehicle, we present examples of analytics at the level of individual learners and groups, showing conceptual and social network patterns, which we propose as indicators of meaningful learning

Partial purification and MALDI-TOF MS analysis of UN1, a tumor antigen membrane glycoprotein.

UN1 is a membrane glycoprotein that is expressed in immature human thymocytes, a subpopulation of peripheral T lymphocytes, the HPB acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) T-cell line and fetal thymus. We previously reported the isolation of a monoclonal antibody (UN1 mAb) recognizing the UN1 protein that was classified as "unclustered" at the 5th and 6th International Workshop and Conference on Human Leukocyte Differentiation Antigens. UN1 was highly expressed in breast cancer tissues and was undetected in non-proliferative lesions and in normal breast tissues, indicating a role for UN1 in the development of a tumorigenic phenotype of breast cancer cells. In this study, we report a partial purification of the UN1 protein from HPB-ALL T cells by anion-exchange chromatography followed by immunoprecipitation with the UN1 mAb and MALDI-TOF MS analysis. This analysis should assist in identifying the amino acid sequence of UN

Numerical analysis of gas-solidsflow hydrodynamics and heat transfer in two outlet configurationindustrial riser using mesoscale theory to predict the interfacialdrag

Se analizan numéricamente dos configuraciones de un riser del proceso FCC variando la disposición de la salida superior, usando un modelo CFD en 2 D que incluye el Modelo de los Dos Fluidos (TMF), la Teoría Cinética del Flujo Granular (KTGF) y como modelo de arrastre el modelo de la Minimización de la Energía Multi-Escala (EMMS). El modelo se resuelve a través del programa ANSYS Fluent® 14.5 solucionando las ecuaciones de balance de masa, momentum y energía; y ecuaciones constitutivas para calcular la interacción entre las fases, la fase sólida con las paredes, y las propiedades de la fase granular. El modelo propuesto en este trabajo predice adecuadamente el comportamiento del flujo gas-sólido, prediciendo diferentes patrones de flujo en las coordenadas axial y radial del riser; así como zonas concentradas y diluidas de sólidos en la parte baja y alta del riser, respectivamente. Las fluctuaciones en la concentración y las velocidades de los sólidos tanto radial como axialmente que se observan son producto del alto grado de mezclado radial que se acentúa cerca de las paredes del riser debido al arrastre considerado por el modelo utilizado. Por otro lado se observa una rápida estabilización térmica radial y axial alcanzando en poco tiempo el estado estacionario. Los perfiles obtenidos en las dos configuraciones analizadas son muy similares, lo que motiva a que en trabajos futuros se analicen otras configuraciones de salida del riser que permitan mejorar los patrones de concentración y velocidades de los sólidos.In the FCC process two configurations riser are numerically analyzed varying the upper outlet orientation using a 2 D CFD model which includes the Two Fluid Model (TFM), Kinetic Theory of Granular Flow (KTGF), and Energy Minimization Multi-Scale (EMMS) theory as drag model. This model is solved using the ANSYS Fluent® 14.5 software, solving the governing equations of mass, momentum, and energy balance; and the constitutive equations to calculate interfacial interaction, wall-solid phase interaction, and granular phase properties. The model proposed in this work properly predicts the gas-solid flow behavior, predicting different solid flow patterns in radial and axial riser directions, as well as concentrated and diluted zones at riser's top and bottom respectively. The radial and axial solids concentration and velocities profiles fluctuations observed are produced by the high radial solid mix which is higher near the riser walls due to drag force considered by the model used. On the other hand, a rapid radial and axial thermal stabilization is observed reaching the steady state rapidly. The profiles obtained from riser configurations analyzed are very similar, so in future works other riser outlets configurations will be analyzed to try to improve the solid concentration and velocity profiles.Peer Reviewe