Evidence of a Critical Histidine Residue in Soluble Aspartic Aminotransferase

Photooxidation of extramitochondrial α-aspartate aminotransferase in the presence of methylene blue or Rose bengal leads to a loss of enzymatic activity which follows first order kinetics. Amino acid analysis shows that histidine is the only amino acid residue significantly affected by photooxidation. Of the 8 histidine residues present in the enzyme monomer, 2 are oxidized rapidly at a rate identical with that of the activity loss, while the other 6 are destroyed much more slowly. The pH dependence of the rate of the photo-induced inactivation of the enzyme corresponds to that expected for the photooxidation of imidazole groups. The behavior of the enzyme in Sephadex G-200 is identical before and after extensive photooxidation, while the starch gel electrophoretic pattern changes after photooxidation. It is concluded that the loss of enzyme activity caused by photooxidation is related to the destruction of 1 histidine residue

"Narrazione per immagini”: la politica estera cinese nelle vignette editoriali del China Daily

In the dissemination of Chinese political discourse outside of China, editorial or political cartoons are considered innovative and creative tools to achieve a better publicity effect. After placing the analysis within the framework of the study of visual forms of political communication, the paper examines a selection of editorial cartoons on foreign affairs published throughout 2021 by the China Daily and disseminated through its website and Facebook page. Drawing on the methodological tools of visual analysis and multimodal critical discourse analysis, the study focuses on the use of visual and visual-verbal metaphors and metonymies in the depiction of social actors and events. Considering the potential role of editorial cartoons in creating narratives and counter-narratives, the paper looks at the degree by which the cartoons analyzed convey China’s positions in relation to the identified issues and act as vehicles of persuasion. The aim is to explore the potential of the China Daily’s editorial cartoons in representing the status of great power sought after by the PRC and measure the projection of this image globally

Notizie dal sito “Yi Dai Yi Lu” pindao in cinese e in inglese: un’analisi critica e comparativa

The promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a major China-led development and cooperation project launched in 2013, features among the centrepieces of China’s current political discourse and is one of the most closely-followed topics by both China’s and international audiences. The organization of the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) held in Beijing on May 14-15 2017 generated a considerable mediatic echo in which Xinhua News Agency played a relevant role. This paper focuses on the website “Yi Dai Yi Lu” pindao (“一带一路”频道), the online space dedicated to the BRI by the state-subordinated agency. The examination offers a comparative analysis of a selection of news titles published over the period of the BRF in the Chinese and English editions of this website. The aim is to examine the narrative constructed therein by offering a two-fold examination of how and to what extent: (1) Xinhua’s institutional and entrepreneurial identity influences its news production; and (2) the nature of different audiences affects the representations of the BRI and BRF in discourses targeted by the same producer to a Chinese-speaking or English-speaking audience.

MAGNETO: cell type marker panel generator from single-cell transcriptomic data

Single-cell RNA sequencing experiments produce data useful to identify different cell types, including uncharacterized and rare ones. This enables us to study the specific functional roles of these cells in different microenvironments and contexts. After identifying a (novel) cell type of interest, it is essential to build succinct marker panels, composed of a few genes referring to cell surface proteins and clusters of differentiation molecules, able to discriminate the desired cells from the other cell populations. In this work, we propose a fully-automatic framework called MAGNETO, which can help construct optimal marker panels starting from a single-cell gene expression matrix and a cell type identity for each cell. MAGNETO builds effective marker panels solving a tailored bi-objective optimization problem, where the first objective regards the identification of the genes able to isolate a specific cell type, while the second conflicting objective concerns the minimization of the total number of genes included in the panel. Our results on three public datasets show that MAGNETO can identify marker panels that identify the cell populations of interest better than state-of-the-art approaches. Finally, by fine-tuning MAGNETO, our results demonstrate that it is possible to obtain marker panels with different specificity levels

Bacterial community structure and diversity along the halocline of Tyro deep-sea hypersaline anoxic basin

Purpose: Tyro is a deep hypersaline anoxic basin (DHAB) located at the seafloor of the Eastern Mediterranean sea. Tyro hosts a stratified eukaryotic microbiome moving from seawater to the brine, but no reports are available on its prokaryotic community. We provide the first snapshot of the bacterial community structure in Tyro brine, seawaterbrine interface, and the overlaying deep seawater. Methods: In this study, we combined the use of molecular analyses, i.e., DNA fingerprinting and 16S rRNA pyrosequencing for the description of the bacterial community structure and taxonomy. PiCRUST2 was used to infer information on the prokaryotes functional diversity. A culture-dependent approach was applied to enrich bacteria of interest for marine biotechnology. Results: Bacterial communities sharply clustered moving from the seawater to the Tyro brine, in agreement with the abrupt increase of salinity values. Moreover, specific taxonomic groups inhabited the seawater-brine interface compared to the overlaying seawater and their identification revealed converging taxonomy with other DHABs in the Eastern Mediterranean sea. Functional traits inferred from the prokaryote taxonomy in the upper interface and the overlaying seawater indicated metabolic pathways for the synthesis of osmoprotectants, likely involved in bacterial adaptation to the steep increasing salinity. Metabolic traits related to methane and methylated compounds and to hydrocarbon degradation were also revealed in the upper interface of Tyro. The overall capability of the Tyro microbiome for hydrocarbon metabolism was confirmed by the isolation of hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria in the sediments. Conclusions: Our results suggest that Tyro seawater-brine interface hosts a specific microbiome adapted to the polyextreme condition typical of DHABs with potential metabolic features that could be further explored for the characterization of the metabolic network connecting the brine with the deep seawater through the chemocline. Moreover, Tyro could be a reservoir of culturable microbes endowed with functionalities of interest for biotechnological applications like hydrocarbon bioremediation

Gioco e disabilità, un’oscillazione tra limite e piacere

The article intends to start a critical and problematizing reflection on play and on disability, both of which are dimensions kept to the sidelines of our society which is dedicated to growth and productivity by a disciplining and normalizing pedagogical thought. A renewed view is proposed on play that can recognize its constitutive ambivalence, its transformative and subversive power andan expert and respectful view on disability which can approach the fragile and recondite dimensions of existence. Only through this view can play be accepted and reinstated into educational contexts and also into the life projects of people with disabilities as a fundamental and vital experience in view of their well-being and social inclusion.The experience of the Play Area of the non-profit association L’abilità is presented as a paradigmatic and innovative example of the implementation and realization of a radical and transformative thought which has established and returned a precious space and time for play to children with disabilities. It is a project which has been evolving continuously for fifteen years in search of newpossibilities, uncertainties and elation, swinging between the border and the pleasure of daring

Chapter The languages of wine: negotiating intercultural exchanges through translation

This paper discusses the cultural and linguistic mediation strategies involved in the compilation of a terminological tool aimed at facilitating the intercultural exchanges between Italy and China in the field of oenology, by taking the Dictionary of Italian wines and grape varieties (Italian - Chinese) (Bosc et al. 2019) as a case study. The main objectives of the dictionary compilation were the popularization of specialized wine language, the standardization of the names of Italian wines and grape varieties, and the translation of the Italian lexicographical definitions in Chinese. For this process to be effective in terms of intercultural communication and mediation, the negotiation of standardization and translation strategies needed to take into account the differences between the two cultures and languages involved as well as the constraints of the lexicographical genre. After delineating the historical background and presenting the purpose of the dictionary from the lexicographical perspective, the paper delves into the choices made in the compilation of the Chinese text

Stress-Induced Changes of Hippocampal NMDA Receptors: Modulation by Duloxetine Treatment

It is now well established that the glutamatergic system contributes to the pathophysiology of depression. Exposure to stress, a major precipitating factor for depression, enhances glutamate release that can contribute to structural abnormalities observed in the brain of depressed subjects. On the other hand, it has been demonstrated that NMDA antagonists, like ketamine, exert an antidepressant effect at preclinical and clinical levels. On these bases, the purpose of our study was to investigate whether chronic mild stress is associated with specific alterations of the NMDA receptor complex, in adult rats, and to establish whether concomitant antidepressant treatment could normalize such deficits. We found that chronic stress increases the expression of the obligatory GluN1 subunit, as well as of the accessory subunits GluN2A and GluN2B at transcriptional and translational levels, particularly in the ventral hippocampus. Concomitant treatment with the antidepressant duloxetine was able to normalize the increase of glutamatergic receptor subunit expression, and correct the changes in receptor phosphorylation produced by stress exposure. Our data suggest that prolonged stress, a condition that has etiologic relevance for depression, may enhance glutamate activity through post-synaptic mechanisms, by regulating NMDA receptors, and that antidepressants may in part normalize such changes. Our results provide support to the notion that antidepressants may exert their activity in the long-term also via modulation of the glutamatergic synapse

Prolonged abstinence from developmental cocaine exposure dysregulates BDNF and its signaling network in the medial prefrontal cortex of adult rats.

Although evidence exists that chronic cocaine exposure during adulthood is associated with changes in BDNF expression, whether and how cocaine exposure during adolescence modulates BDNF is still unknown. To address this issue, we exposed rats to repeated cocaine injections from post-natal day (PD) 28 to PD 42, a period that roughly approximates adolescence in humans, and we carried out a detailed analysis of the BDNF system in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of rats sacrificed 3 d (PD 45) and 48 d (PD 90) after the last cocaine treatment. We found that developmental exposure to cocaine altered transcriptional and translational mechanisms governing neurotrophin expression. Total BDNF mRNA levels, in fact, were enhanced in the mPFC of PD 90 rats exposed to cocaine in adolescence, an effect sustained by changes in BDNF exon IV through the transcription factors CaRF and NF-kB. While a profound reduction of specific BDNF-related miRNAs (let7d, miR124 and miR132) may contribute to explaining the increased proBDNF levels, the up-regulation of the extracellular proteases tPA is indicative of increased processing leading to higher levels of released mBDNF. These changes were associated with increased activation of the trkB-Akt pathway resulting in enhanced pmTOR and pS6 kinase, which ultimately produced an up-regulation of Arc and a consequent reduction of GluA1 expression in the mPFC of PD 90 cocaine-treated rats. These findings demonstrate that developmental exposure to cocaine dynamically dysregulates BDNF and its signaling network in the mPFC of adult rats, providing novel mechanisms that may contribute to cocaine-induced changes in synaptic plasticity