Physiological roles of regulated Ire1 dependent decay

Inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (Ire1) is an important transducer of the unfolded protein response (UPR) that is activated by the accumulation of misfolded proteins in the endoplamic reticulum (ER stress). Activated Ire1 mediates the splicing of an intron from the mRNA of Xbp1, causing a frame-shift during translation and introducing a new carboxyl domain in the Xbp1 protein, which only then becomes a fully functional transcription factor. Studies using cell culture systems demonstrated that Ire1 also promotes the degradation of mRNAs encoding mostly ER-targeted proteins, to reduce the load of incoming ER "client" proteins during ER stress. This process was called RIDD (regulated Ire1-dependent decay), but its physiological significance remained poorly characterized beyond cell culture systems. Here we review several recent studies that have highlighted the physiological roles of RIDD in specific biological paradigms, such as photoreceptor differentiation in Drosophila or mammalian liver and endocrine pancreas function. These studies demonstrate the importance of RIDD in tissues undergoing intense secretory function and highlight the physiologic role of RIDD during UPR activation in cells and organisms.publishersversionpublishe

A visual programming language for soccer

The use of Information Technologies (IT) in high competition sports is an instrument often used. However, the majority of the performers, including technical teams, do not have skills to program those IT tools to their needs. In this paper we present the low level implementation of a visual programming language (VPL) that allows the user without programming expertise to produce relatively complex programs by drawing them on a web application. The VPL tool application is illustrated by applying it to detect programmed situations from a soccer game, using previously obtained tracking data. The tool can be applied to other collective ball sports

Efficient edge domination in regular graphs

An induced matching of a graph G is a matching having no two edges joined by an edge. An efficient edge dominating set of G is an induced matching M such that every other edge of G is adjacent to some edge in M. We relate maximum induced matchings and efficient edge dominating sets, showing that efficient edge dominating sets are maximum induced matchings, and that maximum induced matchings on regular graphs with efficient edge dominating sets are efficient edge dominating sets. A necessary condition for the existence of efficient edge dominating sets in terms of spectra of graphs is established. We also prove that, for arbitrary fixed p 3, deciding on the existence of efficient edge dominating sets on p-regular graphs is NP-complet

Applicability of extracts from Centaurea calcitrapa in ripening of bovine cheese

Aqueous extracts obtained from cell suspension cultures of Centaurea calcitrapa were used as proteolytic additive in the manufacture of a commercial bovine cheese, coagulated with animal rennet and typically ripened for 28 d. The cheese was assessed in comparison to standard cheese for two levels of addition of said extract, viz. 0.61 and 1.22mg of total protein mL~1. The qualitative and quantitative evolutions of the nitrogen fractions were monitored in the experimental cheeses throughout the whole ripening period. In general, the chemical compositions of the cheeses were di!erent depending on the amount of extract used, but no signi"cant di!erences could be detected in the ripening index. With regard to electrophoretic pro"les, the two types of cheese could be distinguished until up to ca. 7 d of ripening, but di!erences did essentially vanish by 28 d

Injective edge coloring of graphs

Three edges $e_{1}, e_{2}$ and $e_{3}$ in a graph $G$ are consecutive if they form a path (in this order) or a cycle of lengths three. An injective edge coloring of a graph $G = (V,E)$ is a coloring $c$ of the edges of $G$ such that if $e_{1}, e_{2}$ and $e_{3}$ are consecutive edges in $G$, then $c(e_{1})\neq c(e_3)$. The injective edge coloring number $\chi_{i}^{'}(G)$ is the minimum number of colors permitted in such a coloring. In this paper, exact values of $\chi_{i}^{'}(G)$ for several classes of graphs are obtained, upper and lower bounds for $\chi_{i}^{'}(G)$ are introduced and it is proven that checking whether $\chi_{i}^{'}(G)= k$ is NP-complete.in publicatio

The Devonian fossil association from the location of Serra (Rates, Northwest Portugal) revisited: contribution for the geoheritage valuing of a classical area of the Iberian Palaeozoic

RESUMO: Neste trabalho efetuou-se o estudo de um sítio paleontológico no Devónico de Rates (Noroeste de Portugal), contendo uma fauna marinha composta por invertebrados típicos deste sistema. O afloramento encontra se 35 km a norte do Porto, inserido no prolongamento de unidades paleozoicas do Anticlinal de Valongo. Os níveis fossilíferos correspondem a xistos argilosos amarelos do “Membro Superior” da “Formação Telheiras” e apresentam uma associação paleontológica rica e diversificada, formada por corais, briozoários, braquiópodes, tentaculites, crinoides e trilobites, correlativa do Pragiano–Emsiano (Devónico inferior). Destaca-se o género Pleurodictyum, aqui representado por espécimes morfologicamente distintos da espécie-tipo P. problematicum, a qual tem vindo a ser identificada frequentemente em estudos anteriores. Com a inacessibilidade da maioria das jazidas clássicas do Devónico Inferior desta região, esta descoberta e revisão do conhecimento pretende valorizar o património geológico de uma das áreas clássicas do Paleozoico Ibérico, complementando o do Parque das Serras do Porto.ABSTRACT: A fossil site from the Devonian stratigraphic succession of Rates (Northwest of Portugal) was studied, being representative of a fauna of marine invertebrates typical of this System. The outcrop is located 35 km north of Oporto, an extension of the Palaeozoic units known from the Valongo Anticline. The studied unit consist of yellowish clayey schists belonging to the “upper Member” of the “Telheiras Formation”, yielding an abundant and diverse assemblage formed by corals, bryozoans, brachiopods, tentaculites, crinoids and trilobites, which is correlative of the Pragian–Emsian. The genus Pleurodictyum stands out, here represented through specimens morphologically distinctive of the type-species P. problematicum, frequently mentioned in previous studies on the Devonian of Portugal. With the inaccessibility of most of the Lower Devonian classic fossil localities in this region, this discovery and knowledge review aims to enhance the geological heritage of one of the classic areas of the Iberian Palaeozoic, complementing that one from the protected area of the “Parque das Serras do Porto”.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

highroad Is a Carboxypetidase Induced by Retinoids to Clear Mutant Rhodopsin-1 in Drosophila Retinitis Pigmentosa Models

Rhodopsins require retinoid chromophores for their function. In vertebrates, retinoids also serve as signaling molecules, but whether these molecules similarly regulate gene expression in Drosophila remains unclear. Here, we report the identification of a retinoid-inducible gene in Drosophila, highroad, which is required for photoreceptors to clear folding-defective mutant Rhodopsin-1 proteins. Specifically, knockdown or genetic deletion of highroad blocks the degradation of folding-defective Rhodopsin-1 mutant, ninaE G69D . Moreover, loss of highroad accelerates the age-related retinal degeneration phenotype of ninaE G69D mutants. Elevated highroad transcript levels are detected in ninaE G69D flies, and interestingly, deprivation of retinoids in the fly diet blocks this effect. Consistently, mutations in the retinoid transporter, santa maria, impairs the induction of highroad in ninaE G69D flies. In cultured S2 cells, highroad expression is induced by retinoic acid treatment. These results indicate that cellular quality-control mechanisms against misfolded Rhodopsin-1 involve regulation of gene expression by retinoids. Folding-defective mutant rhodopsins undergo degradation in photoreceptors, but the underlying mechanism was unclear. Huang et al. identify highroad as a factor required for mutant Drosophila Rhodopsin-1 degradation. Loss of highroad accelerates retinal degeneration caused by mutant Rhodopsin-1, and highroad expression is dependent on retinoids.publishersversionpublishe

Single Low-Dose Ionizing Radiation Induces Genotoxicity in Adult Zebrafish and its Non-Irradiated Progeny

This study investigated to what extent a single exposure to low doses of ionizing radiation can induce genotoxic damage in irradiated adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) and its non-irradiated F1 progeny. Four groups of adult zebrafish were irradiated with a single dose of X-rays at 0 (control), 100, 500 and 1000 mGy, respectively, and couples of each group were allowed to reproduce following irradiation. Blood of parental fish and whole-body offspring were analysed by the comet assay for detection of DNA damage. The level of DNA damage in irradiated parental fish increased in a radiation dose-dependent manner at day 1 post-irradiation, but returned to the control level thereafter. The level of DNA damage in the progeny was directly correlated with the parental irradiation dose. Results highlight the genotoxic risk of a single exposure to low-dose ionizing radiation in irradiated individuals and also in its non-irradiated progeny.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio