Molecular mechanisms of non-linear rubber elasticity

2005 ◽  
pp. 384-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrzej Ziabicki
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Rubber Elasticity ◽  
Non Linear

scholarly journals  ALUminating the Path of Atherosclerosis Progression: Chaos Theory Suggests a Role for Alu Repeats in the Development of Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Hueso ◽  
Josep M Cruzado ◽  
Joan Torras ◽  
Estanis Navarro
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Human Genome ◽  
Chaos Theory ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Regulation Of Gene Expression ◽  
Structural Constraints ◽  
Linear Dynamical Systems ◽  
Alu Elements ◽  
Non Linear ◽  
The Impact

Atherosclerosis (ATH) and Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) are chronic inflammatory diseases with an important genetic background which derive from the cumulative effect of multiple common risk alleles, most of them located in genomic non-coding regions. These complex diseases behave as non-linear dynamical systems that show a high dependence on their initial conditions, so that long-term predictions of disease progression are unreliable. One likely possibility is that the non-linear nature of ATH could be dependent on non-linear correlations in the structure of the human genome. In this review we show how Chaos theory analysis highlighted genomic regions that shared specific structural constraints that could have a role in ATH progression. These regions were shown to be enriched in repetitive sequences of the Alu family, genomic parasites which colonized the human genome, which show a particular secondary structure and have been involved in the regulation of gene expression. We also review the impact of Alu elements on the mechanisms that regulate gene expression, especially highlighting the molecular mechanisms by which the Alu elements could alter the inflammatory homeostasis. We devise especial attention to their relationship with the lncRNA ANRIL, the strongest risk factor for ATH, their role as miRNA sponges, and their ability to interfere with the regulatory circuitry of the NF-kB response. We aim to characterize ATH as a non-linear dynamic system in which small initial alterations in the expression of a number of repetitive elements are somehow amplified to reach phenotypic significance.

Tube Theory for Entangled Linear Polymers: Influence of Different Molecular Mechanisms in Non-Linear Flows

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunil Dhole ◽  
Adrien Leygue ◽  
Christian Bailly ◽  
Roland Keunings ◽  
Albert Co ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Linear Polymers ◽  
Non Linear ◽  
Linear Flows

scholarly journals Non-linear phenotypic variation uncovers the emergence of heterosis inArabidopsis thaliana

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
François Vasseur ◽  
Louise Fouqueau ◽  
Dominique de Vienne ◽  
Thibault Nidelet ◽  
Cyrille Violle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Variation ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Intrinsic Property ◽  
Geometric Approach ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Plant Performance ◽  
Allometric Relationships ◽  
Non Linear ◽  
Additive Inheritance

AbstractHeterosis describes the phenotypic superiority of hybrids over their parents in traits related to fitness. Understanding and predicting non-additive inheritance such as heterosis is crucial for evolutionary biology, as well as for plant and animal breeding. However, the physiological bases of heterosis remain debated. Moreover, empirical data in various species have shown that diverse genetic and molecular mechanisms are likely to explain heterosis, making it difficult to predict its emergence and amplitude from parental genotypes alone. In this study, we evaluated a model of physiological dominance proposed by Sewall Wright to explain the non-additive inheritance of metabolic fluxes at the cellular level. We used 450 hybrids derived from crosses among natural inbred accessions ofArabidopsis thalianato test Wright’s model for two fitness-related traits at the whole-plant level: growth rate and fruit number. We found that allometric relationships between traits constrain phenotypic variation in hybrids and inbreds to a similar extent. These allometric relationships behave predictably, in a non-linear manner, explaining up to 75% of heterosis amplitude, while genetic distance among parents at best explains 7%. Thus, our findings are consistent with Wright’s model of physiological dominance on plant performance, and suggest that the emergence of heterosis is an intrinsic property of non-linear relationships between traits. Furthermore, our study highlights the potential of a geometric approach of phenotypic relationships for predicting heterosis of two major components of crop productivity and yield.

B. The Non-Linear Calculations for Pulsating Stars

1967 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 105-176
Author(s):  
Robert F. Christy
Keyword(s):  
Major Part ◽  
Afternoon Session ◽  
Discussion Session ◽  
Pulsating Stars ◽  
Fourth Symposium ◽  
Non Linear ◽  
Considerable Discussion ◽  
Informal Approach ◽  
Preceding Session

(Ed. note: The custom in these Symposia has been to have a summary-introductory presentation which lasts about 1 to 1.5 hours, during which discussion from the floor is minor and usually directed at technical clarification. The remainder of the session is then devoted to discussion of the whole subject, oriented around the summary-introduction. The preceding session, I-A, at Nice, followed this pattern. Christy suggested that we might experiment in his presentation with a much more informal approach, allowing considerable discussion of the points raised in the summary-introduction during its presentation, with perhaps the entire morning spent in this way, reserving the afternoon session for discussion only. At Varenna, in the Fourth Symposium, several of the summaryintroductory papers presented from the astronomical viewpoint had been so full of concepts unfamiliar to a number of the aerodynamicists-physicists present, that a major part of the following discussion session had been devoted to simply clarifying concepts and then repeating a considerable amount of what had been summarized. So, always looking for alternatives which help to increase the understanding between the different disciplines by introducing clarification of concept as expeditiously as possible, we tried Christy's suggestion. Thus you will find the pattern of the following different from that in session I-A. I am much indebted to Christy for extensive collaboration in editing the resulting combined presentation and discussion. As always, however, I have taken upon myself the responsibility for the final editing, and so all shortcomings are on my head.)

Transcription factor/DNA interactions visualized by electron spectroscopic imaging

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 450-451
Author(s):  
David P. Bazett-Jones ◽  
Mark L. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Transcription Initiation ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Phosphorus Content ◽  
Spectroscopic Imaging ◽  
Electron Spectroscopic Imaging ◽  
Dna Backbone ◽  
Two Parameters ◽  
High Level

A multisubunit RNA polymerase enzyme is ultimately responsible for transcription initiation and elongation of RNA, but recognition of the proper start site by the enzyme is regulated by general, temporal and gene-specific trans-factors interacting at promoter and enhancer DNA sequences. To understand the molecular mechanisms which precisely regulate the transcription initiation event, it is crucial to elucidate the structure of the transcription factor/DNA complexes involved. Electron spectroscopic imaging (ESI) provides the opportunity to visualize individual DNA molecules. Enhancement of DNA contrast with ESI is accomplished by imaging with electrons that have interacted with inner shell electrons of phosphorus in the DNA backbone. Phosphorus detection at this intermediately high level of resolution (≈lnm) permits selective imaging of the DNA, to determine whether the protein factors compact, bend or wrap the DNA. Simultaneously, mass analysis and phosphorus content can be measured quantitatively, using adjacent DNA or tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) as mass and phosphorus standards. These two parameters provide stoichiometric information relating the ratios of protein:DNA content.

Dissection of the molecular mechanisms of protein targeting to the peroxisome using immunofluorescence and immunocryoelectron microscopies

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 44-45
Author(s):  
G-A. Keller ◽  
S. J. Gould ◽  
S. Subramani ◽  
S. Krisans
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Protein Targeting ◽  
Firefly Luciferase ◽  
Peroxisomal Enzyme ◽  
Transfected Cells ◽  
Peroxisomal Targeting ◽  
Targeting Signal ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
Peroxisomal Targeting Signal

Subcellular compartments within eukaryotic cells must each be supplied with unique sets of proteins that must be directed to, and translocated across one or more membranes of the target organelles. This transport is mediated by cis- acting targeting signals present within the imported proteins. The following is a chronological account of a series of experiments designed and carried out in an effort to understand how proteins are targeted to the peroxisomal compartment.-We demonstrated by immunocryoelectron microscopy that the enzyme luciferase is a peroxisomal enzyme in the firefly lantern. -We expressed the cDNA encoding firefly luciferase in mammalian cells and demonstrated by immunofluorescence that the enzyme was transported into the peroxisomes of the transfected cells. -Using deletions, linker insertions, and gene fusion to identify regions of luciferase involved in its transport to the peroxisomes, we demonstrated that luciferase contains a peroxisomal targeting signal (PTS) within its COOH-terminal twelve amino acid.

High resolution mapping of nucleic acid containing complexes in vitro and in situ

1996 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
pp. 48-49
Author(s):  
D. P. Bazett-Jones ◽  
M. J. Hendzel
Keyword(s):  
Nucleic Acid ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Transcription Initiation ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Heavy Atom ◽  
Regulation Of Transcription ◽  
High Exposure ◽  
Resolution Mapping ◽  
Tata Sequence

Structural analysis of combinations of nucleosomes and transcription factors on promoter and enhancer elements is necessary in order to understand the molecular mechanisms responsible for the regulation of transcription initiation. Such complexes are often not amenable to study by high resolution crystallographic techniques. We have been applying electron spectroscopic imaging (ESI) to specific problems in molecular biology related to transcription regulation. There are several advantages that this technique offers in studies of nucleoprotein complexes. First, an intermediate level of spatial resolution can be achieved because heavy atom contrast agents are not necessary. Second, mass and stoichiometric relationships of protein and nucleic acid can be estimated by phosphorus detection, an element in much higher proportions in nucleic acid than protein. Third, wrapping or bending of the DNA by the protein constituents can be observed by phosphorus mapping of the complexes. Even when ESI is used with high exposure of electrons to the specimen, important macromolecular information may be provided. For example, an image of the TATA binding protein (TBP) bound to DNA is shown in the Figure (top panel). It can be seen that the protein distorts the DNA away from itself and much of its mass sits off the DNA helix axis. Moreover, phosphorus and mass estimates demonstrate whether one or two TBP molecules interact with this particular promoter TATA sequence.

How do histone modifications contribute to transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in C. elegans?

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 1019-1034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel M. Woodhouse ◽  
Alyson Ashe
Keyword(s):  
Histone Modifications ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Epigenetic Inheritance ◽  
Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Histone Methyltransferases ◽  
Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Gene Regulatory

Gene regulatory information can be inherited between generations in a phenomenon termed transgenerational epigenetic inheritance (TEI). While examples of TEI in many animals accumulate, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has proven particularly useful in investigating the underlying molecular mechanisms of this phenomenon. In C. elegans and other animals, the modification of histone proteins has emerged as a potential carrier and effector of transgenerational epigenetic information. In this review, we explore the contribution of histone modifications to TEI in C. elegans. We describe the role of repressive histone marks, histone methyltransferases, and associated chromatin factors in heritable gene silencing, and discuss recent developments and unanswered questions in how these factors integrate with other known TEI mechanisms. We also review the transgenerational effects of the manipulation of histone modifications on germline health and longevity.

Mesophyll conductance: the leaf corridors for photosynthesis

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 429-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Gago ◽  
Danilo M. Daloso ◽  
Marc Carriquí ◽  
Miquel Nadal ◽  
Melanie Morales ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Main Role ◽  
Mesophyll Conductance ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Cell Structures ◽  
Leaf Tissues ◽  
Change Framework ◽  
Chloroplast Stroma

Besides stomata, the photosynthetic CO2 pathway also involves the transport of CO2 from the sub-stomatal air spaces inside to the carboxylation sites in the chloroplast stroma, where Rubisco is located. This pathway is far to be a simple and direct way, formed by series of consecutive barriers that the CO2 should cross to be finally assimilated in photosynthesis, known as the mesophyll conductance (gm). Therefore, the gm reflects the pathway through different air, water and biophysical barriers within the leaf tissues and cell structures. Currently, it is known that gm can impose the same level of limitation (or even higher depending of the conditions) to photosynthesis than the wider known stomata or biochemistry. In this mini-review, we are focused on each of the gm determinants to summarize the current knowledge on the mechanisms driving gm from anatomical to metabolic and biochemical perspectives. Special attention deserve the latest studies demonstrating the importance of the molecular mechanisms driving anatomical traits as cell wall and the chloroplast surface exposed to the mesophyll airspaces (Sc/S) that significantly constrain gm. However, even considering these recent discoveries, still is poorly understood the mechanisms about signaling pathways linking the environment a/biotic stressors with gm responses. Thus, considering the main role of gm as a major driver of the CO2 availability at the carboxylation sites, future studies into these aspects will help us to understand photosynthesis responses in a global change framework.

Inflammageing in the cardiovascular system: mechanisms, emerging targets, and novel therapeutic strategies

2020 ◽  
Vol 134 (17) ◽  
pp. 2243-2262
Author(s):  
Danlin Liu ◽  
Gavin Richardson ◽  
Fehmi M. Benli ◽  
Catherine Park ◽  
João V. de Souza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Diseases ◽  
Cardiovascular System ◽  
Nlrp3 Inflammasome ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Molecular Targets ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Cardiovascular Research ◽  
Inflammatory Processes ◽  
Ach Receptors

Abstract In the elderly population, pathological inflammation has been associated with ageing-associated diseases. The term ‘inflammageing’, which was used for the first time by Franceschi and co-workers in 2000, is associated with the chronic, low-grade, subclinical inflammatory processes coupled to biological ageing. The source of these inflammatory processes is debated. The senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) has been proposed as the main origin of inflammageing. The SASP is characterised by the release of inflammatory cytokines, elevated activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, altered regulation of acetylcholine (ACh) nicotinic receptors, and abnormal NAD+ metabolism. Therefore, SASP may be ‘druggable’ by small molecule therapeutics targeting those emerging molecular targets. It has been shown that inflammageing is a hallmark of various cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis, hypertension, and adverse cardiac remodelling. Therefore, the pathomechanism involving SASP activation via the NLRP3 inflammasome; modulation of NLRP3 via α7 nicotinic ACh receptors; and modulation by senolytics targeting other proteins have gained a lot of interest within cardiovascular research and drug development communities. In this review, which offers a unique view from both clinical and preclinical target-based drug discovery perspectives, we have focused on cardiovascular inflammageing and its molecular mechanisms. We have outlined the mechanistic links between inflammageing, SASP, interleukin (IL)-1β, NLRP3 inflammasome, nicotinic ACh receptors, and molecular targets of senolytic drugs in the context of cardiovascular diseases. We have addressed the ‘druggability’ of NLRP3 and nicotinic α7 receptors by small molecules, as these proteins represent novel and exciting targets for therapeutic interventions targeting inflammageing in the cardiovascular system and beyond.

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