scholarly journals Host-Microbiome Synergistic Control on Sphingolipid Metabolism by Mechanotransduction in Model Arthritis

Biomolecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhou ◽  
Devescovi ◽  
Liu ◽  
Dent ◽  
Nardini
Keyword(s):  
Autoimmune Disorders ◽  
Host Immunity ◽  
Sphingolipid Metabolism ◽  
Systemic Diseases ◽  
Collagen Induced Arthritis ◽  
Invariant Natural Killer ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Therapy Methotrexate ◽  
Important Progress ◽  
Made In

Chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorders are systemic diseases with increasing incidence and still lack a cure. More recently, attention has been placed in understanding gastrointestinal (GI) dysbiosis and, although important progress has been made in this area, it is currently unclear to what extent microbiome manipulation can be used in the treatment of autoimmune disorders. Via the use of appropriate models, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a well-known exemplar of such pathologies, can be exploited to shed light on the currently overlooked effects of existing therapies on the GI microbiome. In this direction, we here explore the crosstalk between the GI microbiome and the host immunity in model arthritis (collagen induced arthritis, CIA). By exploiting omics from samples of limited invasiveness (blood and stools), we assess the host-microbiome responses to standard therapy (methotrexate, MTX) combined with mechanical subcutaneous stimulation (MS) and to mechanical stimulation alone. When MS is involved, results reveal the sphingolipid metabolism as the trait d’union among known hallmarks of (model) RA, namely: Imbalance in the S1P-S1PR1 axis, expansion of Prevotella sp., and invariant Natural Killer T (iNKT)-penia, thus offering the base of a rationale to mechanically modulate this pathway as a therapeutic target in RA.

scholarly journals Coronavirus and Soft Law in Germany: Business as Usual?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Matthias Knauff
Keyword(s):  
Legal Order ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
Constitutional Order ◽  
Binding Forms ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Business As Usual ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Made In

In combating the coronavirus pandemic in Germany, soft law has played an important, albeit not a central, role. Its use basically corresponds to that of under “normal circumstances”. In accordance with the German constitutional order, almost all substantial decisions are made in a legally binding form. However, these are often prepared through or supplemented by soft law. This article shows that soft law has played an important role in fighting the pandemic and its effects in Germany, although there cannot be any doubt that legally binding forms of regulation have prevailed. At the same time, the current pandemic has shed light on the advantages and effects of soft law in the context of the German legal order.

scholarly journals The graffiti art and the discover of the Keith Haring’s mural in Amsterdam

2020 ◽  
pp. 236-249
Author(s):  
Caterina Soliani
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Collective Memory ◽  
Street Art ◽  
Art World ◽  
Continuous Growth ◽  
The World ◽  
To Come ◽  
The Many ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Made In

The purpose of this work is to contribute to the continuous growth of the art world (Street Art in particular) and to discuss how it is essential for the discovery of artists. These artists have been pioneers and forerunners of new pictorial techniques, freeing creative and psychological flair, and combining the latter with the artistic technology that promises great things despite limited materials.  The intention of this article is to consider the elements of artistic expression that are less commonly subject to discussion, such as the world of Street Art. This form of artwork has not always been understood or accepted, with street artists waiting for the opportune moment to express the narrative, experiences, and emotions of society through their artwork, a power that unites sentiment and encourages change.  It is art which affects the community, the population and society. It is designed above all others to become part of the collective memory through violence of image and colour.  This project led me to come into contact with one of the many artistic artefacts of the Street Art movement, the Keith Haring’s mural in Amsterdam, a piece that makes me. understand and appreciate the problems inherent to these type of works, simple, synthetic, but never simplistic.  Therefore, a project, a study and a restoration hypothesis were conducted on one of the many works by Haring. The purpose of this was to shed light once again on the mural made in 1986 by the artist, situated in the Groothandeles Market of Amsterdam. No longer visible for thirty years, the mural was covered by insulation panels placed two years after its creation. With professors Antonio Rava and William Shank, the association Keith Haring Foundation of New York, the Stedelijk Museum of Amsterdam, in collaboration with the gallery Vroom & Varossieau, specialised in road art, on 8 June, the large metal sheet panels were removed and one of the greatest murals by Haring could once again be admired.

scholarly journals Ocean Optimism: Moving Beyond the Obituaries in Marine Conservation

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 479-499
Author(s):  
Nancy Knowlton
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Marine Conservation ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
Single Solution ◽  
Important Progress ◽  
Made In

While the ocean has suffered many losses, there is increasing evidence that important progress is being made in marine conservation. Examples include striking recoveries of once-threatened species, increasing rates of protection of marine habitats, more sustainably managed fisheries and aquaculture, reductions in some forms of pollution, accelerating restoration of degraded habitats, and use of the ocean and its habitats to sequester carbon and provide clean energy. Many of these achievements have multiple benefits, including improved human well-being. Moreover, better understanding of how to implement conservation strategies effectively, new technologies and databases, increased integration of the natural and social sciences, and use of indigenous knowledge promise continued progress. Enormous challenges remain, and there is no single solution; successful efforts typically are neither quick nor cheap and require trust and collaboration. Nevertheless, a greater focus on solutions and successes will help them to become the norm rather than the exception.

scholarly journals TRPV1: Structure, Endogenous Agonists, and Mechanisms

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (10) ◽  
pp. 3421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Benítez-Angeles ◽  
Sara Luz Morales-Lázaro ◽  
Emmanuel Juárez-González ◽  
Tamara Rosenbaum
Keyword(s):  
Ion Channel ◽  
Binding Sites ◽  
Transient Receptor Potential ◽  
Receptor Potential ◽  
Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid ◽  
Trpv1 Channel ◽  
Field Of Study ◽  
Transient Receptor ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Made In

The Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) channel is a polymodal protein with functions widely linked to the generation of pain. Several agonists of exogenous and endogenous nature have been described for this ion channel. Nonetheless, detailed mechanisms and description of binding sites have been resolved only for a few endogenous agonists. This review focuses on summarizing discoveries made in this particular field of study and highlighting the fact that studying the molecular details of activation of the channel by different agonists can shed light on biophysical traits that had not been previously demonstrated.

Lifting the veil: the circumstances that caused Alfred Wegener's death on the Greenland icecap, 1930

Polar Record ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 36 (197) ◽  
pp. 139-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cornelia Lüdecke
Keyword(s):  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Single Individual ◽  
Geographical Society ◽  
Memorial Address ◽  
German Science ◽  
The Veil ◽  
A Chain ◽  
Bad Weather ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Made In

AbstractWhen the Geographical Society of Berlin officially welcomed Alfred Wegener's expedition back from Greenland in 1931, a memorial address was made in honour of the expedition leader who died on the Greenland icecap in 1930. This address included a report that shed light on the difficulties that had confronted the expediton. Wegener was remembered as a researcher who provided an example of ‘a magnificent conception of his duty as leader’ and who risked his life to rescue his comrades. Wegener's death was blamed on a chain of unfortunate accidents, especially bad weather conditions. Using material that was hidden in the archives, this paper examines several additional aspects of the story, such as the influence of the Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft (Emergency Society for German Science), which financed the expedition; the erroneous judgements of the expedition leader as well as some expedition members; and the lack of radio transmission. The conclusion is that no single individual can be blamed for Wegener's death, despite the fact that one expedition member, Johannes Georgi, was made the scapegoat.

Why so many mammalian spermatozoa - a clue from marsupials?

1984 ◽  
Vol 221 (1223) ◽  
pp. 221-233 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Didelphis Virginiana ◽  
High Survival ◽  
High Survival Rate ◽  
Sperm Production ◽  
Australian Family ◽  
Cauda Epididymidis ◽  
Virginia Opossum ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Mammalian Spermatozoa ◽  
Made In

Mammals generally ejaculate many more spermatozoa than seem to be needed for fertilization. This apparent profligacy has not been explained, but observations made in marsupials may shed light on it. The Virginia opossum, Didelphis virginiana , inseminates only about three million spermatozoa, a very low number. As a corollary, relatively few ( ca . 13 x 10 6 ) are stored in each cauda epididymidis. However, some 5% of the spermatozoa that the opossum ejaculates populate the oviduct about 12 h later when ovulation can be anticipated - a success rate in the female orders of magnitude greater than in eutherian mammals. I t is not certain what determines the unusually efficient transport to and the high survival rate of spermatozoa in the oviduct of Didelphis , but two unusual features suggest themselves as possible contributors. Didelphis (and all other American marsupial) spermatozoa undergo a head-to-head pairing in the epididymis by the acrosomal face; this serves to isolate the acrosome of ejaculated spermatozoa from the female milieu until the pairs separate in the oviduct. Secondly, spermatozoa are housed in special crypts in the isthmus of the oviduct. Australian marsupials, which usually lack such features, store spermatozoa in the epididymis in numbers more close to those in comparably sized eutheriam mammals. Exceptions which store very low sperm numbers there can be seen in one Australian Family, the Dasyuridae. The spermatozoa of dasyurids are not paired, but the species examined possess distinctive sperm storage crypts in the oviducal isthmus similar to those in the opossum. The present findings suggest that where mechanisms exist that could protect the acrosome and, or, the whole spermatozoon in the female tract, a much lower level of sperm production can be maintained without compromising fertility. While the number ejaculated typically by any one species is probably determined ultimately by several interacting factors, it therefore seems likely that a most important one in this respect relates to conditions spermatozoa face in the female tract.

Genetic basis of Parkinson disease

2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. E7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgia Xiromerisiou ◽  
Efthimios Dardiotis ◽  
Vaïa Tsimourtou ◽  
Persa Maria Kountra ◽  
Konstantinos N. Paterakis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson Disease ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Autosomal Recessive Inheritance ◽  
Alpha Synuclein ◽  
Collaborative Studies ◽  
Common Genetic Variants ◽  
Cellular Pathways ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Made In

Over the past few years, considerable progress has been made in understanding the molecular mechanisms of Parkinson disease (PD). Mutations in certain genes are found to cause monogenic forms of the disorder, with autosomal dominant or autosomal recessive inheritance. These genes include alpha-synuclein, parkin, PINK1, DJ-1, LRRK2, and ATP13A2. The monogenic variants are important tools in identifying cellular pathways that shed light on the pathogenesis of this disease. Certain common genetic variants are also likely to modulate the risk of PD. International collaborative studies and meta-analyses have identified common variants as genetic susceptibility risk/protective factors for sporadic PD.

COAL MINES, THE PALACE, AND STRUGGLES OVER POWER, CAPITAL, AND JUSTICE IN THE LATE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

2012 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Quataert ◽  
David Gutman
Keyword(s):  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Final Decision ◽  
Case File ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Corrupt Behavior ◽  
Late Ottoman Empire ◽  
Late Ottoman ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Made In

AbstractThis article is based on a case file examining the allegedly corrupt behavior of the district governor (kaymakam) of Ereğli, located in the Black Sea coal district of the Ottoman Empire, before the 1908 Young Turk Revolution. It paints a vivid picture of the cronyism, greed, and demands for justice that abound in the testimonies and petitions of a diverse array of local actors that were included in the case file. These documents provide the opportunity to shed light on, among other things, the growing nexus between state power and capital in the late Ottoman Empire within a little-studied peripheral context. As the article shows, prospects of control over the region's burgeoning coal economy led to abuses among officials at various levels of the local and imperial bureaucracy, the impacts of which were felt (to varying degrees) by a wide cross-section of Ereğli society. The behavior of the district governor and his allies, along with the final decision made in the case, reveals much about power, wealth, and justice in the final years of the Abdülhamit regime.

Role of different aberrant cell signalling pathways prevalent in acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Biologia ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 69 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Priya Gopal ◽  
Mausumi Paul ◽  
Santanu Paul
Keyword(s):  
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Cell Signalling ◽  
Signalling Pathways ◽  
Survival Ratio ◽  
Functional Abnormality ◽  
Important Progress ◽  
Made In

AbstractAcute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is one of the major forms of leukemia that affects mostly adolescent individuals. The main cause of the development of ALL is not known though several important signal transduction pathways have been reported with functional abnormality in all the cases. Crucial signalling pathways reported in ALL include PI3K/Akt, Notch, Wnt, mTOR, JaK/Stat, etc. Over the past several decades important progress has been made in the management of ALL, however, relapses and post therapy survival ratio has not improved much. This brings the need for understanding the biology and mechanism involved in ALL occurrences and find new molecular targets for better treatment options and risk-adapted therapies to improve the outcome of ALL patients.

Roman Terracotta Lamps: the Organization of an Industry

1980 ◽  
Vol 70 ◽  
pp. 126-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. V. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Social History ◽  
Economic History ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Material Sources ◽  
History Of ◽  
Important Progress ◽  
Made In

It should be plain that important progress is to be made in the economic and social history of the Greco-Roman world through more systematic studies of the material remains. In the field of ancient manufacture and commerce, M. I. Finley has called for ‘a more sophisticated effort to approach quantification and pattern-construction’, and other historians too are well aware of what needs to be done. Doing it, however, can be difficult, for such projects, if approached with a scholarly desire for precision, bristle with complications, and the results can often be no more than tentative. Such is the case with this study of the terracotta lamp industry. For their part, the archaeologists who have studied groups of terracotta lamps, whether from particular sites or particular museums, have not altogether succeeded in fitting the material into the known framework of Roman life (this is not to suggest a primacy of written over material sources, simply that both are indispensable in economic history).

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