Identification of centrarchid hepcidins and evidence that 17β-estradiol disrupts constitutive expression of hepcidin-1 and inducible expression of hepcidin-2 in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)

Science.gov (United States)

Robertson, L.S.; Iwanowicz, L.R.; Marranca, J.M.

2009-01-01

Hepcidin is a highly conserved antimicrobial peptide and iron-regulatory hormone. Here, we identify two hepcidin genes (hep-1 and hep-2) in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu). Hepcidin-1 contains a putative ATCUN metal-binding site in the amino-terminus that is missing in hepcidin-2, suggesting that hepcidin-1 may function as an iron-regulatory hormone. Both hepcidins are predominately expressed in the liver of largemouth bass, similar to other fish and mammals. Experimental exposure of pond-raised largemouth bass to 17β-estradiol and/or the bacteria Edwardsiella ictaluri led to distinct changes in expression of hep-1 and hep-2. Estradiol reduced the constitutive expression of hep-1 in the liver. Bacterial exposure induced expression of hep-2, suggesting that hepcidin-2 may have an antimicrobial function, and this induction was abolished by estradiol. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the regulation of hepcidin expression by estradiol in either fish or mammals.

Identification of centrarchid hepcidins and evidence that 17beta-estradiol disrupts constitutive expression of hepcidin-1 and inducible expression of hepcidin-2 in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides).

Science.gov (United States)

Robertson, Laura S; Iwanowicz, Luke R; Marranca, Jamie Marie

2009-06-01

Hepcidin is a highly conserved antimicrobial peptide and iron-regulatory hormone. Here, we identify two hepcidin genes (hep-1 and hep-2) in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu). Hepcidin-1 contains a putative ATCUN metal-binding site in the amino-terminus that is missing in hepcidin-2, suggesting that hepcidin-1 may function as an iron-regulatory hormone. Both hepcidins are predominately expressed in the liver of largemouth bass, similar to other fish and mammals. Experimental exposure of pond-raised largemouth bass to 17beta-estradiol and/or the bacteria Edwardsiella ictaluri led to distinct changes in expression of hep-1 and hep-2. Estradiol reduced the constitutive expression of hep-1 in the liver. Bacterial exposure induced expression of hep-2, suggesting that hepcidin-2 may have an antimicrobial function, and this induction was abolished by estradiol. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the regulation of hepcidin expression by estradiol in either fish or mammals.

Seeing red; the development of pON.mCherry, a broad-host range constitutive expression plasmid for Gram-negative bacteria.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael J Gebhardt

Full Text Available The development of plasmid-mediated gene expression control in bacteria revolutionized the field of bacteriology. Many of these expression control systems rely on the addition of small molecules, generally metabolites or non-metabolized analogs thereof, to the growth medium to induce expression of the genes of interest. The paradigmatic example of an expression control system is the lac system from Escherichia coli, which typically relies on the Ptac promoter and the Lac repressor, LacI. In many cases, however, constitutive gene expression is desired, and other experimental approaches require the coordinated control of multiple genes. While multiple systems have been developed for use in E. coli and its close relatives, the utility and/or functionality of these tools does not always translate to other species. For example, for the Gram-negative pathogen, Legionella pneumophila, a causative agent of Legionnaires' Disease, the aforementioned Ptac system represents the only well-established expression control system. In order to enhance the tools available to study bacterial gene expression in L. pneumophila, we developed a plasmid, pON.mCherry, which confers constitutive gene expression from a mutagenized LacI binding site. We demonstrate that pON.mCherry neither interferes with other plasmids harboring an intact LacI-Ptac expression system nor alters the growth of Legionella species during intracellular growth. Furthermore, the broad-host range plasmid backbone of pON.mCherry allows constitutive gene expression in a wide variety of Gram-negative bacterial species, making pON.mCherry a useful tool for the greater research community.

Using constitutive activity to define appropriate high-throughput screening assays for orphan g protein-coupled receptors.

Science.gov (United States)

Ngo, Tony; Coleman, James L J; Smith, Nicola J

2015-01-01

Orphan G protein-coupled receptors represent an underexploited resource for drug discovery but pose a considerable challenge for assay development because their cognate G protein signaling pathways are often unknown. In this methodological chapter, we describe the use of constitutive activity, that is, the inherent ability of receptors to couple to their cognate G proteins in the absence of ligand, to inform the development of high-throughput screening assays for a particular orphan receptor. We specifically focus on a two-step process, whereby constitutive G protein coupling is first determined using yeast Gpa1/human G protein chimeras linked to growth and β-galactosidase generation. Coupling selectivity is then confirmed in mammalian cells expressing endogenous G proteins and driving accumulation of transcription factor-fused luciferase reporters specific to each of the classes of G protein. Based on these findings, high-throughput screening campaigns can be performed on the already miniaturized mammalian reporter system.

Constitutive and inducible expression of SKALP/elafin provides anti-elastase defense in human epithelia.

Science.gov (United States)

Pfundt, R; van Ruissen, F; van Vlijmen-Willems, I M; Alkemade, H A; Zeeuwen, P L; Jap, P H; Dijkman, H; Fransen, J; Croes, H; van Erp, P E; Schalkwijk, J

1996-01-01

Skin-derived antileukoproteinase (SKALP), also known as elafin, is a serine proteinase inhibitor first discovered in keratinocytes from hyperproliferative human epidermis. In addition to the proteinase inhibiting domain which is directed against polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) derived enzymes such as elastase and proteinase 3, SKALP contains multiple transglutaminase (TGase) substrate domains which enable crosslinking to extracellular and cell envelope proteins. Here we show that SKALP is constitutively expressed in several epithelia that are continuously subjected to inflammatory stimuli, such as the oral cavity and the vagina where it co-localizes with type 1 TGase. All epithelia from sterile body cavities are negative for SKALP. In general, stratified squamous epithelia are positive, whereas pseudostratified epithelia, simple/glandular epithelia and normal epidermis are negative. SKALP was found in fetal tissues of the oral cavity from 17 wk gestation onwards where it continued to be expressed up to adult life. Remarkably, in fetal epidermis SKALP was found from week 28 onwards, but was downregulated to undetectable levels in neonatal skin within three months, suggesting a role during pregnancy in feto-maternal interactions or in the early maturation phase of the epidermis. Immunoelectron microscopy revealed the presence of SKALP in secretory vesicles including the lamellar granules. In culture models for epidermal keratinocytes we found that expression of the endogenous SKALP gene provided protection against cell detachment caused by purified elastase or activated PMNs. Addition of exogenous recombinant SKALP fully protected the keratinocytes against PMN-dependent detachment whereas superoxide dismutase and catalase were only marginally effective. These findings strongly suggest that the constitutive expression of SKALP in squamous epithelia, and the inducible expression in epidermis participate in the control of epithelial integrity, by inhibiting PMN

Ectopic Expression of CsCTR1, a Cucumber CTR-Like Gene, Attenuates Constitutive Ethylene Signaling in an Arabidopsis ctr1-1 Mutant and Expression Pattern Analysis of CsCTR1 in Cucumber (Cucumis sativus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beibei Bie

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The gaseous plant hormone ethylene regulates many aspects of plant growth, development and responses to the environment. Constitutive triple response 1 (CTR1 is a central regulator involved in the ethylene signal transduction pathway. To obtain a better understanding of this particular pathway in cucumber, the cDNA-encoding CTR1 (designated CsCTR1 was isolated from cucumber. A sequence alignment and phylogenetic analyses revealed that CsCTR1 has a high degree of homology with other plant CTR1 proteins. The ectopic expression of CsCTR1 in the Arabidopsis ctr1-1 mutant attenuates constitutive ethylene signaling of this mutant, suggesting that CsCTR1 indeed performs its function as negative regulator of the ethylene signaling pathway. CsCTR1 is constitutively expressed in all of the examined cucumber organs, including roots, stems, leaves, shoot apices, mature male and female flowers, as well as young fruits. CsCTR1 expression gradually declined during male flower development and increased during female flower development. Additionally, our results indicate that CsCTR1 can be induced in the roots, leaves and shoot apices by external ethylene. In conclusion, this study provides a basis for further studies on the role of CTR1 in the biological processes of cucumber and on the molecular mechanism of the cucumber ethylene signaling pathway.

Constitutive expression of TNF-related activation-induced cytokine (TRANCE/receptor activating NF-κB ligand (RANK-L by rat plasmacytoid dendritic cells.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Anjubault

Full Text Available Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs are a subset of DCs whose major function relies on their capacity to produce large amount of type I IFN upon stimulation via TLR 7 and 9. This function is evolutionary conserved and place pDC in critical position in the innate immune response to virus. Here we show that rat pDC constitutively express TNF-related activation-induced cytokine (TRANCE also known as Receptor-activating NF-κB ligand (RANKL. TRANCE/RANKL is a member of the TNF superfamily which plays a central role in osteoclastogenesis through its interaction with its receptor RANK. TRANCE/RANK interaction are also involved in lymphoid organogenesis as well as T cell/DC cross talk. Unlike conventional DC, rat CD4(high pDC were shown to constitutively express TRANCE/RANKL both at the mRNA and the surface protein level. TRANCE/RANKL was also induced on the CD4(low subsets of pDC following activation by CpG. The secreted form of TRANCE/RANKL was also produced by rat pDC. Of note, levels of mRNA, surface and secreted TRANCE/RANKL expression were similar to that observed for activated T cells. TRANCE/RANKL expression was found on pDC in all lymphoid organs as well blood and BM with a maximum expression in mesenteric lymph nodes. Despite this TRANCE/RANKL expression, we were unable to demonstrate in vitro osteoclastogenesis activity for rat pDC. Taken together, these data identifies pDC as novel source of TRANCE/RANKL in the immune system.

IFN-ε is constitutively expressed by cells of the reproductive tract and is inefficiently secreted by fibroblasts and cell lines.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pascale Hermant

Full Text Available Type-I interferons (IFNs form a large family of cytokines that primarily act to control the early development of viral infections. Typical type-I IFN genes, such as those encoding IFN-α or IFN-β are upregulated by viral infection in many cell types. In contrast, the gene encoding IFN-ε was reported to be constitutively expressed by cells of the female reproductive tract and to contribute to the protection against vaginal infections with herpes simplex virus 2 and Chlamydia muridarum. Our data confirm the lack of induction of IFN-ε expression after viral infection and the constitutive expression of IFN-ε by cells of the female but also of the male reproductive organs. Interestingly, when expressed from transfected expression plasmids in 293T, HeLa or Neuro2A cells, the mouse and human IFN-ε precursors were inefficiently processed and secretion of IFN-ε was minimal. Analysis of chimeric constructs produced between IFN-ε and limitin (IFN-ζ showed that both the signal peptide and the mature moiety of IFN-ε contribute to poor processing of the precursor. Immunofluorescent detection of FLAG-tagged IFN-ε in transfected cells suggested that IFN-ε and chimeric proteins were defective for progression through the secretory pathway. IFN-ε did not, however, act intracellularly and impart an antiviral state to producing cells. Given the constitutive expression of IFN-ε in specialized cells and the poor processing of IFN-ε precursor in fibroblasts and cell lines, we hypothesize that IFN-ε secretion may require a co-factor specifically expressed in cells of the reproductive organs, that might secure the system against aberrant release of this IFN.

Conditional expression of constitutively active estrogen receptor α in chondrocytes impairs longitudinal bone growth in mice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ikeda, Kazuhiro; Tsukui, Tohru; Imazawa, Yukiko; Horie-Inoue, Kuniko; Inoue, Satoshi

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Conditional transgenic mice expressing constitutively active estrogen receptor α (caERα) in chondrocytes were developed. ► Expression of caERα in chondrocytes impaired longitudinal bone growth in mice. ► caERα affects chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation. ► This mouse model is useful for understanding the physiological role of ERαin vivo. -- Abstract: Estrogen plays important roles in the regulation of chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation, which are essential steps for longitudinal bone growth; however, the mechanisms of estrogen action on chondrocytes have not been fully elucidated. In the present study, we generated conditional transgenic mice, designated as caERα ColII , expressing constitutively active mutant estrogen receptor (ER) α in chondrocytes, using the chondrocyte-specific type II collagen promoter-driven Cre transgenic mice. caERα ColII mice showed retardation in longitudinal growth, with short bone lengths. BrdU labeling showed reduced proliferation of hypertrophic chondrocytes in the proliferating layer of the growth plate of tibia in caERα ColII mice. In situ hybridization analysis of type X collagen revealed that the maturation of hypertrophic chondrocytes was impaired in caERα ColII mice. These results suggest that ERα is a critical regulator of chondrocyte proliferation and maturation during skeletal development, mediating longitudinal bone growth in vivo.

Interferon beta 1, an intermediate in the tumor necrosis factor alpha- induced increased MHC class I expression and an autocrine regulator of the constitutive MHC class I expression

OpenAIRE

1987-01-01

In conclusion, our observations indicate that the constitutive MHC class I expression is regulated by autocrine production of IFN-beta 1. TNF-alpha acts as an enhancer of the autocrine production of IFN-beta 1, and consequently as an enhancer of the MHC class I expression and viral protection.

Integrating ribosomal promoter vectors that offer a choice of constitutive expression profiles in Leishmania donovani.

Science.gov (United States)

Soysa, Radika; Tran, Khoa D; Ullman, Buddy; Yates, Phillip A

2015-12-01

We have designed a novel series of integrating ribosomal RNA promoter vectors with five incrementally different constitutive expression profiles, covering a 250-fold range. Differential expression was achieved by placing different combinations of synthetic or leishmanial DNA sequences upstream and downstream of the transgene coding sequence in order to modulate pre-mRNA processing efficiency and mRNA stability, respectively. All of the vectors have extensive multiple cloning sites, and versions are available for producing N- or C- terminal GFP fusions at each of the possible relative expression levels. In addition, the modular configuration of the vectors allows drug resistance cassettes and other components to be readily exchanged. In toto, these vectors should be useful additions to the toolkit available for molecular and genetic studies of Leishmania donovani. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Constitutive expression, purification and characterisation of pectin methylesterase from Aspergillus niger in Pichia pastoris for potential application in the fruit juice industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Xiuping; Chen, Peng; Yin, Maolu; Yang, Qing

2013-01-01

Pectin methylesterase (PME) catalyses the hydrolysis of the methyl ester of pectin, yielding free carboxyl groups and methanol. PME is widely used in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. PME from Aspergillus niger was constitutively expressed to a high level in the yeast Pichia pastoris. The recombinant PME was purified by a combination of ammonium sulfate fractionation and ion exchange chromatography, giving an overall yield of 28.0%. It appeared as a single band in sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, with a molecular mass of about 45 kDa. Optimal activity of the enzyme occurred at a temperature of 50 °C and a pH of 4.7. The K(m), V(max) and k(cat) values of the enzyme with respect to pectin were 8.6 mmol L⁻¹ [Formula: See Text], 1.376 mmol min⁻¹ mg⁻¹ and 8.26 × 10² s⁻¹ respectively. Cations such as K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ni²⁺, Mn²⁺ and Co²⁺ slightly inhibited its activity, whereas Na⁺ had no effect. PME from A. niger was constitutively expressed to a high level in P. pastoris without methanol induction. The recombinant PME was purified and characterised and shown to be a good candidate for potential application in the fruit juice industry. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry.

A constitutively expressed antifungal peptide protects Tenebrio molitor during a natural infection by the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maistrou, Sevasti; Paris, Véronique; Jensen, Annette Bruun

2018-01-01

-evolution they share. In this study, we investigated role of a constitutively expressed thaumatin-like peptide with antifungal activity expressed by the mealworm beetle Tenebrio molitor, named Tenecin 3, during a natural infection with the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana. We monitored the effect...

Conditional expression of constitutively active estrogen receptor {alpha} in chondrocytes impairs longitudinal bone growth in mice

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ikeda, Kazuhiro [Division of Gene Regulation and Signal Transduction, Research Center for Genomic Medicine, Saitama Medical University, Saitama (Japan); Tsukui, Tohru [Experimental Animal Laboratory, Research Center for Genomic Medicine, Saitama Medical University, Saitama (Japan); Imazawa, Yukiko; Horie-Inoue, Kuniko [Division of Gene Regulation and Signal Transduction, Research Center for Genomic Medicine, Saitama Medical University, Saitama (Japan); Inoue, Satoshi, E-mail: INOUE-GER@h.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Division of Gene Regulation and Signal Transduction, Research Center for Genomic Medicine, Saitama Medical University, Saitama (Japan); Department of Geriatric Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan); Department of Anti-Aging Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan)

2012-09-07

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Conditional transgenic mice expressing constitutively active estrogen receptor {alpha} (caER{alpha}) in chondrocytes were developed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Expression of caER{alpha} in chondrocytes impaired longitudinal bone growth in mice. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer caER{alpha} affects chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer This mouse model is useful for understanding the physiological role of ER{alpha}in vivo. -- Abstract: Estrogen plays important roles in the regulation of chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation, which are essential steps for longitudinal bone growth; however, the mechanisms of estrogen action on chondrocytes have not been fully elucidated. In the present study, we generated conditional transgenic mice, designated as caER{alpha}{sup ColII}, expressing constitutively active mutant estrogen receptor (ER) {alpha} in chondrocytes, using the chondrocyte-specific type II collagen promoter-driven Cre transgenic mice. caER{alpha}{sup ColII} mice showed retardation in longitudinal growth, with short bone lengths. BrdU labeling showed reduced proliferation of hypertrophic chondrocytes in the proliferating layer of the growth plate of tibia in caER{alpha}{sup ColII} mice. In situ hybridization analysis of type X collagen revealed that the maturation of hypertrophic chondrocytes was impaired in caER{alpha}{sup ColII} mice. These results suggest that ER{alpha} is a critical regulator of chondrocyte proliferation and maturation during skeletal development, mediating longitudinal bone growth in vivo.

Constitutive STAT3-activation in Sezary syndrome: tyrphostin AG490 inhibits STAT3-activation, interleukin-2 receptor expression and growth of leukemic Sezary cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eriksen, K W; Kaltoft, K; Mikkelsen, G

2001-01-01

are IL-2Ralpha negative. An aberrant expression of IL-2Ralpha has recently been described in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). Here, we study the regulation of IL-2Ralpha expression and STATs in a tumor cell line obtained from peripheral blood from a patient with Sezary syndrome (SS), a leukemic variant...... of CTCL. We show that (1) STAT3 (a transcription factor known to regulate IL-2Ralpha transcription) is constitutively tyrosine-phosphorylated in SS tumor cells, but not in non-malignant T cells; (2) STAT3 binds constitutively to a STAT-binding sequence in the promotor of the IL-2Ralpha gene; (3) the Janus...... kinase inhibitor, tyrphostine AG490, inhibits STAT3 activation, STAT3 DNA binding, and IL-2Ralpha mRNA and protein expression in parallel; and (4) tyrphostine AG490 inhibits IL-2 driven mitogenesis and triggers apoptosis in SS tumor cells. In conclusion, we provide the first example of a constitutive...

Evaluation of constitutive iron reductase (AtFRO2 expression on mineral accumulation and distribution in soybean (Glycine max. L

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marta Wilton Vasconcelos

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Iron is an important micronutrient in human and plant nutrition. Adequate iron nutrition during crop production is central for assuring appropriate iron concentrations in the harvestable organs, for human food or animal feed. The whole-plant movement of iron involves several processes, including the reduction of ferric to ferrous iron at several locations throughout the plant, prior to transmembrane trafficking of ferrous iron. In this study, soybean plants that constitutively expressed the AtFRO2 iron reductase gene were analyzed for leaf iron reductase activity, as well as the effect of this transgene's expression on root, leaf, pod wall, and seed mineral concentrations. High Fe supply, in combination with the constitutive expression of AtFRO2, resulted in significantly higher concentrations of different minerals in roots (K, P, Zn, Ca, Ni, Mg and Mo, pod walls (Fe, K, P, Cu and Ni, leaves (Fe, P, Cu, Ca, Ni and Mg and seeds (Fe, Zn, Cu and Ni. Leaf and pod wall iron concentrations increased as much as 500% in transgenic plants, while seed iron concentrations only increased by 10%, suggesting that factors other than leaf and pod wall reductase activity were limiting the translocation of iron to seeds. Protoplasts isolated from transgenic leaves had three-fold higher reductase activity than controls. Expression levels of the iron storage protein, ferritin, were higher in the transgenic leaves than in wild-type, suggesting that the excess iron may be stored as ferritin in the leaves and therefore unavailable for phloem loading and delivery to the seeds. Also, citrate and malate levels in the roots and leaves of transgenic plants were significantly higher than in wild-type, suggesting that organic acid production could be related to the increased accumulation of minerals in roots, leaves and pod walls, but not in the seeds. All together, these results suggest a more ubiquitous role for the iron reductase in whole-plant mineral accumulation and

Comparison of constitutive and thiabendazole-induced expression of five cytochrome P450 genes in fourth-stage larvae of Haemonchus contortus isolates with different drug susceptibility identifies one gene with high constitutive expression in a multi-resistant isolate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Esra Yilmaz

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Benzimidazoles (BZs remain amongst the most widely used anthelmintic drug classes against gastro-intestinal nematode infections, although their efficacy is increasingly compromised by resistance. The primary underlying mechanisms for BZ resistance are single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs in the isotype 1 β-tubulin gene causing the substitutions F167Y, E198A or F200Y. However, resistance is believed to be multi-genic and previous studies have shown that isolates carrying 90–100% F200Y can vary considerably in their resistance level in the egg hatch assay (EHA. Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYPs are associated with drug resistance in mammals and arthropods and have been considered as mediators of anthelmintic resistance. In Caenorhabditis elegans, several members of the CYP34/35 and CYP31 families are BZ and/or xenobiotic inducible and thiabendazole (TBZ is metabolised by CYP35D1. Here, expression of all 5 CYPs closely related to the C. elegans CYP34/35 and CYP31 families was investigated in fourth-stage larvae of two susceptible and three BZ-resistant Haemonchus contortus isolates following in vitro exposure to TBZ for 3 and 6 h using real-time RT-PCR. The resistance status of all isolates was determined using EHAs and quantification of resistance-associated β-tubulin SNPs using pyrosequencing. While none of the CYPs was TBZ inducible, constitutive expression of CYP34/35 family member HCOI100383400 was significantly 2.4–3.7-fold higher in the multi-drug resistant WR isolate with the strongest BZ resistance phenotype compared to susceptible and intermediate-level BZ-resistant isolates. Although this increase is only moderate, HCOI100383400 might still be involved in high-level BZ resistance by further decreasing susceptibility in isolates already carrying 100% of a β-tubulin SNP causing BZ resistance. Lower transcript levels were observed for all CYPs in the intermediately resistant IRE isolate in comparison to the susceptible Hc

Constitutive expression of Vitreoscilla haemoglobin in Sphingomonas elodea to improve gellan gum production.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, X C; Chen, Y M; Li, Y D; Li, O; Zhu, L; Qian, C D; Tao, X L; Teng, Y

2011-02-01

To improve a commercially used strain for gellan production by exogenous Vitreoscilla haemoglobin (VHb). VHb gene was expressed in Sphingomonas elodea under the control of constitutive bla promoter. Biochemical activity of expressed VHb was confirmed by CO-difference spectra analysis that exhibited a characteristic absorption maximum at 419 nm. During cultivation, not only enhanced cell growth was detected, but also 20% improvement in gellan production was observed after 48 h of incubation, with a maximum yield of 16·82 g l(-1). Moreover, maximum sucrose conversion efficiency (g gellan per g sucrose) was 57·8, 20% higher than that of the parental strain. We further examined the polysaccharide production of VHb-expressing strain at different aeration levels in Erlenmeyer flasks. Again, in all cases, a significant enhancement of gellan production was observed, and the enhancement was more significant under oxygen-limiting conditions (up to 26·8%). VHb exhibited positive effect on cell growth and gellan yield of S. elodea, especially under hypoxic conditions. This is the first application of VHb as an effective metabolic engineering strategy in S. elodea to regulate cell growth and optimize gellan yield. © 2010 The Authors. Journal of Applied Microbiology © 2010 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Identification, isolation and evaluation of a constitutive sucrose phosphate synthase gene promoter from tomato

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naqvi, R.Z.; Mubeen, H.; Maqsood, A.; Khatoon, A.

2017-01-01

Sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) is one of the abundantly expressed genes in plants. The promoters of SPS gene was identified, analyzed and retrieved from high throughput genomic sequence (HTGS) database. The cis-acting regulatory elements and transcription start sites of promoter were identified through different bioinformatics tools. The SPS promoter was isolated from Solanum lycopersicum and was initially cloned in TA vector (pTZ57R/T). Later on this promoter was transferred to a plant expression binary vector, pGR1 (pGRSPS) that was used for the transient GUS expression studies in various tissues of Nicotiana tabacum. SPS promoter was also cloned in plant stable expression vector pGA482 (pGASPS) and was transformed in Nicotiana tabacum through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation method. The histochemical GUS expression analysis of both transient and stable transgenic plants for this promoter indicated its functional importance in regulating gene expression in a constitutive manner. It was concluded that SPS promoter is constitutively expressed with a strength equivalent to CaMV 2X35S promoter. The promoter isolated through these studies may be effectively substituted in plant genetic engineering with other constitutive promoter for transgene expression in economically important agricultural crops. (author)

[Learning and Memory Capacity and NMDA Receptor Expression in Shen Deficiency Constitution Rats].

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Yu-ru; Sun, Yao-guang; Zhang, Qi; Wang, Xiao-di; Wang, Xing; Sun, Li-jun

2016-05-01

To explore material bases and neurobiological mechanisms of "Shen storing will" by observing learning and memory capacities and N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor expressions in Shen deficiency constitution (SDC) rats. Totally 40 SD rats were randomly divided into the model group, the Zuogui Pill (ZP) group, the Yougui Pill (YP) group, the blank control group (consisting of normal pregnant rats), 10 in each group. SDC young rat model (inherent deficiency and postnatal malnutrition) was prepared by the classic way of "cat scaring rat". Medication started when they were scared by cat. Rats in the ZP group and the YP group were administered by gastrogavage with ZP suspension 0.1875 g/mL and YP suspension 0.0938 g/mL respectively. Equal volume of normal saline was administered to rats in the blank control group and the model group by gastrogavage. All medication was given once per day, 5 days in a week for 2 consecutive months. Learning and memory capacities were detected by Morris water maze test. Expressions of NMDA receptor subunits NR2A and NR2B in hippocamus were detected by immunohistochemical method. Compared with the blank control group, the latency period, total distance in Morris water maze test were longer in the model group (P learning and memory capacities and lowered NMDA receptor expressions. ZP and YP could up-regulate learning and memory capacities and NMDA receptor expressions, thereby improving deterioration of brain functions in SDC rats.

Stage 3 immature human natural killer cells found in secondary lymphoid tissue constitutively and selectively express the TH17 cytokine interleukin-22

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Tiffany; Becknell, Brian; McClory, Susan; Briercheck, Edward; Freud, Aharon G.; Zhang, Xiaoli; Mao, Hsiaoyin; Nuovo, Gerard; Yu, Jianhua

2009-01-01

Considerable functional heterogeneity within human natural killer (NK) cells has been revealed through the characterization of distinct NK-cell subsets. Accordingly, a small subset of CD56+NKp44+NK cells, termed NK-22 cells, was recently described within secondary lymphoid tissue (SLT) as IL-22− when resting, with a minor fraction of this population becoming IL-22+ when activated. Here we discover that the vast majority of stage 3 immature NK (iNK) cells in SLT constitutively and selectively express IL-22, a TH17 cytokine important for mucosal immunity, whereas earlier and later stages of NK developmental intermediates do not express IL-22. These iNK cells have a surface phenotype of CD34−CD117+CD161+CD94−, largely lack expression of NKp44 and CD56, and do not produce IFN-γ or possess cytolytic activity. In summary, stage 3 iNK cells are highly enriched for IL-22 and IL-26 messenger RNA, and IL-22 protein production, but do not express IL-17A or IL-17F. PMID:19244159

Transgenic mice expressing constitutive active MAPKAPK5 display gender-dependent differences in exploration and activity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moens Ugo

2007-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The mitogen-activated protein kinases, MAPKs for short, constitute cascades of signalling pathways involved in the regulation of several cellular processes that include cell proliferation, differentiation and motility. They also intervene in neurological processes like fear conditioning and memory. Since little remains known about the MAPK-Activated Protein Kinase, MAPKAPK5, we constructed the first MAPKAPK knockin mouse model, using a constitutive active variant of MAPKAPK5 and analyzed the resulting mice for changes in anxiety-related behaviour. Methods We performed primary SHIRPA observations during background breeding into the C57BL/6 background and assessed the behaviour of the background-bred animals on the elevated plus maze and in the light-dark test. Our results were analyzed using Chi-square tests and homo- and heteroscedatic T-tests. Results Female transgenic mice displayed increased amounts of head dips and open arm time on the maze, compared to littermate controls. In addition, they also explored further into the open arm on the elevated plus maze and were less active in the closed arm compared to littermate controls. Male transgenic mice displayed no differences in anxiety, but their locomotor activity increased compared to non-transgenic littermates. Conclusion Our results revealed anxiety-related traits and locomotor differences between transgenic mice expressing constitutive active MAPKAPK5 and control littermates.

Study on the creep constitutive equation of Hastelloy X, (1)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Kazuhiko; Mutoh, Yasushi

1983-01-01

In order to carry out the structural design of high temperature pipings, intermediate heat exchangers and isolating valves for a multipurpose high temperature gas-cooled reactor, in which coolant temperature reaches 1000 deg C, the creep characteristics of Hastelloy X used as the heat resistant material must be clarified. In addition to usual creep rupture life and the time to reach a specified creep strain, the dependence of creep strain curves on time, temperature and stress must be determined and expressed with equations. Therefore, using the creep data of Hastelloy X given in the literatures, the creep constitutive equation was made. Since the creep strain curves under the same test condition were different according to heats, the sensitivity analysis of the creep constitutive equation was performed. The form of the creep constitutive equation was determined to be Garofalo type. The result of the sensitivity analysis is reported. (Kako, I.)

Constitutive Activity among Orphan Class-A G Protein Coupled Receptors.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam L Martin

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent of constitutive activity among orphan class-A G protein coupled receptors within the cAMP signaling pathway. Constitutive signaling was revealed by changes in gene expression under control of the cAMP response element. Gene expression was measured in Chinese hamster ovary cells transiently co-transfected with plasmids containing a luciferase reporter and orphan receptor. Criteria adopted for defining constitutive activation were: 1 200% elevation over baseline reporter gene expression; 2 40% inhibition of baseline expression; and 3 40% inhibition of expression stimulated by 3 μM forskolin. Five patterns of activity were noted: 1 inhibition under both baseline and forskolin stimulated expression (GPR15, GPR17, GPR18, GPR20, GPR25, GPR27, GPR31, GPR32, GPR45, GPR57, GPR68, GPR83, GPR84, GPR132, GPR150, GPR176; 2 no effect on baseline expression, but inhibition of forskolin stimulated expression (GPR4, GPR26, GPR61, GPR62, GPR78, GPR101, GPR119; 3 elevation of baseline signaling coupled with inhibition of forskolin stimulated expression (GPR6, GPR12; 4 elevation of baseline signaling without inhibition of forskolin stimulated expression (GPR3, GPR21, GPR52, GPR65; and 5 no effect on expression (GPR1, GPR19, GPR22, GPR34, GPR35, GPR39, GPR63, GPR82, GPR85, GPR87. Constitutive activity was observed in 75% of the orphan class-A receptors examined (30 of 40. This constitutive signaling cannot be explained by simple overexpression of the receptor. Inhibition of cAMP mediated expression was far more common (65% than stimulation of expression (15%. Orphan receptors that were closely related based on amino acid homology tended to have similar effects on gene expression. These results suggest that identification of inverse agonists may be a fruitful approach for categorizing these orphan receptors and targeting them for pharmacological intervention.

Constitutive Activity among Orphan Class-A G Protein Coupled Receptors.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Adam L; Steurer, Michael A; Aronstam, Robert S

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent of constitutive activity among orphan class-A G protein coupled receptors within the cAMP signaling pathway. Constitutive signaling was revealed by changes in gene expression under control of the cAMP response element. Gene expression was measured in Chinese hamster ovary cells transiently co-transfected with plasmids containing a luciferase reporter and orphan receptor. Criteria adopted for defining constitutive activation were: 1) 200% elevation over baseline reporter gene expression; 2) 40% inhibition of baseline expression; and 3) 40% inhibition of expression stimulated by 3 μM forskolin. Five patterns of activity were noted: 1) inhibition under both baseline and forskolin stimulated expression (GPR15, GPR17, GPR18, GPR20, GPR25, GPR27, GPR31, GPR32, GPR45, GPR57, GPR68, GPR83, GPR84, GPR132, GPR150, GPR176); 2) no effect on baseline expression, but inhibition of forskolin stimulated expression (GPR4, GPR26, GPR61, GPR62, GPR78, GPR101, GPR119); 3) elevation of baseline signaling coupled with inhibition of forskolin stimulated expression (GPR6, GPR12); 4) elevation of baseline signaling without inhibition of forskolin stimulated expression (GPR3, GPR21, GPR52, GPR65); and 5) no effect on expression (GPR1, GPR19, GPR22, GPR34, GPR35, GPR39, GPR63, GPR82, GPR85, GPR87). Constitutive activity was observed in 75% of the orphan class-A receptors examined (30 of 40). This constitutive signaling cannot be explained by simple overexpression of the receptor. Inhibition of cAMP mediated expression was far more common (65%) than stimulation of expression (15%). Orphan receptors that were closely related based on amino acid homology tended to have similar effects on gene expression. These results suggest that identification of inverse agonists may be a fruitful approach for categorizing these orphan receptors and targeting them for pharmacological intervention.

A Mathematical Approach to Establishing Constitutive Models for Geomaterials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guang-hua Yang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The mathematical foundation of the traditional elastoplastic constitutive theory for geomaterials is presented from the mathematical point of view, that is, the expression of stress-strain relationship in principal stress/strain space being transformed to the expression in six-dimensional space. A new framework is then established according to the mathematical theory of vectors and tensors, which is applicable to establishing elastoplastic models both in strain space and in stress space. Traditional constitutive theories can be considered as its special cases. The framework also enables modification of traditional constitutive models.

Constitutional and administrative paradigms in judicial control over EU high and low politics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cebulak, Pola

2017-01-01

This article explores the particular tensions surrounding judicial review in EU external relations. The tensions are classified using a two-dimensional framework. Firstly, a distinction based on policy domains of high and low politics, which is derived from constitutional theory, and external...... to the CJEU; and secondly a distinction based on legitimizing paradigms of administrative (EU as effective global actor) or constitutional (judicial review as guarantee of fundamental rights) in character and determined by the Court itself. Even though one would expect a dominance of the administrative...... paradigm in the domain of high politics, the Court uses both the administrative and the constitutional paradigm in its external relations case-law. The decision on which of these becomes the guiding frame seems to depend more on the policy domain, and be made case by case, which suggests politically...

The in vitro and in vivo effects of constitutive light expression on a bioluminescent strain of the mouse enteropathogen Citrobacter rodentium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hannah M. Read

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Bioluminescent reporter genes, such as those from fireflies and bacteria, let researchers use light production as a non-invasive and non-destructive surrogate measure of microbial numbers in a wide variety of environments. As bioluminescence needs microbial metabolites, tagging microorganisms with luciferases means only live metabolically active cells are detected. Despite the wide use of bioluminescent reporter genes, very little is known about the impact of continuous (also called constitutive light expression on tagged bacteria. We have previously made a bioluminescent strain of Citrobacter rodentium, a bacterium which infects laboratory mice in a similar way to how enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC and enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC infect humans. In this study, we compared the growth of the bioluminescent C. rodentium strain ICC180 with its non-bioluminescent parent (strain ICC169 in a wide variety of environments. To understand more about the metabolic burden of expressing light, we also compared the growth profiles of the two strains under approximately 2,000 different conditions. We found that constitutive light expression in ICC180 was near-neutral in almost every non-toxic environment tested. However, we also found that the non-bioluminescent parent strain has a competitive advantage over ICC180 during infection of adult mice, although this was not enough for ICC180 to be completely outcompeted. In conclusion, our data suggest that constitutive light expression is not metabolically costly to C. rodentium and supports the view that bioluminescent versions of microbes can be used as a substitute for their non-bioluminescent parents to study bacterial behaviour in a wide variety of environments.

System constitution of plasma high frequency heating device and element equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagashima, Takashi

1988-01-01

On the high frequency heating device used for nuclear fusion experiment, the system constitution and the main items of development for the element equipment are described. As for the high frequency heating device, large technical progress was observed in the past 10 years as the second stage heating for tokamaks and one of the main means of current drive. At present, three frequency zones are regarded as promising for plasma high frequency heating in large nuclear fusion devices, and the experiment of 10 MW class is in progress at JT-60, JET and so on. There are electron cyclotron heating, lower hybrid resonance frequency heating and ion cyclotron range of frquency heating. The basic constitution of these heating devices includes a high frequency source, a transmission system, a connection system, and a common system for control, cooling, record and others. The ECH device using gyrotrons of several tens GHz, the LHRF heating device using large power klystrons up to several GHz and the ICRF heating device up to 200 MHz are briefly explained. The main element equipments composing the high frequency heating systems of several tens MW are discussed. (Kako, I.)

Constitutive modeling of SMA SMP multifunctional high performance smart adaptive shape memory composite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jarali, Chetan S; Raja, S; Upadhya, A R

2010-01-01

Materials design involving the thermomechanical constitutive modeling of shape memory alloy (SMA) and shape memory polymer (SMP) composites is a key topic in the development of smart adaptive shape memory composites (SASMC). In this work, a constitutive model for SASMC is developed. First, a one-dimensional SMA model, which can simulate the pseudoelastic (PE) and shape memory effects (SME) is presented. Subsequently, a one-dimensional SMP model able to reproduce the SME is addressed. Both SMA and SMP models are based on a single internal state variable, namely the martensite fraction and the frozen fraction, which can be expressed as a function of temperature. A consistent form of the analytical solution for the SMP model is obtained using the fourth-order Runge–Kutta method. Finally, the SASMC constitutive model is proposed, following two analytical homogenization approaches. One approach is based on an equivalent inclusion method and the other approach is the rule of mixtures. The SMA and SMP constitutive models are validated independently with experimental results. However, the validation of the composite model is performed using the two homogenization approaches and a close agreement in results is observed. Results regarding the isothermal and thermomechanical stress–strain responses are analyzed as a function of SMA volume fraction. Further, it is concluded that the proposed composite model is able to reproduce consistently the overall composite response by taking into consideration not only the phase transformations, variable modulus and transformation stresses in SMA but also the variable modulus, the evolution of stored strain and thermal strain in the SMP

Constitutional and administrative paradigms in judicial control over EU high and low politics

OpenAIRE

Cebulak Pola

2017-01-01

This article explores the particular tensions surrounding judicial review in EU external relations. The tensions are classified using a two-dimensional framework. Firstly, a distinction based on policy domains of high and low politics, which is derived from constitutional theory, and external to the CJEU; and secondly a distinction based on legitimizing paradigms of administrative (EU as effective global actor) or constitutional (judicial review as guarantee of fundamental rights) in characte...

Constitutional and administrative paradigms in judicial control over EU high and low politics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cebulak Pola

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This article explores the particular tensions surrounding judicial review in EU external relations. The tensions are classified using a two-dimensional framework. Firstly, a distinction based on policy domains of high and low politics, which is derived from constitutional theory, and external to the CJEU; and secondly a distinction based on legitimizing paradigms of administrative (EU as effective global actor or constitutional (judicial review as guarantee of fundamental rights in character and determined by the Court itself. Even though one would expect a dominance of the administrative paradigm in the domain of high politics, the Court uses both the administrative and the constitutional paradigm in its external relations case-law. The decision on which of these becomes the guiding frame seems to depend more on the policy domain, and be made case by case, which suggests politically sensitive adjudication, rather than a coherent approach to legitimizing the nascent judicial review in EU external relations.

PRDM14 is expressed in germ cell tumors with constitutive overexpression altering human germline differentiation and proliferation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanna J. Gell

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Germ cell tumors (GCTs are a heterogeneous group of tumors occurring in gonadal and extragonadal locations. GCTs are hypothesized to arise from primordial germ cells (PGCs, which fail to differentiate. One recently identified susceptibility loci for human GCT is PR (PRDI-BF1 and RIZ domain proteins 14 (PRDM14. PRDM14 is expressed in early primate PGCs and is repressed as PGCs differentiate. To examine PRDM14 in human GCTs we profiled human GCT cell lines and patient samples and discovered that PRDM14 is expressed in embryonal carcinoma cell lines, embryonal carcinomas, seminomas, intracranial germinomas and yolk sac tumors, but is not expressed in teratomas. To model constitutive overexpression in human PGCs, we generated PGC-like cells (PGCLCs from human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs and discovered that elevated expression of PRDM14 does not block early PGC formation. Instead, we show that elevated PRDM14 in PGCLCs causes proliferation and differentiation defects in the germline. Keywords: Germ cell tumor, PRDM14, Cell differentiation, Primordial germ cell, Proliferation

The constitutional right to freedom of expression: how enforceable ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

reaching consequences on society. As organs of state, schools have been directly affected by the need to ensure that their operations and rules are constitutionally and legislatively compatible. Human rights do not exist purely as an ideal but must ...

A constitutively expressed antifungal peptide protects Tenebrio molitor during a natural infection by the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana.

Science.gov (United States)

Maistrou, Sevasti; Paris, Véronique; Jensen, Annette B; Rolff, Jens; Meyling, Nicolai V; Zanchi, Caroline

2018-09-01

Antimicrobial peptides have been well studied in the context of bacterial infections. Antifungal peptides have received comparatively less attention. Fungal pathogens of insects and their hosts represent a unique opportunity to study host-pathogen interactions due to the million of years of co-evolution they share. In this study, we investigated role of a constitutively expressed thaumatin-like peptide with antifungal activity expressed by the mealworm beetle Tenebrio molitor, named Tenecin 3, during a natural infection with the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana. We monitored the effect of the expression of Tenecin 3 on the survival of infected hosts as well as on the progression of the fungal infection inside the host. Finally, we tested the activity of Tenecin 3 against B. bassiana. These findings could help improving biocontrol strategies and help understanding the evolution of antifungal peptides as a defense mechanism. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transplastomic expression of bacterial L-aspartate-alpha-decarboxylase enhances photosynthesis and biomass production in response to high temperature stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Fouad, W M; Altpeter, F

2009-10-01

Metabolic engineering for beta-alanine over-production in plants is expected to enhance environmental stress tolerance. The Escherichia coli L-aspartate-alpha-decarboxylase (AspDC) encoded by the panD gene, catalyzes the decarboxylation of L-aspartate to generate beta-alanine and carbon dioxide. The constitutive E. coli panD expression cassette was co-introduced with the constitutive, selectable aadA expression cassette into the chloroplast genome of tobacco via biolistic gene transfer and homologous recombination. Site specific integration of the E. coli panD expression cassette into the chloroplast genome and generation of homotransplastomic plants were confirmed by PCR and Southern blot analysis, respectively, following plant regeneration and germination of seedlings on selective media. PanD expression was verified by assays based on transcript detection and in vitro enzyme activity. The AspDC activities in transplastomic plants expressing panD were drastically increased by high-temperature stress. beta-Alanine accumulated in transplastomic plants at levels four times higher than in wildtype plants. Analysis of chlorophyll fluorescence on plants subjected to severe heat stress at 45 degrees C under light verified that photosystem II (PSII) in transgenic plants had higher thermotolerance than in wildtype plants. The CO(2) assimilation of transplastomic plants expressing panD was more tolerant to high temperature stress than that of wildtype plants, resulting in the production of 30-40% more above ground biomass than wildtype control. The results presented indicate that chloroplast engineering of the beta-alanine pathway by over-expression of the E. coli panD enhances thermotolerance of photosynthesis and biomass production following high temperature stress.

A constitutive model for particulate-reinforced titanium matrix composites subjected to high strain rates and high temperatures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Song Wei-Dong

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Quasi-static and dynamic tension tests were conducted to study the mechanical properties of particulate-reinforced titanium matrix composites at strain rates ranging from 0.0001/s to 1000/s and at temperatures ranging from 20 °C to 650 °C Based on the experimental results, a constitutive model, which considers the effects of strain rate and temperature on hot deformation behavior, was proposed for particulate-reinforced titanium matrix composites subjected to high strain rates and high temperatures by using Zener-Hollomon equations including Arrhenius terms. All the material constants used in the model were identified by fitting Zener-Hollomon equations against the experimental results. By comparison of theoretical predictions presented by the model with experimental results, a good agreement was achieved, which indicates that this constitutive model can give an accurate and precise estimate for high temperature flow stress for the studied titanium matrix composites and can be used for numerical simulations of hot deformation behavior of the composites.

Constitutive expression of a costimulatory ligand on antigen-presenting cells in the nervous system drives demyelinating disease

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zehntner, Simone P; Brisebois, Marcel; Tran, Elise

2003-01-01

that transgenic mice constitutively expressing the costimulatory ligand B7.2/CD86 on microglia in the central nervous system (CNS) and on related cells in the proximal peripheral nervous tissue spontaneously develop autoimmune demyelinating disease. Disease-affected nervous tissue in transgenic mice showed...... recipients but not into non-transgenic recipients. These data provide evidence that B7/CD28 interactions within the nervous tissue are critical determinants of disease development. Our findings have important implications for understanding the etiology of nervous system autoimmune diseases such as multiple...

Constitutively expressed Protocadherin-α regulates the coalescence and elimination of homotypic olfactory axons through its cytoplasmic region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sonoko eHasegawa

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Olfactory sensory neuron (OSN axons coalesce into specific glomeruli in the olfactory bulb (OB according to their odorant receptor (OR expression. Several guidance molecules enhance the coalescence of homotypic OSN projections, in an OR-specific- and neural-activity-dependent manner. However, the mechanism by which homotypic OSN axons are organized into glomeruli is unsolved. We previously reported that the clustered protocadherin-α (Pcdh-α family of diverse cadherin-related molecules plays roles in the coalescence and elimination of homotypic OSN axons throughout development. Here we showed that the elimination of small ectopic homotypic glomeruli required the constitutive expression of a Pcdh-α isoform and Pcdh-α’s cytoplasmic region, but not OR specificity or neural activity. These results suggest that Pcdh-α proteins provide a cytoplasmic signal to regulate repulsive activity for homotypic OSN axons independently of OR expression and neural activity. The counterbalancing effect of Pcdh-α proteins for the axonal coalescence mechanisms mediated by other olfactory guidance molecules indicate a possible mechanism for the organization of homotypic OSN axons into glomeruli during development.

Human eosinophils constitutively express a unique serine protease, PRSS33.

Science.gov (United States)

Toyama, Sumika; Okada, Naoko; Matsuda, Akio; Morita, Hideaki; Saito, Hirohisa; Fujisawa, Takao; Nakae, Susumu; Karasuyama, Hajime; Matsumoto, Kenji

2017-07-01

Eosinophils play important roles in asthma, especially airway remodeling, by producing various granule proteins, chemical mediators, cytokines, chemokines and proteases. However, protease production by eosinophils is not fully understood. In the present study, we investigated the production of eosinophil-specific proteases/proteinases by transcriptome analysis. Human eosinophils and other cells were purified from peripheral blood by density gradient sedimentation and negative/positive selections using immunomagnetic beads. Protease/proteinase expression in eosinophils and release into the supernatant were evaluated by microarray analysis, qPCR, ELISA, flow cytometry and immunofluorescence staining before and after stimulation with eosinophil-activating cytokines and secretagogues. mRNAs for extracellular matrix proteins in human normal fibroblasts were measured by qPCR after exposure to recombinant protease serine 33 (PRSS33) protein (rPRSS33), created with a baculovirus system. Human eosinophils expressed relatively high levels of mRNA for metalloproteinase 25 (MMP25), a disintegrin and metalloprotease 8 (ADAM8), ADAM10, ADAM19 and PRSS33. Expression of PRSS33 was the highest and eosinophil-specific. PRSS33 mRNA expression was not affected by eosinophil-activating cytokines. Immunofluorescence staining showed that PRSS33 was co-localized with an eosinophil granule protein. PRSS33 was not detected in the culture supernatant of eosinophils even after stimulation with secretagogues, but its cell surface expression was increased. rPRSS33 stimulation of human fibroblasts increased expression of collagen and fibronectin mRNAs, at least in part via protease-activated receptor-2 activation. Activated eosinophils may induce fibroblast extracellular matrix protein synthesis via cell surface expression of PRSS33, which would at least partly explain eosinophils' role(s) in airway remodeling. Copyright © 2017 Japanese Society of Allergology. Production and hosting by Elsevier

Press Law and Press Freedom for High School Publications: Court Cases and Related Decisions Discussing Free Expression Guarantees and Limitations for High School Students and Journalists. Contributions to the Study of Mass Media and Communications, Number 6.

Science.gov (United States)

Ingelhart, Louis E.

According to this reference manual, the nation's courts offer public high school journalists the same constitutional protection for expression, free speech, and free press as adults. Part 1 traces the development of the First and Fourth Amendments and explains how these provisions apply to high school publications. Part 2 examines expression that…

Transgenic tobacco plants constitutively expressing peanut BTF3 exhibit increased growth and tolerance to abiotic stresses.

Science.gov (United States)

Pruthvi, V; Rama, N; Parvathi, M S; Nataraja, K N

2017-05-01

Abiotic stresses limit crop growth and productivity worldwide. Cellular tolerance, an important abiotic stress adaptive trait, involves coordinated activities of multiple proteins linked to signalling cascades, transcriptional regulation and other diverse processes. Basal transcriptional machinery is considered to be critical for maintaining transcription under stressful conditions. From this context, discovery of novel basal transcription regulators from stress adapted crops like peanut would be useful for improving tolerance of sensitive plant types. In this study, we prospected a basal transcription factor, BTF3 from peanut (Arachis hypogaea L) and studied its relevance in stress acclimation by over expression in tobacco. AhBTF3 was induced under PEG-, NaCl-, and methyl viologen-induced stresses in peanut. The constitutive expression of AhBTF3 in tobacco increased plant growth under non stress condition. The transgenic plants exhibited superior phenotype compared to wild type under mannitol- and NaCl-induced stresses at seedling level. The enhanced cellular tolerance of transgenic plants was evidenced by higher cell membrane stability, reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging activity, seedling survival and vigour than wild type. The transgenic lines showed better in vitro regeneration capacity on growth media supplemented with NaCl than wild type. Superior phenotype of transgenic plants under osmotic and salinity stresses seems to be due to constitutive activation of genes of multiple pathways linked to growth and stress adaptation. The study demonstrated that AhBTF3 is a positive regulator of growth and stress acclimation and hence can be considered as a potential candidate gene for crop improvement towards stress adaptation. © 2016 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

A comparative analysis of constitutive promoters located in adeno-associated viral vectors.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lkhagvasuren Damdindorj

Full Text Available The properties of constitutive promoters within adeno-associated viral (AAV vectors have not yet been fully characterized. In this study, AAV vectors, in which enhanced GFP expression was directed by one of the six constitutive promoters (human β-actin, human elongation factor-1α, chicken β-actin combined with cytomegalovirus early enhancer, cytomegalovirus (CMV, simian virus 40, and herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase, were constructed and introduced into the HCT116, DLD-1, HT-1080, and MCF-10A cell lines. Quantification of GFP signals in infected cells demonstrated that the CMV promoter produced the highest GFP expression in the six promoters and maintained relatively high GFP expression for up to eight weeks after infection of HCT116, DLD-1, and HT-1080. Exogenous human CDKN2A gene expression was also introduced into DLD-1 and MCF-10A in a similar pattern by using AAV vectors bearing the human β-actin and the CMV promoters. The six constitutive promoters were subsequently placed upstream of the neomycin resistance gene within AAV vectors, and HCT116, DLD-1, and HT-1080 were infected with the resulting vectors. Of the six promoters, the CMV promoter produced the largest number of G418-resistant colonies in all three cell lines. Because AAV vectors have been frequently used as a platform to construct targeting vectors that permit gene editing in human cell lines, we lastly infected the three cell lines with AAV-based targeting vectors against the human PIGA gene in which one of the six promoters regulate the neomycin resistance gene. This assay revealed that the CMV promoter led to the lowest PIGA gene targeting efficiency in the investigated promoters. These results provide a clue to the identification of constitutive promoters suitable to express exogenous genes with AAV vectors, as well as those helpful to conduct efficient gene targeting using AAV-based targeting vectors in human cell lines.

The constitutional right to freedom of expression: How enforceable ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Erna Kinsey

have been directly affected by the need to ensure that their operations and rules are constitutionally and legislatively compatible. .... decisions about dress in the educational context of the school. .... time, until she was paid at the end of the month, to purchase the shoes ..... The Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair.

New Constitutionalism for Biosiversity vs. Neoconstitutionalism of Risk

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michele Carducci

2016-08-01

Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2177-7055.2016v37n73p255 Based on an “eco-systemic” democracy that seeks to preserve biodiversity through the recognition of the co-evolutionary link between nature and culture, the Andean Constitutionalism emerges as the expression of a counter-hegemonic constitutionalism committed to the construction of a new institutional framework through the inclusion of new participatory and intercultural mechanisms. Departing from western constitutional paradigms, this groundbreaking constitutionalism revisits the “Gaia hypothesis” and legitimizes a real “social contract” among the people and nature, and instead of considering it as an “object” of ownership, exploitation, or conservation, it regards nature as a legal “subject” and primary source of society itself and the Constitution as its “legal grantor and protector”.

Differential requirements of two recA mutants for constitutive SOS expression in Escherichia coli K-12.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jarukit Edward Long

Full Text Available Repairing DNA damage begins with its detection and is often followed by elicitation of a cellular response. In E. coli, RecA polymerizes on ssDNA produced after DNA damage and induces the SOS Response. The RecA-DNA filament is an allosteric effector of LexA auto-proteolysis. LexA is the repressor of the SOS Response. Not all RecA-DNA filaments, however, lead to an SOS Response. Certain recA mutants express the SOS Response (recA(C in the absence of external DNA damage in log phase cells.Genetic analysis of two recA(C mutants was used to determine the mechanism of constitutive SOS (SOS(C expression in a population of log phase cells using fluorescence of single cells carrying an SOS reporter system (sulAp-gfp. SOS(C expression in recA4142 mutants was dependent on its initial level of transcription, recBCD, recFOR, recX, dinI, xthA and the type of medium in which the cells were grown. SOS(C expression in recA730 mutants was affected by none of the mutations or conditions tested above.It is concluded that not all recA(C alleles cause SOS(C expression by the same mechanism. It is hypothesized that RecA4142 is loaded on to a double-strand end of DNA and that the RecA filament is stabilized by the presence of DinI and destabilized by RecX. RecFOR regulate the activity of RecX to destabilize the RecA filament. RecA730 causes SOS(C expression by binding to ssDNA in a mechanism yet to be determined.

Carbon Costs of Constitutive and Expressed Resistance to a Non-Native Pathogen in Limber Pine.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrick J Vogan

Full Text Available Increasing the frequency of resistance to the non-native fungus Cronartium ribicola (causative agent of white pine blister rust, WPBR in limber pine populations is a primary management objective to sustain high-elevation forest communities. However, it is not known to what extent genetic disease resistance is costly to plant growth or carbon economy. In this study, we measured growth and leaf-level physiology in (1 seedling families from seed trees that have previously been inferred to carry or not carry Cr4, the dominant R gene allele conferring complete, gene-for-gene resistance to WPBR in limber pine, and (2 populations that were and were not infected with C. ribicola. We found that, in the absence of C. ribicola exposure, there was no significant difference in carbon relations between families born from seed trees that harbor the resistance allele compared to those that lack it, either to plant growth and phenology or leaf-level photosynthetic traits. However, post-infection with C. ribicola, growth was significantly reduced in inoculation survivors expressing complete resistance compared to uninoculated seedlings. Furthermore, inoculation survivors exhibited significant increases in a suite of traits including photosynthetic rate, respiration rate, leaf N, and stomatal conductance and a decrease in photosynthetic water-use efficiency. The lack of constitutive carbon costs associated with Cr4 resistance in non-stressed limber pine is consistent with a previous report that the R gene allele is not under selection in the absence of C. ribicola and suggests that host resistance may not bear a constitutive cost in pathosystems that have not coevolved. However, under challenge by C. ribicola, complete resistance to WPBR in limber pine has a significant cost to plant growth, though enhanced carbon acquisition post-infection may offset this somewhat. These costs and effects on performance further complicate predictions of this species' response in

DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW. CONSTITUTIONAL COURT BETWEEN THE STATUS OF NEGATIVE LEGISLATOR AND THE STATUS OF POSITIVE CO-LEGISLATOR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marieta Safta

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The study wants to emphasize that Constitutional Courts belonging to the European model depart from their traditional role as ”negative legislator” – which refers to the effect of their acts consisting in removal from the legal system of those rules contrary to the Basic Law -, becoming, to a certain extent, a ”positive legislator”. Official interpreters of the Constitution, Constitutional Courts assume, sometimes, a role of co-legislators, creating provisions they deduct from the Constitution - when controlling the absence of legislation or legislative omissions -, and revealing the content of constitutional and even infraconstitutional rules accordingly with the Constitution in their case-law, whose effects are nothing but specific forms of „impulse” or „coercion” of the legislator to proceed in a certain sense, and whose continuous development guides the evolution of the entire legal system. Case – law selected presents ways in which the Constitutional Court of Romania is associated to law-making activity. Without minimizing in any way its traditional role as "negative legislator", the study refers mainly to acts and situations that give expression to the creative role of the Constitutional Court of Romania.

Tobacco plants respond to the constitutive expression of the tospovirus movement protein Nsm with a heat-reversible sealing of plasmodesmata that impairs development

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rinne, P.L.H.; Boogaard, van den R.; Mensink, G.J.; Kopperud, C.; Kormelink, R.J.M.; Goldbach, R.W.; Schoot, van der C.

2005-01-01

Viral infection often results in typical symptoms, the biological background of which has remained elusive. We show that constitutive expression of the NSM viral movement protein (MP) of tomato spotted wilt virus in Nicotiana tabacum is sufficient to induce severe, infection-like symptoms, including

Constitutive equations for Zr1Nb. II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novak, J.

1986-01-01

Based on existing knowledge and constitutive equations for non-irradiated material, constitutive equations were written for Zr1Nb irradiated at 573 K at deformation in the direction of forming. Constitutive equations express the following material characteristics: dependence of shear strength on fast neutron fluence, superposition of deformation hardening and subsequent radiation hardening, the effect of stress on deformation rate, and for fluences above ca. 10 24 n.m -2 (E>1 MeV) the course of the deformation curve for various fluence levels. The values apply for temperatures and rates of deformation which are characteristic of transient processes during changes in the power output of fuel elements of pressurized water reactors. (J.B.)

Application of symbolic computations to the constitutive modeling of structural materials

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Steven M.; Tan, H. Q.; Dong, X.

1990-01-01

In applications involving elevated temperatures, the derivation of mathematical expressions (constitutive equations) describing the material behavior can be quite time consuming, involved and error-prone. Therefore intelligent application of symbolic systems to faciliate this tedious process can be of significant benefit. Presented here is a problem oriented, self contained symbolic expert system, named SDICE, which is capable of efficiently deriving potential based constitutive models in analytical form. This package, running under DOE MACSYMA, has the following features: (1) potential differentiation (chain rule), (2) tensor computations (utilizing index notation) including both algebraic and calculus; (3) efficient solution of sparse systems of equations; (4) automatic expression substitution and simplification; (5) back substitution of invariant and tensorial relations; (6) the ability to form the Jacobian and Hessian matrix; and (7) a relational data base. Limited aspects of invariant theory were also incorporated into SDICE due to the utilization of potentials as a starting point and the desire for these potentials to be frame invariant (objective). The uniqueness of SDICE resides in its ability to manipulate expressions in a general yet pre-defined order and simplify expressions so as to limit expression growth. Results are displayed, when applicable, utilizing index notation. SDICE was designed to aid and complement the human constitutive model developer. A number of examples are utilized to illustrate the various features contained within SDICE. It is expected that this symbolic package can and will provide a significant incentive to the development of new constitutive theories.

Constitutional changes and the dilemmas of constitutionalism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arsen Bačić

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The need to develop constitutional mechanisms whose aim is to resolve fundamental relations in society demands the widest possible inclusion of all of society’s active participants in the discussion on the need to adopt or revise the Constitution. The opening of every new round of constitutional changes is of great importance because it always unlocks certain new and important questions. The answers to those questions should be offered by state authority (policy and civil society including science and its disciplines. In this paper, the author mentions several topics which are of interest in the current discussion on the significance of current constitutional changes for the future of the development of constitutionalism and democracy in the Republic of Croatia. These are above all topics of political and legal constitutionalism and suggestions linked to strengthening the independence of judicial powers. The author advocates consistent application of constitutional control and check mechanisms which exclude all insularity of judicial powers in relation to democratic control.

Right Product, Wrong Packaging: Not 'Constitution', but 'Constitutional Charter'

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Law

2007-05-01

Full Text Available The article seeks to locate the principal cause of Europe’s prevailing ratification crisis in the inappropriate title arrived at in the European Convention, Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe. This over-ambitious styling led the media to characterise the text as simply an ‘EU Constitution’. Yet, the text was not a Constitution as we traditionally understand the term, i.e. the founding document of a State: scholars are agreed that the EU is not, and will not become upon ratification, a State.In terms of substance, whilst the text certainly strengthened some emerging constitutional aspects, it was not a major departure from the status quo like the Single European Act and Treaty on European Union had been; and it remained technically a treaty like all its predecessors. Arguably, therefore, it did not require referenda to ratify. However, confusion over the scale and importance of what was proposed, stemming from ambiguity in the title, pushed politicians down this unfortunate path.The article identifies a high level of consensus among commentators as to the true nature of the text: most are happy designating it a treaty (noun with constitutional (adjective aspects. The early proposed title Constitutional Treaty for Europe was arguably, therefore, the correct one; but it is now too late to choose this option, as the terms Constitution and Constitutional Treaty have already been muddled in debate. A more distinctive change is required. One idea could be to follow the principle employed elsewhere in the text of codifying the generally accepted but presently unwritten legal concepts of the European Court of Justice, as was done for example for ‘primacy’ and ‘direct effect’. The Court has characterised the EU treaties as a ‘constitutional charter’ for over twenty years now, and on this basis a modified title could read Treaty Establishing a Constitutional Charter for Europe. Importantly, the term ‘charter’ is recognised

the meaning of the provision of the 1996 constitution | Venter ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The introduction of this notion in South African law and its meaning in general is ... be it of a private or public law nature, can escape the test of constitutionality. ... to international authorities and definitions of these concepts are developed. ... The Constitutional Court has determined that, although no express provision to this ...

A Prospect and Challenges for Adopting Constitutional Complaint and Constitutional Question in the Indonesian Constitutional Court

OpenAIRE

Faiz, Pan Mohamad

2016-01-01

A jurisdiction of the Indonesian Constitutional Court concerning constitutional adjudication is only limited to review the constitutionality of national law. There is no mechanism for challenging any decision or action made by public authorities that violate fundamental rights enshrined in the Indonesian Constitution. This article argues that constitutional complaint and constitutional question might be adopted as new jurisdictions of the Indonesian Constitutional Court in order to strengthen...

Constitutive expression of pluripotency-associated genes in mesodermal progenitor cells (MPCs.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simone Pacini

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: We recently characterized a progenitor of mesodermal lineage (MPCs from the human bone marrow of adults or umbilical cord blood. These cells are progenitors able to differentiate toward mesenchymal, endothelial and cardiomyogenic lineages. Here we present an extensive molecular characterization of MPCs, from bone marrow samples, including 39 genes involved in stem cell machinery, differentiation and cell cycle regulation. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: MPCs are cytofluorimetrically characterized and quantitative RT-PCR was performed to evaluate the gene expression profile, comparing it with MSCs and hESCs lines. Immunofluorescence and dot-blot analysis confirm qRT-PCR data. MPCs exhibit an increased expression of OCT4, NANOG, SALL4, FBX15, SPP1 and to a lesser extent c-MYC and KLF4, but lack LIN28 and SOX2. MPCs highly express SOX15. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: MPCs express many pluripotency-associated genes and show a peculiar Oct-4 molecular circuit. Understanding this unique molecular mechanism could lead to identifying MPCs as feasible, long telomeres, target cells for reprogramming with no up-regulation of the p53 pathway. Furthermore MPCs are easily and inexpensively harvested from human bone marrow.

Constitutively active RAS signaling reduces 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D-mediated gene transcription in intestinal epithelial cells by reducing vitamin D receptor expression.

Science.gov (United States)

DeSmet, Marsha L; Fleet, James C

2017-10-01

High vitamin D status is associated with reduced colon cancer risk but these studies ignore the diversity in the molecular etiology of colon cancer. RAS activating mutations are common in colon cancer and they activate pro-proliferative signaling pathways. We examined the impact of RAS activating mutations on 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH) 2 D)-mediated gene expression in cultured colon and intestinal cell lines. Transient transfection of Caco-2 cells with a constitutively active mutant K-RAS (G12 V) significantly reduced 1,25(OH) 2 D-induced activity of both a human 25-hydroxyvitamin D, 24 hydroxyase (CYP24A1) promoter-luciferase and an artificial 3X vitamin D response element (VDRE) promoter-luciferase reporter gene. Young Adult Mouse Colon (YAMC) and Rat Intestinal Epithelial (RIE) cell lines with stable expression of mutant H-RAS had suppressed 1,25(OH) 2 D-mediated induction of CYP24A1 mRNA. The RAS effects were associated with lower Vitamin D receptor (VDR) mRNA and protein levels in YAMC and RIE cells and they could be partially reversed by VDR overexpression. RAS-mediated suppression of VDR levels was not due to either reduced VDR mRNA stability or increased VDR gene methylation. However, chromatin accessibility to the VDR gene at the proximal promoter (-300bp), an enhancer region at -6kb, and an enhancer region located in exon 3 was significantly reduced in RAS transformed YAMC cells (YAMC-RAS). These data show that constitutively active RAS signaling suppresses 1,25(OH) 2 D-mediated gene transcription in colon epithelial cells by reducing VDR gene transcription but the mechanism for this suppression is not yet known. These data suggest that cancers with RAS-activating mutations may be less responsive to vitamin D mediated treatment or chemoprevention. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization of differentially expressed genes using high-dimensional co-expression networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Coelho Goncalves de Abreu, Gabriel; Labouriau, Rodrigo S.

2010-01-01

We present a technique to characterize differentially expressed genes in terms of their position in a high-dimensional co-expression network. The set-up of Gaussian graphical models is used to construct representations of the co-expression network in such a way that redundancy and the propagation...... that allow to make effective inference in problems with high degree of complexity (e.g. several thousands of genes) and small number of observations (e.g. 10-100) as typically occurs in high throughput gene expression studies. Taking advantage of the internal structure of decomposable graphical models, we...... construct a compact representation of the co-expression network that allows to identify the regions with high concentration of differentially expressed genes. It is argued that differentially expressed genes located in highly interconnected regions of the co-expression network are less informative than...

The Physiological and Biochemical Mechanisms Providing the Increased Constitutive Cold Resistance in the Potato Plants, Expressing the Yeast SUC2 Gene Encoding Apoplastic Invertase

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.N. Deryabin

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The expression of heterologous genes in plants is an effective method to improve our understanding of plant resistance mechanisms. The purpose of this work was to investigate the involvement of cell-wall invertase and apoplastic sugars into constitutive cold resistance of potato (Solanum tuberosum L., cv. Dйsirйe plants, which expressed the yeast SUC2 gene encoding apoplastic invertase. WT-plants of a potato served as the control. The increase in the essential cell-wall invertase activity in the leaves of transformed plants indicates significant changes in the cellular carbohydrate metabolism and regulatory function of this enzyme. The activity of yeast invertase changed the composition of intracellular sugars in the leaves of the transformed potato plant. The total content of sugars (sucrose, glucose, fructose in the leaves and apoplast was higher in the transformants, in comparison by WT-plants. Our data indicate higher constitutive resistance of transformants to severe hypothermia conditions compared to WT-plants. This fact allows us to consider cell-wall invertase as a enzyme of carbohydrate metabolism playing an important regulatory role in the metabolic signaling upon forming increased plant resistance to low temperature. Thus, the potato line with the integrated SUC2 gene is a convenient tool to study the role of the apoplastic invertase and the products of its activity during growth, development and formation constitutive resistance to hypothermia.

Elastic-plastic constitutive modeling of concrete

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, Y.

1983-03-01

The need to understand concrete behavior under high temperatures in the nuclear industry has become rather accute. For this purpose, a constitutive model of concrete especially developed for this severe environment is indispensable. This report reviews the presently available constitutive models of concrete at standard-temperature conditions and considers their advantages and drawbacks. A rather simple but effective approach is selected to treat concrete behavior at high temperatures. Special emphasis is devoted to the modeling of concrete up to and including failure. The derived constitutive model is checked with biaxial and triaxial benchmark experimental results. Very good agreement is obtained

Genome-Wide Constitutively Expressed Gene Analysis and New Reference Gene Selection Based on Transcriptome Data: A Case Study from Poplar/Canker Disease Interaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiaping Zhao

2017-10-01

Full Text Available A number of transcriptome datasets for differential expression (DE genes have been widely used for understanding organismal biology, but these datasets also contain untapped information that can be used to develop more precise analytical tools. With the use of transcriptome data generated from poplar/canker disease interaction system, we describe a methodology to identify candidate reference genes from high-throughput sequencing data. This methodology will improve the accuracy of RT-qPCR and will lead to better standards for the normalization of expression data. Expression stability analysis from xylem and phloem of Populus bejingensis inoculated with the fungal canker pathogen Botryosphaeria dothidea revealed that 729 poplar transcripts (1.11% were stably expressed, at a threshold level of coefficient of variance (CV of FPKM < 20% and maximum fold change (MFC of FPKM < 2.0. Expression stability and bioinformatics analysis suggested that commonly used house-keeping (HK genes were not the most appropriate internal controls: 70 of the 72 commonly used HK genes were not stably expressed, 45 of the 72 produced multiple isoform transcripts, and some of their reported primers produced unspecific amplicons in PCR amplification. RT-qPCR analysis to compare and evaluate the expression stability of 10 commonly used poplar HK genes and 20 of the 729 newly-identified stably expressed transcripts showed that some of the newly-identified genes (such as SSU_S8e, LSU_L5e, and 20S_PSU had higher stability ranking than most of commonly used HK genes. Based on these results, we recommend a pipeline for deriving reference genes from transcriptome data. An appropriate candidate gene should have a unique transcript, constitutive expression, CV value of expression < 20% (or possibly 30% and MFC value of expression <2, and an expression level of 50–1,000 units. Lastly, when four of the newly identified HK genes were used in the normalization of expression data for 20

Partial rescue of postnatal growth plate abnormalities in Ihh mutants by expression of a constitutively active PTH/PTHrP receptor.

Science.gov (United States)

Maeda, Yukiko; Schipani, Ernestina; Densmore, Michael J; Lanske, Beate

2010-02-01

Indian hedgehog (Ihh) is essential for chondrocyte proliferation/differentiation and osteoblast differentiation during prenatal endochondral bone formation. Ihh expression in postnatal chondrocytes has a non-redundant role in maintaining a growth plate and sustaining trabecular bone after birth. Loss of Ihh in postnatal chondrocytes results in fusion of the growth plate and a decrease in trabecular bone. In order to normalize this abnormal chondrocyte phenotype and to investigate whether a putative rescue of the growth plate anomalies is sufficient to correct the severe alterations in the bone, we expressed a constitutively active PTH/PTHrP receptor (an Ihh downstream target) in the chondrocytes of Col2 alpha 1-Cre ER; Ihh(dld) mice by mating Col2 alpha 1-Cre ER; Ihh(fl/fl) mice with Col2 alpha 1-constitutively active PTH/PTHrP receptor transgenic mice (Jansen, J). Col2 alpha 1-Cre ER; Ihh(f/f); J mice were then injected with tamoxifen at P0 to generate Col2 alpha 1-Cre ER; Ihh(d/d); J mice. In contrast with the previously reported growth plate phenotype of Col2 alpha 1-Cre ER; Ihh(d/d) mice that displayed ectopic chondrocyte hypertrophy at P7, growth plates of Col2 alpha 1-Cre ER; Ihh(d/d); J double mutants were well organized, and exhibited a gene expression pattern similar to the one of control mice. However, expression of osteoblast markers and Dkk1, a Wnt signaling target, remains decreased in the bone collar of Col2 alpha 1-Cre ER; Ihh(d/d); J mice when compared to control mice despite the rescue of abnormal chondrocyte differentiation. Moreover, proliferation of chondrocytes was still significantly impaired in Col2 alpha 1-Cre ER; Ihh(d/d); J mice, and this eventually led to the fusion of the growth plate at P14. In summary, we have demonstrated that expression of a Jansen receptor in chondrocytes was able to rescue abnormal chondrocyte differentiation but not impaired chondrocyte proliferation and the bone anomalies in mice lacking the Ihh gene in

Constitutive non-inducible expression of the Arabidopsis thaliana Nia 2 gene in two nitrate reductase mutants of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaye, C; Crawford, N M; Malmberg, R L

1997-04-01

We have isolated a haploid cell line of N. plumbaginifolia, hNP 588, that is constitutive and not inducible for nitrate reductase. Nitrate reductase mutants were isolated from hNP 588 protoplasts upon UV irradiation. Two of these nitrate reductase-deficient cell lines, nia 3 and nia 25, neither of which contained any detectable nitrate reductase activity, were selected for complementation studies. A cloned Arabidopsis thaliana nitrate reductase gene Nia 2 was introduced into each of the two mutants resulting in 56 independent kanamycin-resistant cell lines. Thirty of the 56 kanamycin-resistant cell lines were able to grow on nitrate as the sole nitrogen source. Eight of these were further analyzed for nitrate reductase enzyme activity and nitrate reductase mRNA production. All eight lines had detectable nitrate reductase activity ranging from 7% to 150% of wild-type hNP 588 callus. The enzyme activity levels were not influenced by the nitrogen source in the medium. The eight lines examined expressed a constitutive, non-inducible 3.2 kb mRNA species that was not present in untransformed controls.

Constitutional judges (guarantee of the Constitution and responsibility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francisco Javier Ansuátegui Roig

2012-06-01

Full Text Available My aim in this paper is to propose a reflection on the position and the importance that the constitutional judge has in the legal systems of contemporary constitutionalism. The figure of the judge responsible of protecting the Constitution is a key institution, without which we cannot understand the laws of constitutional democracies, their current lines of development, and the guarantee of rights and freedoms that constitute the normative core of these systems. Moreover, the reflection on the exercise of the powers of the judge, its scope and its justification is an important part of contemporary legal discussion, still relevant, albeit not exclusively - in the field of legal philosophy. The object of attention of my reflection is the judge who has the power of judicial review, in a scheme of defense of the Constitution, regardless the specific ways of this defense.

Constitutive and regulated expression vectors to construct polyphosphate deficient bacteria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jerez Carlos A

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Inorganic polyphosphate (polyP, a polymer of tens or hundreds of phosphate residues linked by ATP-like bonds, is found in all organisms and performs a wide variety of functions. PolyP is synthesized in bacterial cells by the actions of polyphosphate kinases (PPK1 and PPK2 and degraded by an exopolyphosphatase (PPX. Bacterial cells with polyP deficiencies are impaired in many structural and important cellular functions such as motility, quorum sensing, biofilm formation and virulence. Knockout mutants of the ppk1 gene have been the most frequent strategy employed to generate polyP deficient cells. Results As an alternative method to construct polyP-deficient bacteria we developed constitutive and regulated broad-host-range vectors for depleting the cellular polyP content. This was achieved by the overexpression of yeast exopolyphosphatase (PPX1. Using this approach in a polyphosphate accumulating bacteria (Pseudomonas sp. B4, we were able to eliminate most of the cellular polyP (>95%. Furthermore, the effect of overexpression of PPX1 resembled the functional defects found in motility and biofilm formation in a ppk1 mutant from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. The plasmids constructed were also successfully replicated in other bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Burkholderia and Salmonella. Conclusion To deplete polyP contents in bacteria broad-host-range expression vectors can be used as an alternative and more efficient method compared with the deletion of ppk genes. It is of great importance to understand why polyP deficiency affects vital cellular processes in bacteria. The construction reported in this work will be of great relevance to study the role of polyP in microorganisms with non-sequenced genomes or those in which orthologs to ppk genes have not been identified.

Constitutive stimulatory G protein activity in limb mesenchyme impairs bone growth.

Science.gov (United States)

Karaca, Anara; Malladi, Vijayram Reddy; Zhu, Yan; Tafaj, Olta; Paltrinieri, Elena; Wu, Joy Y; He, Qing; Bastepe, Murat

2018-05-01

GNAS mutations leading to constitutively active stimulatory G protein alpha-subunit (Gsα) cause different tumors, fibrous dysplasia of bone, and McCune-Albright syndrome, which are typically not associated with short stature. Enhanced signaling of the parathyroid hormone/parathyroid hormone-related peptide receptor, which couples to multiple G proteins including Gsα, leads to short bones with delayed endochondral ossification. It has remained unknown whether constitutive Gsα activity also impairs bone growth. Here we generated mice expressing a constitutively active Gsα mutant (Gsα-R201H) conditionally upon Cre recombinase (cGsα R201H mice). Gsα-R201H was expressed in cultured bone marrow stromal cells from cGsα R201H mice upon adenoviral-Cre transduction. When crossed with mice in which Cre is expressed in a tamoxifen-regulatable fashion (CAGGCre-ER™), tamoxifen injection resulted in mosaic expression of the transgene in double mutant offspring. We then crossed the cGsα R201H mice with Prx1-Cre mice, in which Cre is expressed in early limb-bud mesenchyme. The double mutant offspring displayed short limbs at birth, with narrow hypertrophic chondrocyte zones in growth plates and delayed formation of secondary ossification center. Consistent with enhanced Gsα signaling, bone marrow stromal cells from these mice demonstrated increased levels of c-fos mRNA. Our findings indicate that constitutive Gsα activity during limb development disrupts endochondral ossification and bone growth. Given that Gsα haploinsufficiency also leads to short bones, as in patients with Albright's hereditary osteodystrophy, these results suggest that a tight control of Gsα activity is essential for normal growth plate physiology. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rapid transcriptional pulsing dynamics of high expressing retroviral transgenes in embryonic stem cells.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mandy Y M Lo

Full Text Available Single cell imaging studies suggest that transcription is not continuous and occurs as discrete pulses of gene activity. To study mechanisms by which retroviral transgenes can transcribe to high levels, we used the MS2 system to visualize transcriptional dynamics of high expressing proviral integration sites in embryonic stem (ES cells. We established two ES cell lines each bearing a single copy, self-inactivating retroviral vector with a strong ubiquitous human EF1α gene promoter directing expression of mRFP fused to an MS2-stem-loop array. Transfection of MS2-EGFP generated EGFP focal dots bound to the mRFP-MS2 stem loop mRNA. These transcription foci colocalized with the transgene integration site detected by immunoFISH. Live tracking of single cells for 20 minutes detected EGFP focal dots that displayed frequent and rapid fluctuations in transcription over periods as short as 25 seconds. Similarly rapid fluctuations were detected from focal doublet signals that colocalized with replicated proviral integration sites by immunoFISH, consistent with transcriptional pulses from sister chromatids. We concluded that retroviral transgenes experience rapid transcriptional pulses in clonal ES cell lines that exhibit high level expression. These events are directed by a constitutive housekeeping gene promoter and may provide precedence for rapid transcriptional pulsing at endogenous genes in mammalian stem cells.

Constitutive equations for two-phase flows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boure, J.A.

1974-12-01

The mathematical model of a system of fluids consists of several kinds of equations complemented by boundary and initial conditions. The first kind equations result from the application to the system, of the fundamental conservation laws (mass, momentum, energy). The second kind equations characterize the fluid itself, i.e. its intrinsic properties and in particular its mechanical and thermodynamical behavior. They are the mathematical model of the particular fluid under consideration, the laws they expressed are so called the constitutive equations of the fluid. In practice the constitutive equations cannot be fully stated without reference to the conservation laws. Two classes of model have been distinguished: mixture model and two-fluid models. In mixture models, the mixture is considered as a single fluid. Besides the usual friction factor and heat transfer correlations, a single constitutive law is necessary. In diffusion models, the mixture equation of state is replaced by the phasic equations of state and by three consitutive laws, for phase change mass transfer, drift velocity and thermal non-equilibrium respectively. In the two-fluid models, the two phases are considered separately; two phasic equations of state, two friction factor correlations, two heat transfer correlations and four constitutive laws are included [fr

An Epstein-Barr virus anti-apoptotic protein constitutively expressed in transformed cells and implicated in burkitt lymphomagenesis: the Wp/BHRF1 link.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gemma L Kelly

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Two factors contribute to Burkitt lymphoma (BL pathogenesis, a chromosomal translocation leading to c-myc oncogene deregulation and infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV. Although the virus has B cell growth-transforming ability, this may not relate to its role in BL since many of the transforming proteins are not expressed in the tumor. Mounting evidence supports an alternative role, whereby EBV counteracts the high apoptotic sensitivity inherent to the c-myc-driven growth program. In that regard, a subset of BLs carry virus mutants in a novel form of latent infection that provides unusually strong resistance to apoptosis. Uniquely, these virus mutants use Wp (a viral promoter normally activated early in B cell transformation and express a broader-than-usual range of latent antigens. Here, using an inducible system to express the candidate antigens, we show that this marked apoptosis resistance is mediated not by one of the extended range of EBNAs seen in Wp-restricted latency but by Wp-driven expression of the viral bcl2 homologue, BHRF1, a protein usually associated with the virus lytic cycle. Interestingly, this Wp/BHRF1 connection is not confined to Wp-restricted BLs but appears integral to normal B cell transformation by EBV. We find that the BHRF1 gene expression recently reported in newly infected B cells is temporally linked to Wp activation and the presence of W/BHRF1-spliced transcripts. Furthermore, just as Wp activity is never completely eclipsed in in vitro-transformed lines, low-level BHRF1 transcripts remain detectable in these cells long-term. Most importantly, recognition by BHRF1-specific T cells confirms that such lines continue to express the protein independently of any lytic cycle entry. This work therefore provides the first evidence that BHRF1, the EBV bcl2 homologue, is constitutively expressed as a latent protein in growth-transformed cells in vitro and, in the context of Wp-restricted BL, may contribute to virus

THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE OF EQUALITY - LEGAL SIGNIFICANCE AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS -

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marius ANDREESCU

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The equality in human rights and obligations, the equality of citizens before the law are fundamental categories of the theories on social democracy but also conditions of the lawful state, without which constitutional democracy cannot be conceived. In Romanian Constitution, this principle is consecrated in the form of equality of the citizens before the law and public authorities. There are also particular aspects of this principle consecrated in the Constitution. The constitutional principle of equality requires that equal treatment be applied to equal situations. This social and legal reality implies numerous interferences between the principle of equality and other constitutional principles. In this study, by using theoretical and jurisprudential arguments, we intend to demonstrate that, in relation to contemporary social reality, equality, as a constitutional principle, is a particular aspect of the principle of proportionality. The latter one expresses in essence the ideas of: fairness, justice, reasonableness and fair appropriateness of state decisions to the facts and legitimate aims proposed.

Evidence Supporting a Role for Constitutive Ghrelin Receptor Signaling in Fasting-Induced Hyperphagia in Male Mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez, Gimena; Cabral, Agustina; Andreoli, María F; Labarthe, Alexandra; M'Kadmi, Céline; Ramos, Jorge G; Marie, Jacky; Fehrentz, Jean-Alain; Epelbaum, Jacques; Tolle, Virginie; Perello, Mario

2018-02-01

Ghrelin is a potent orexigenic peptide hormone that acts through the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR), a G protein-coupled receptor highly expressed in the hypothalamus. In vitro studies have shown that GHSR displays a high constitutive activity, whose physiological relevance is uncertain. As GHSR gene expression in the hypothalamus is known to increase in fasting conditions, we tested the hypothesis that constitutive GHSR activity at the hypothalamic level drives the fasting-induced hyperphagia. We found that refed wild-type (WT) mice displayed a robust hyperphagia that continued for 5 days after refeeding and changed their food intake daily pattern. Fasted WT mice showed an increase in plasma ghrelin levels, as well as in GHSR expression levels and ghrelin binding sites in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus. When fasting-refeeding responses were evaluated in ghrelin- or GHSR-deficient mice, only the latter displayed an ∼15% smaller hyperphagia, compared with WT mice. Finally, fasting-induced hyperphagia of WT mice was significantly smaller in mice centrally treated with the GHSR inverse agonist K-(D-1-Nal)-FwLL-NH2, compared with mice treated with vehicle, whereas it was unaffected in mice centrally treated with the GHSR antagonists D-Lys3-growth hormone-releasing peptide 6 or JMV2959. Taken together, genetic models and pharmacological results support the notion that constitutive GHSR activity modulates the magnitude of the compensatory hyperphagia triggered by fasting. Thus, the hypothalamic GHSR signaling system could affect the set point of daily food intake, independently of plasma ghrelin levels, in situations of negative energy balance. Copyright © 2018 Endocrine Society.

Water deficits and heat shock effects on photosynthesis of a transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana constitutively expressing ABP9, a bZIP transcription factor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Xia; Wollenweber, Bernd; Jiang, Dong

2008-01-01

The effects of water deficits (WD), heat shock (HS), and both (HSWD) on photosynthetic carbon- and light-use efficiencies together with leaf ABA content, pigment composition and expressions of stress- and light harvesting-responsive genes were investigated in ABP9 [ABA-responsive-element (ABRE...... transport rate (ETR) in 5P2 plants were depressed under optimal growth conditions (control) in relation to WT, they were enhanced under HS and HSWD. These results indicate that ABP9 transgenic plants are less susceptible to stress than the WT. In addition, the increased ABA contents in both WT and 5P2......, altered expression of stress-regulated or light harvesting-responsive genes was observed. Collectively, our results indicate that constitutive expression of ABP9 improves the photosynthetic capacity of plants under stress by adjusting photosynthetic pigment composition, dissipating excess light energy...

National constitutional courts in the European Constitutional Democracy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Komárek, Jan

2014-01-01

This article critically assesses the transformation of national constitutional courts’ place in the law and politics of the EU and its member states. This process eliminates the difference between constitutional and ordinary national courts, which is crucial for the institutional implementation...... of the discourse theory of law and democracy. It also disrupts the symbiotic relationship between national constitutional democracies established after World War II and European integration. The article argues that maintaining the special place of national constitutional courts is in the vital interest of both...... the EU and its member states, understood together as the European Constitutional Democracy—the central notion developed in this article in order to support an argument that should speak to both EU lawyers and national constitutionalists....

Prostacyclin Synthase: Upregulation during Renal Development and in Glomerular Disease as well as Its Constitutive Expression in Cultured Human Mesangial Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Klein

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Prostacyclin (PGI2 plays a critical role in nephrogenesis and renal physiology. However, our understanding of how prostacyclin release in the kidney is regulated remains poorly defined. We studied expression of prostacyclin synthase (PGIS in developing and adult human kidneys, and also in selected pediatric renal diseases. We also examined PGI2 formation in human mesangial cells in vitro. We observed abundant expression of PGIS in the nephrogenic cortex in humans and in situ hybridization revealed an identical pattern in mice. In the normal adult kidney, PGIS-immunoreactive protein and mRNA appear to localize to mesangial fields and endothelial and smooth muscle cells of arteries and peritubular capillaries. In kidney biopsies taken from pediatric patients, enhanced expression of PGIS-immunoreactive protein was noted mainly in endothelial cells of patients with IgA-nephropathy. Cultured human mesangial cells produce primarily PGI2 and prostaglandin E2, followed by prostaglandin F2α Cytokine stimulation increased PGI2 formation 24-fold. Under these conditions expression of PGIS mRNA and protein remained unaltered whereas mRNA for cyclooxygenase-2 was markedly induced. In contrast to its constitutive expression in vitro, renal expression of prostacyclin-synthase appears to be regulated both during development and in glomerular disease. Further research is needed to identify the factors involved in regulation of PGIS-expression.

Production of dengue virus envelope protein domain III-based antigens in tobacco chloroplasts using inducible and constitutive expression systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Gottschamel, Johanna; Lössl, Andreas; Ruf, Stephanie; Wang, Yanliang; Skaugen, Morten; Bock, Ralph; Clarke, Jihong Liu

2016-07-01

Dengue fever is a disease in many parts of the tropics and subtropics and about half the world's population is at risk of infection according to the World Health Organization. Dengue is caused by any of the four related dengue virus serotypes DEN-1, -2, -3 and -4, which are transmitted to people by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Currently there is only one vaccine (Dengvaxia(®)) available (limited to a few countries) on the market since 2015 after half a century's intensive efforts. Affordable and accessible vaccines against dengue are hence still urgently needed. The dengue envelop protein domain III (EDIII), which is capable of eliciting serotype-specific neutralizing antibodies, has become the focus for subunit vaccine development. To contribute to the development of an accessible and affordable dengue vaccine, in the current study we have used plant-based vaccine production systems to generate a dengue subunit vaccine candidate in tobacco. Chloroplast genome engineering was applied to express serotype-specific recombinant EDIII proteins in tobacco chloroplasts using both constitutive and ethanol-inducible expression systems. Expression of a tetravalent antigen fusion construct combining EDIII polypeptides from all four serotypes was also attempted. Transplastomic EDIII-expressing tobacco lines were obtained and homoplasmy was verified by Southern blot analysis. Northern blot analyses showed expression of EDIII antigen-encoding genes. EDIII protein accumulation levels varied for the different recombinant EDIII proteins and the different expression systems, and reached between 0.8 and 1.6 % of total cellular protein. Our study demonstrates the suitability of the chloroplast compartment as a production site for an EDIII-based vaccine candidate against dengue fever and presents a Gateway(®) plastid transformation vector for inducible transgene expression.

Establishment and comparison of four constitutive relationships of PC/ABS from low to high uniaxial strain rates

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Haitao; Zhang, Yun; Huang, Zhigao; Tang, Zhongbin; Wang, Yanpei; Zhou, Huamin

2017-10-01

The objective of this paper is to accurately predict the rate/temperature-dependent deformation of a polycarbonate (PC) and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) blend at low, moderate, and high strain rates for various temperatures. Four constitutive models have been employed to predict stress-strain responses of PC/ABS under these conditions, including the DSGZ model, the original Mulliken-Boyce (M-B) model, the modified M-B model, and an adiabatic model named the Wang model. To more accurately capture the large deformation of PC/ABS under the high strain rate loading, the original M-B model is modified by allowing for the evolution of the internal shear strength. All of the four constitutive models above have been implemented in the finite element software ABAQUS/Explicit. A comparison of prediction accuracies of the four constitutive models over a wide range of strain rates and temperatures has been presented. The modified M-B model is observed to be more accurate in predicting the deformation of PC/ABS at high strain rates for various temperatures than the original M-B model, and the Wang model is demonstrated to be the most accurate in simulating the deformation of PC/ABS at low, moderate, and high strain rates for various temperatures.

Association of increased radiocurability of murine carcinomas with low constitutive expression of p21{sup WAF1/CIP1} protein

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akimoto, Tetsuo; Seong, Jinsil; Hunter, Nancy R; Buchmiller, Lara; Mason, Kathy; Milas, Luka

1999-05-01

Purpose: The study investigated whether basal, constitutive levels of p21{sup WAF1/CIP1} protein in murine carcinomas are related to in vivo tumor radioresponse. The study is based on recent observations demonstrating that in vitro cancer cell lines are resistant to cytotoxic drugs when they express high basal levels of p21{sup WAF1/CIP1} protein, and that the loss of the p21 gene in the HCT116 human colorectal cancer cell line results in increased radioresponse of xenografts derived from that cell line. Methods and Materials: Protein levels of p21{sup WAF1/CIP1}, p53, bax, and bcl-2 were determined in 8 carcinomas (3 mammary carcinomas designated MCa-4, MCa-29, and MCa-35, 2 squamous cell carcinomas designated SCC-IV and SCC-VII, ovarian adenocarcinoma OCa-I, hepatocarcinoma HCa-I, and adenosquamous carcinoma ACa-SG) syngeneic to C3Hf/Kam mice using Western blot analysis. The tumors, growing in the right hind legs of mice, were 8 mm in diameter at the time of analysis. These tumors greatly differ in their radioresponse, assessed by TCD50 assay, and in their susceptibility to radiation-induced apoptosis. Results: Protein levels of these oncogenes varied among tumors, with p21{sup WAF1/CIP1} showing the greatest variation: its mean densitometric value ranged from 1 to 19. Bcl-2 levels also showed broad variation in densitometric values, from 1 to 10. In comparison, bax and p53 (7 of 8 tumors contained wild-type p53) varied much less among different tumor types; their variation was within a 5-fold range, and the level of p53 was similar in 6 of 8 tumors. Tumor radioresponse correlated significantly (R = 0.77, p = 0.02) only with the magnitude of p21{sup WAF1/CIP1}expression: tumors with high levels of p21{sup WAF1/CIP1}were less radiocurable than those with lower levels. Tumor radiocurability showed a significant positive correlation (p = 0.02) with the extent of radiation-induced apoptosis, indicating that tumors that responded to radiation with higher percentages

Screening for MPL mutations in essential thrombocythemia and primary myelofibrosis: normal Mpl expression and absence of constitutive STAT3 and STAT5 activation in MPLW515L-positive platelets.

Science.gov (United States)

Glembotsky, Ana C; Korin, Laura; Lev, Paola R; Chazarreta, Carlos D; Marta, Rosana F; Molinas, Felisa C; Heller, Paula G

2010-05-01

To evaluate the frequency of MPL W515L, W515K and S505N mutations in essential thrombocythemia (ET) and primary myelofibrosis (PMF) and to determine whether MPLW515L leads to impaired Mpl expression, constitutive STAT3 and STAT5 activation and enhanced response to thrombopoietin (TPO). Mutation detection was performed by allele-specific PCR and sequencing. Platelet Mpl expression was evaluated by flow cytometry, immunoblotting and real-time RT-PCR. Activation of STAT3 and STAT5 before and after stimulation with increasing concentrations of TPO was studied by immunoblotting. Plasma TPO was measured by ELISA. MPLW515L was detected in 1 of 100 patients with ET and 1 of 11 with PMF. Platelets from the PMF patient showed 100% mutant allele, which was Mpl surface and total protein expression were normal, and TPO levels were mildly increased in the MPLW515L-positive ET patient, while MPL transcripts did not differ from controls in both MPLW515L-positive patients. Constitutive STAT3 and STAT5 phosphorylation was absent and dose response to TPO-induced phosphorylation was not enhanced. The low frequency of MPL mutations in this cohort is in agreement with previous studies. The finding of normal Mpl levels in MPLW515L-positive platelets indicates this mutation does not lead to dysregulated Mpl expression, as frequently shown for myeloproliferative neoplasms. The lack of spontaneous STAT3 and STAT5 activation and the normal response to TPO is unexpected as MPLW515L leads to constitutive receptor activation and hypersensitivity to TPO in experimental models.

Constitutional Verbosity and Social Trust

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørnskov, Christian; Voigt, Stefan

2014-01-01

A common argument in the trust literature is that high-trust cultures allow efficient commercial contracts to be shorter, covering fewer contingencies. We take this idea to the topic of social contracts. Specifically, we ask whether social trust affects the length and detail of constitutions. Cross......-country estimates suggest that national trust levels are indeed robustly and negatively associated with the length of countries’ constitutions....

Constitutive expression of a putative high-affinity nitrate transporter in Nicotiana plumbaginifolia: evidence for post-transcriptional regulation by a reduced nitrogen source.

Science.gov (United States)

Fraisier, V; Gojon, A; Tillard, P; Daniel-Vedele, F

2000-08-01

The NpNRT2.1 gene encodes a putative inducible component of the high-affinity nitrate (NO3-) uptake system in Nicotiana plumbaginifolia. Here we report functional and physiological analyses of transgenic plants expressing the NpNRT2.1 coding sequence fused to the CaMV 35S or rolD promoters. Irrespective of the level of NO3- supplied, NO3- contents were found to be remarkably similar in wild-type and transgenic plants. Under specific conditions (growth on 10 mM NO3-), the steady-state NpNRT2. 1 mRNA level resulting from the deregulated transgene expression was accompanied by an increase in 15NO3- influx measured in the low concentration range. This demonstrates for the first time that the NRT2.1 sequence codes a limiting element of the inducible high-affinity transport system. Both 15NO3- influx and mRNA levels decreased in the wild type after exposure to ammonium, in agreement with previous results from many species. Surprisingly, however, influx was also markedly decreased in transgenic plants, despite stable levels of transgene expression in independent transformants after ammonium addition. We conclude that the conditions associated with the supply of a reduced nitrogen source such as ammonium, or with the generation of a further downstream metabolite, probably exert a repressive effect on NO3- influx at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels.

High constitutive signaling of the ghrelin receptor--identification of a potent inverse agonist

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holst, Birgitte; Cygankiewicz, Adam; Jensen, Tine Halkjaer

2003-01-01

Ghrelin is a GH-releasing peptide that also has an important role as an orexigenic hormone-stimulating food intake. By measuring inositol phosphate turnover or by using a reporter assay for transcriptional activity controlled by cAMP-responsive elements, the ghrelin receptor showed strong, ligand......-independent signaling in transfected COS-7 or human embryonic kidney 293 cells. Ghrelin and a number of the known nonpeptide GH secretagogues acted as agonists stimulating inositol phosphate turnover further. In contrast, the low potency ghrelin antagonist, [D-Arg1,D-Phe5,D-Trp7,9,Leu11]-substance P was surprisingly...... found to be a high potency (EC50 = 5.2 nm) full inverse agonist as it decreased the constitutive signaling of the ghrelin receptor down to that observed in untransfected cells. The homologous motilin receptor functioned as a negative control as it did not display any sign of constitutive activity...

The Constitutional Reform in Romania after the 2009 Referendum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anthony Murphy

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This article sets to analyse the issue of constitutional reform in Romania in the aftermath of the 2009 referendum which approved the transition to a unicameral legislature and the reduction of the number of its members to 300 at most. Accordingly, constitutional change should be made only in respect to the option expressed by the people, albeit only one of the two subsequent proposals of revision contained such provisions. In turn, the conflict between the President and the Parliament withheld any prospect of change for some time. Seven years on, the issue remains a sensible part of the debate, with the Constitutional Court previously ruling that the results of the referendum are binding although its deliberative nature prevents any direct entry into force.

Constitutional 3p26.3 terminal microdeletion in an adolescent with neuroblastoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Pezzolo, Annalisa; Sementa, Angela Rita; Lerone, Margherita; Morini, Martina; Ognibene, Marzia; Defferrari, Raffaella; Mazzocco, Katia; Conte, Massimo; Gigliotti, Anna Rita; Garaventa, Alberto; Pistoia, Vito; Varesio, Luigi

2017-05-04

Neuroblastoma (NB) is a common and often lethal cancer of early childhood that accounts for 10% of pediatric cancer mortality. Incidence peaks in infancy and then rapidly declines, with less than 5% of cases diagnosed in children and adolescents ≥ 10 y. There is increasing evidence that NB has unique biology and an chronic disease course in older children and adolescents, but ultimately dismal survival. We describe a rare constitutional 3p26.3 terminal microdeletion which occurred in an adolescent with NB, with apparently normal phenotype without neurocognitive defects. We evaluated the association of expression of genes involved in the microdeletion with NB patient outcomes using R2 platform. We screened NB patient's tumor cells for CHL1 protein expression using immunofluorescence. Constitutional and tumor DNA were tested by array-comparative genomic hybridization and single nucleotide-polymorphism-array analyses. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from the patient showed a 2.54 Mb sub-microscopic constitutional terminal 3p deletion that extended to band p26.3. The microdeletion 3p disrupted the CNTN4 gene and the neighboring CNTN6 and CHL1 genes were hemizygously deleted, each of these genes encode neuronal cell adhesion molecules. Low expression of CNTN6 and CNTN4 genes did not stratify NB patients, whereas low CHL1 expression characterized 417 NB patients having worse overall survival. CHL1 protein expression on tumor cells from the patient was weaker than positive control. This is the first report of a constitutional 3p26.3 deletion in a NB patient. Since larger deletions of 3p, indicative of the presence of one or more tumor suppressor genes in this region, occur frequently in neuroblastoma, our results pave the way to the identification of one putative NB suppressor genes mapping in 3p26.3.

A Bacterial Biosensor for Oxidative Stress Using the Constitutively Expressed Redox-Sensitive Protein roGFP2

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos R. Arias-Barreiro

2010-06-01

Full Text Available A highly specific, high throughput-amenable bacterial biosensor for chemically induced cellular oxidation was developed using constitutively expressed redox-sensitive green fluorescent protein roGFP2 in E. coli (E. coli-roGFP2. Disulfide formation between two key cysteine residues of roGFP2 was assessed using a double-wavelength ratiometric approach. This study demonstrates that only a few minutes were required to detect oxidation using E. coli-roGFP2, in contrast to conventional bacterial oxidative stress sensors. Cellular oxidation induced by hydrogen peroxide, menadione, sodium selenite, zinc pyrithione, triphenyltin and naphthalene became detectable after 10 seconds and reached the maxima between 80 to 210 seconds, contrary to Cd2+, Cu2+, Pb2+, Zn2+ and sodium arsenite, which induced the oxidation maximum immediately. The lowest observable effect concentrations (in ppm were determined as 1.0 x 10−7 (arsenite, 1.0 x 10−4 (naphthalene, 1.0 x 10−4 (Cu2+, 3.8 x 10−4 (H2O2, 1.0 x 10−3 (Cd2+, 1.0 x 10−3 (Zn2+, 1.0 x 10−2 (menadione, 1.0 (triphenyltin, 1.56 (zinc pyrithione, 3.1 (selenite and 6.3 (Pb2+, respectively. Heavy metal-induced oxidation showed unclear response patterns, whereas concentration-dependent sigmoid curves were observed for other compounds. In vivo GSH content and in vitro roGFP2 oxidation assays together with E. coli-roGFP2 results suggest that roGFP2 is sensitive to redox potential change and thiol modification induced by environmental stressors. Based on redox-sensitive technology, E. coli-roGFP2 provides a fast comprehensive detection system for toxicants that induce cellular oxidation.

Engineering Escherichia coli to grow constitutively on D-xylose using the carbon-efficient Weimberg pathway

Science.gov (United States)

Rossoni, Luca; Carr, Reuben; Baxter, Scott; Cortis, Roxann; Thorpe, Thomas; Eastham, Graham; Stephens, Gill

2018-01-01

Bio-production of fuels and chemicals from lignocellulosic C5 sugars usually requires the use of the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) to produce pyruvate. Unfortunately, the oxidation of pyruvate to acetyl-coenzyme A results in the loss of 33 % of the carbon as CO2, to the detriment of sustainability and process economics. To improve atom efficiency, we engineered Escherichia coli to utilize d-xylose constitutively using the Weimberg pathway, to allow direct production of 2-oxoglutarate without CO2 loss. After confirming enzyme expression in vitro, the pathway expression was optimized in vivo using a combinatorial approach, by screening a range of constitutive promoters whilst systematically varying the gene order. A PPP-deficient (ΔxylAB), 2-oxoglutarate auxotroph (Δicd) was used as the host strain, so that growth on d-xylose depended on the expression of the Weimberg pathway, and variants expressing Caulobacter crescentus xylXAB could be selected on minimal agar plates. The strains were isolated and high-throughput measurement of the growth rates on d-xylose was used to identify the fastest growing variant. This strain contained the pL promoter, with C. crescentus xylA at the first position in the synthetic operon, and grew at 42 % of the rate on d-xylose compared to wild-type E. coli using the PPP. Remarkably, the biomass yield was improved by 53.5 % compared with the wild-type upon restoration of icd activity. Therefore, the strain grows efficiently and constitutively on d-xylose, and offers great potential for use as a new host strain to engineer carbon-efficient production of fuels and chemicals via the Weimberg pathway. PMID:29458683

On the constitutive law of environment assisted fatigue: The physical meaning of the Paris type equations. Pt. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krausz, K.; Wu Xijia; Krausz, A.S.; Lian Zhiwen

1992-01-01

Environment assisted fatigue crack growth is a complex of thermally activated processes. Accordingly, the framework for the expression of rational constitutive law is developed from fracture kinetics theory. The correlation of the constitutive law with the Paris equation is discussed and the empirical parameters in the Paris equation are expressed explicitly in terms of activation energy, stress intensity factor range, temperature, stress ratio, and other physically rigorous engineering quantities. The theory assures and facilitates, the rigorous quantitative evaluation of the effects of the microstructure: the constitutive law gives guidance to its measurement and expresses it in terms of energy-related quantities. (orig.) [de

Constitutive NADPH-Dependent Electron Transferase Activity of the Nox4 Dehydrogenase Domain?

OpenAIRE

Nisimoto, Yukio; Jackson, Heather M.; Ogawa, Hisamitsu; Kawahara, Tsukasa; Lambeth, J. David

2010-01-01

NADPH oxidase 4 (Nox4) is constitutively active, while Nox2 requires the cytosolic regulatory subunits p47 phox and p67 phox and activated Rac with activation by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). This study was undertaken to identify the domain on Nox4 that confers constitutive activity. Lysates from Nox4-expressing cells exhibited constitutive NADPH- but not NADH-dependent hydrogen peroxide production with a K m for NADPH of 55 ? 10 ?M. The concentration of Nox4 in cell lysates was esti...

BILF1 Mediated Transformation Correlates with Constitutive Signaling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lyngaa, Rikke Birgitte

2009-01-01

BIFL1 is a G protein-coupled receptor encoded by human EBV. It signals constitutively through G_alpha_i and is an orphan receptor known to down regulate MHCI expression. BILF1 also engage in dimerization with several chemokine receptors and it induced the activity of NF-kappa beta and inhibits...

A three-dimensional constitutive model for shape memory alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Bo; Yoon, Sung-Ho; Leng, Jin-Song

2009-01-01

Shape memory alloy (SMA) has a wide variety of practical applications due to its unique super-elasticity and shape memory effect. It is of practical interest to establish a constitutive model which predicts its phase transformation and mechanical behaviors. In this paper, a new three-dimensional phase transformation equation, which predicts the phase transformation behaviors of SMA, is developed based on the results of a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) test. It overcomes both limitations: that Zhou's phase transformation equations fail to describe the phase transformation from twinned martensite to detwinned martensite of SMA and Brinson's phase transformation equation fails to express the influences of phase transformation peak temperatures on the phase transformation behaviors of SMA. A new three-dimensional constitutive equation, which predicts the mechanical behaviors associated with the super-elasticity and shape memory effect of SMA, is developed on the basis of thermodynamics and solid mechanics. Results of numerical simulations show that the new constitutive model, which includes the new phase transformation equation and constitutive equation, can predict the phase transformation and mechanical behaviors associated with the super-elasticity and shape memory effect of SMA precisely and comprehensively. It is proved that Brinson's constitutive model of SMA can be considered as one special case of the new constitutive model

Constitutive Activation of the G-Protein Subunit G[alpha]s within Forebrain Neurons Causes PKA-Dependent Alterations in Fear Conditioning and Cortical "Arc" mRNA Expression

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Michele P.; Cheung, York-Fong; Favilla, Christopher; Siegel, Steven J.; Kanes, Stephen J.; Houslay, Miles D.; Abel, Ted

2008-01-01

Memory formation requires cAMP signaling; thus, this cascade has been of great interest in the search for cognitive enhancers. Given that medications are administered long-term, we determined the effects of chronically increasing cAMP synthesis in the brain by expressing a constitutively active isoform of the G-protein subunit G[alpha]s…

Contribution of MLH1 constitutional methylation for Lynch syndrome diagnosis in patients with tumor MLH1 downregulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Pinto, Diana; Pinto, Carla; Guerra, Joana; Pinheiro, Manuela; Santos, Rui; Vedeld, Hege Marie; Yohannes, Zeremariam; Peixoto, Ana; Santos, Catarina; Pinto, Pedro; Lopes, Paula; Lothe, Ragnhild; Lind, Guro Elisabeth; Henrique, Rui; Teixeira, Manuel R

2018-02-01

Constitutional epimutation of the two major mismatch repair genes, MLH1 and MSH2, has been identified as an alternative mechanism that predisposes to the development of Lynch syndrome. In the present work, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of MLH1 constitutional methylation in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients with abnormal expression of the MLH1 protein in their tumors. In a series of 38 patients who met clinical criteria for Lynch syndrome genetic testing, with loss of MLH1 expression in the tumor and with no germline mutations in the MLH1 gene (35/38) or with tumors presenting the BRAF p.Val600Glu mutation (3/38), we screened for constitutional methylation of the MLH1 gene promoter using methylation-specific multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MS-MLPA) in various biological samples. We found four (4/38; 10.5%) patients with constitutional methylation in the MLH1 gene promoter. RNA studies demonstrated decreased MLH1 expression in the cases with constitutional methylation when compared with controls. We could infer the mosaic nature of MLH1 constitutional hypermethylation in tissues originated from different embryonic germ layers, and in one family we could show that it occurred de novo. We conclude that constitutional MLH1 methylation occurs in a significant proportion of patients who have loss of MLH1 protein expression in their tumors and no MLH1 pathogenic germline mutation. Furthermore, we provide evidence that MLH1 constitutional hypermethylation is the molecular mechanism behind about 3% of Lynch syndrome families diagnosed in our institution, especially in patients with early onset or multiple primary tumors without significant family history. © 2018 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Constitutive expression of feedback-insensitive cystathionine γ-synthase increases methionine levels in soybean leaves and seeds

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

YU Yang; HOU Wen-sheng; YaeI Hacham; SUN Shi; WU Cun-xiang; Ifat Matityahu; SONG Shikui; RacheI Amir; HAN Tian-fu

2018-01-01

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) is a major crop that provides plant-origin protein and oil for humans and livestock. Although the soybean vegetative tissues and seeds provide a major source of high-quality protein, they suffer from low concentration of an essential sulfur-containing amino acid, methionine, which significantly limits their nutritional quality. The level of methionine is mainly controlled by the first unique enzyme of methionine synthesis, cystathione γ-synthase (CGS). Aiming to elevate methionine level in vegetative tissues and seeds, we constitutively over-expressed a feedback-insensitive Arabidopsis CGS (AtD-CGS) in soybean cultivars, Zigongdongdou (ZD) and Jilinxiaoli 1 (JX). The levels of soluble methionine increased remarkably in leaves of transgenic soybeans compared to wild-type plants (6.6- and 7.3-fold in two transgenic ZD lines, and 3.7-fold in one transgenic JX line). Furthermore, the total methionine contents were significantly increased in seeds of the transgenic ZD lines (1.5- to 4.8-fold increase) and the transgenic JX lines (1.3- to 2.3-fold increase) than in the wild type. The protein contents of the transgenic soybean seeds were significantly elevated compared to the wild type, suggesting that the scarcity of methionine in soybeans may limit protein accumulation in soybean seeds. The increased protein content did not alter the profile of major storage proteins in the seeds. Generally, this study provides a promising strategy to increase the levels of methionine and protein in soybean through the breeding programs.

The Obligations on Government and Society in our Constitutional State to Respect and Support Independent Constitutional Structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LWH Ackermann

2000-05-01

must be independent. Its members cannot be elected, because that would imply that the Court owed allegiance or were accountable to the political majority or other elector in question. On the other hand, it is seen as undemocratic for a body that is not elected to be in a position to overrule the expressed will of the political representatives of the majority. This paradox exists in respect of all our courts and makes the method of appointing judicial officers particularly important in order to ensure at the same time, and as far as this is practically possible, both their independence and their legitimacy. The judiciary is however not an arm of the state that has been exempted from all checks and balances. The checks and balances on the judiciary are not the same as in the case of the legislature and the executive. In the case of the latter the checks and balances are principally through the Constitution, as enforced by the courts, and through the political process. In the case of the courts these checks and balances cannot be through the political process, for this would undermine the independence of the judiciary. One of the reciprocal obligations that a constitutional democracy imposes on all its subjects, is to support the independent constitutional institutions, as constitutional institutions, not only vocally at the level of intellectual abstraction, but by actively working to establish the habits of consitutionalism in all societal structures and societal interaction

High-level intracellular expression of heterologous proteins in Brevibacillus choshinensis SP3 under the control of a xylose inducible promoter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D’Urzo Nunzia

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In past years research has focused on the development of alternative Gram positive bacterial expression systems to produce industrially relevant proteins. Brevibacillus choshinensis is an easy to handle non-sporulating bacterium, lacking extracellular proteases, that has been already shown to provide a high level of recombinant protein expression. One major drawback, limiting the applicability of the Brevibacillus expression system, is the absence of expression vectors based on inducible promoters. Here we used the PxylA inducible promoter, commonly employed in other Bacillae expression systems, in Brevibacillus. Results Using GFP, α-amylase and TcdA-GT as model proteins, high level of intracellular protein expression (up to 250 mg/L for the GFP was achieved in Brevibacillus, using the pHis1522 vector carrying the B. megaterium xylose-inducible promoter (PxylA. The GFP expression yields were more than 25 fold higher than those reported for B. megaterium carrying the same vector. All the tested proteins show significant increment in their expression levels (2-10 folds than those obtained using the available plasmids based on the P2 constitutive promoter. Conclusion Combining the components of two different commercially available Gram positive expression systems, such as Brevibacillus (from Takara Bio and B. megaterium (from Mobitec, we demonstrate that vectors based on the B. megaterium PxylA xylose inducible promoter can be successfully used to induce high level of intracellular expression of heterologous proteins in Brevibacillus.

Rab3a is critical for trapping alpha-MSH granules in the high Ca²⁺-affinity pool by preventing constitutive exocytosis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simon Sedej

Full Text Available Rab3a is a small GTPase of the Rab3 subfamily that acts during late stages of Ca²⁺-regulated exocytosis. Previous functional analysis in pituitary melanotrophs described Rab3a as a positive regulator of Ca²⁺-dependent exocytosis. However, the precise role of the Rab3a isoform on the kinetics and intracellular [Ca²⁺] sensitivity of regulated exocytosis, which may affect the availability of two major peptide hormones, α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH and β-endorphin in plasma, remain elusive. We employed Rab3a knock-out mice (Rab3a KO to explore the secretory phenotype in melanotrophs from fresh pituitary tissue slices. High resolution capacitance measurements showed that Rab3a KO melanotrophs possessed impaired Ca²⁺-triggered secretory activity as compared to wild-type cells. The hampered secretion was associated with the absence of cAMP-guanine exchange factor II/ Epac2-dependent secretory component. This component has been attributed to high Ca²⁺-sensitive release-ready vesicles as determined by slow photo-release of caged Ca²⁺. Radioimmunoassay revealed that α-MSH, but not β-endorphin, was elevated in the plasma of Rab3a KO mice, indicating increased constitutive exocytosis of α-MSH. Increased constitutive secretion of α-MSH from incubated tissue slices was associated with reduced α-MSH cellular content in Rab3a-deficient pituitary cells. Viral re-expression of the Rab3a protein in vitro rescued the secretory phenotype of melanotrophs from Rab3a KO mice. In conclusion, we suggest that Rab3a deficiency promotes constitutive secretion and underlies selective impairment of Ca²⁺-dependent release of α-MSH.

Identification of chimeric antigen receptors that mediate constitutive or inducible proliferation of T cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Frigault, Matthew J; Lee, Jihyun; Basil, Maria Ciocca; Carpenito, Carmine; Motohashi, Shinichiro; Scholler, John; Kawalekar, Omkar U; Guedan, Sonia; McGettigan, Shannon E; Posey, Avery D; Ang, Sonny; Cooper, Laurence J N; Platt, Jesse M; Johnson, F Brad; Paulos, Chrystal M; Zhao, Yangbing; Kalos, Michael; Milone, Michael C; June, Carl H

2015-04-01

This study compared second-generation chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) encoding signaling domains composed of CD28, ICOS, and 4-1BB (TNFRSF9). Here, we report that certain CARs endow T cells with the ability to undergo long-term autonomous proliferation. Transduction of primary human T cells with lentiviral vectors encoding some of the CARs resulted in sustained proliferation for up to 3 months following a single stimulation through the T-cell receptor (TCR). Sustained numeric expansion was independent of cognate antigen and did not require the addition of exogenous cytokines or feeder cells after a single stimulation of the TCR and CD28. Results from gene array and functional assays linked sustained cytokine secretion and expression of T-bet (TBX21), EOMES, and GATA-3 to the effect. Sustained expression of the endogenous IL2 locus has not been reported in primary T cells. Sustained proliferation was dependent on CAR structure and high expression, the latter of which was necessary but not sufficient. The mechanism involves constitutive signaling through NF-κB, AKT, ERK, and NFAT. The propagated CAR T cells retained a diverse TCR repertoire, and cellular transformation was not observed. The CARs with a constitutive growth phenotype displayed inferior antitumor effects and engraftment in vivo. Therefore, the design of CARs that have a nonconstitutive growth phenotype may be a strategy to improve efficacy and engraftment of CAR T cells. The identification of CARs that confer constitutive or nonconstitutive growth patterns may explain observations that CAR T cells have differential survival patterns in clinical trials. ©2015 American Association for Cancer Research.

Osteopontin is an endogenous modulator of the constitutively activated phenotype of pulmonary adventitial fibroblasts in hypoxic pulmonary hypertension

Science.gov (United States)

Anwar, Adil; Li, Min; Frid, Maria G.; Kumar, Binod; Gerasimovskaya, Evgenia V.; Riddle, Suzette R.; McKeon, B. Alexandre; Thukaram, Roopa; Meyrick, Barbara O.; Fini, Mehdi A.

2012-01-01

Increased cell proliferation and migration, of several cell types are key components of vascular remodeling observed in pulmonary hypertension (PH). Our previous data demonstrate that adventitial fibroblasts isolated from pulmonary arteries of chronically hypoxic hypertensive calves (termed PH-Fibs) exhibit a “constitutively activated” phenotype characterized by high proliferative and migratory potential. Osteopontin (OPN) has been shown to promote several cellular activities including growth and migration in cancer cells. We thus tested the hypothesis that elevated OPN expression confers the “activated” highly proproliferative and promigratory/invasive phenotype of PH-Fibs. Our results demonstrate that, both in vivo and ex vivo, PH-Fibs exhibited increased expression of OPN, as well as its cognate receptors, αVβ3 and CD44, compared with control fibroblasts (CO-Fibs). Augmented OPN expression in PH-Fibs corresponded to their high proliferative, migratory, and invasive properties and constitutive activation of ERK1/2 and AKT signaling. OPN silencing via small interfering RNA or sequestering OPN production by specific antibodies led to decreased proliferation, migration, invasion, and attenuated ERK1/2, AKT phosphorylation in PH-Fibs. Furthermore, increasing OPN levels in CO-Fibs via recombinant OPN resulted in significant increases in their proliferative, migratory, and invasive capabilities to the levels resembling those of PH-Fibs. Thus our data suggest OPN as an essential contributor to the activated (highly proliferative, migratory, and proinvasive) phenotype of pulmonary adventitial fibroblasts in hypoxic PH. PMID:22582113

Treatment with constitutive androstane receptor ligand during pregnancy prevents insulin resistance in offspring from high-fat diet-induced obese pregnant mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Masuyama, Hisashi; Hiramatsu, Yuji

2012-07-15

The constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) has been reported to decrease insulin resistance even during pregnancy, while exposure to a high-fat diet (HFD) in utero in mice can induce a type 2 diabetes phenotype that can be transmitted to the progeny. Therefore, we examined whether treatment with a CAR ligand during pregnancy could prevent hypertension, insulin resistance, and hyperlipidemia in the offspring from HFD-induced obese pregnant mice (OH mice). We employed four groups of offspring from HFD-fed and control diet-fed pregnant mice with or without treatment with a CAR ligand. Treatment with a CAR ligand during pregnancy improved glucose tolerance and the levels of triglyceride and adipocytokine and restored the changes induced by HFD with amelioration of hypertension in the adult OH mice. This treatment also increased adiponectin mRNA expression, suppressed leptin expression in adipose tissues of OH mice, and abolished the effect of HFD on the epigenetic modifications of the genes encoding adiponectin and leptin in the offspring during immaturity and adulthood. Our data suggest that CAR might be a potential therapeutic target to prevent metabolic syndrome in adulthood of offspring exposed to an HFD in utero.

Prognostic and Predictive Value of Baseline and Posttreatment Molecular Marker Expression in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer Treated With Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertolini, Federica; Bengala, Carmelo; Losi, Luisa; Pagano, Maria; Iachetta, Francesco; Dealis, Cristina; Jovic, Gordana; Depenni, Roberta; Zironi, Sandra; Falchi, Anna Maria; Luppi, Gabriele; Conte, Pier Franco

2007-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate expression of a panel of molecular markers, including p53, p21, MLH1, MSH2, MIB-1, thymidylate synthase, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and tissue vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), before and after treatment in patients treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced rectal cancer, to correlate the constitutive profile and dynamics of expression with pathologic response and outcome. Methods and Materials: Expression of biomarkers was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in tumor samples from 91 patients with clinical Stage II and III rectal cancer treated with preoperative pelvic radiotherapy (50 Gy) plus concurrent 5-fluorouracil by continuous intravenous infusion. Results: A pathologic complete remission was observed in 14 patients (15.4%). Patients with MLH1-positive tumors had a higher pathologic complete response rate (24.3% vs. 9.4%; p = 0.055). Low expression of constitutive p21, absence of EGFR expression after chemoradiotherapy, and high Dworak's tumor regression grade (TRG) were significantly associated with improved disease-free survival and overall survival. A high MIB-1 value after chemoradiotherapy was significantly associated with worse overall survival. Multivariate analysis confirmed the prognostic value of constitutive p21 expression as well as EGFR expression and MIB-1 value after chemoradiotherapy among patients not achieving TRG 3-4. Conclusions: In our study, we observed the independent prognostic value of EGFR expression after chemoradiotherapy on disease-free survival. Moreover, our study suggests that a constitutive high p21 expression and a high MIB-1 value after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy treatment could predict worse outcome in locally advanced rectal cancer

Governmental control of public expenditure in the constitutional State: thoughts regarding General Comptroller sanctioning powers approval on functional administrative responsibility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erika García Cobián Castro

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Constitutional doctrine has little addressed on the General Comptroller of the Republic and its controlling function of public resources execution and management. Efforts have been made to explain this situation in other realities, regarding high budgetary, accounting and auditing content needed to carry out auditing activities constitutionally assigned to this kind of entities. Nevertheless, identifying competences of the General Comptroller of the Republic and its nature of autonomous constitutional body shapes an important expression of Constitutional State and the principle of powers division. This entity controls State’s Public Budget execution contributing to constitutional property protection, legality of budget implementation and the appropriate management of public resources, also the «efficiency» of social needs, proper functioning of public administration and prevention of corruption, among others duties. This article analyzes the constitutional mission of the General Comptroller in a Constitutional State promoting the process of given a constitutional status to the legal system in its area of influence, also optimizing constitutional properties protected. For such purpose, the 29622 recent law («Law that modifies the 27785 Organic Law of National Control System and the General Comptroller of the Republic extending powers in order to sanction in accordance of functional administrative responsibility» shall be used as object of constitutional analysis.

Limitations of constitutive relations for TiNi shape memory alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, W.; Sandstroem, R.

1995-01-01

Phase transformation tensor Ω in the constitutive equation proposed by Tanaka has been evaluated by employing experimental data of TiNi alloys in a constrained recovery process. It demonstrates that the absolute value of Ω for the constrained recovery process is typically about 0.6 ∼ 0.7 x 10 3 MPa, which is much smaller than that for the stress - induced martensitic transformation (typically 2.5 ∼ 3.5 x 10 3 ). Based on the evaluated results for Ω, predicted recovery stress - temperature relations by the constitutive equation are compared with the experimental data for TiNi rods under different strains. Big discrepancy exists for large strain conditions. Several transformation kinetic expressions are examined for the constitutive relation of the constrained recovery process. (orig.)

Constitutive equations for describing high-temperature inelastic behavior of structural alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robinson, D.N.; Pugh, C.E.; Corum, J.M.

1976-01-01

This paper addresses constitutive equations for the description of inelastic behavior of LMFBR structural alloys at elevated temperatures. Both elastic-plastic (time-independent) and creep (time-dependent) deformations are considered for types 304 and 316 stainless steel and 2 1 / 4 Cr--1 Mo steel. The constitutive equations identified for interim use in design analyses are described along with the assumptions and data on which they are based. Areas where improvements are needed are identified, and some alternate theories that are being pursued are outlined

High expression of liver histone deacetylase 3 contributes to high-fat-diet-induced metabolic syndrome by suppressing the PPAR-γ and LXR-α-pathways in E3 rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Dongmin; Wang, Xuan; Ren, Wuchao; Ren, Juan; Lan, Xi; Wang, Feimiao; Li, Hongmin; Zhang, Fujun; Han, Yan; Song, Tianbao; Holmdahl, Rikard; Lu, Shemin

2011-09-15

In the previous experiment, we found that there was a different response between E3 rats and DA.1U rats to high-fat-diet-induced metabolic syndrome (HFD-MetS). The aim of this study was to explore the cause and molecular mechanism of the genetic difference in susceptibility to metabolic syndrome in E3 rats as compared with DA.1U rats. Firstly, a 12-week HFD-MetS model in E3 and DA.1U rats was carried out and assessed. Then, the expression of key insulin signaling molecules, metabolic nuclear receptors, metabolic key enzymes and histone deacetylases (Hdacs) was determined by different methods. Finally, the effects of overexpression and disruption of Hdac3 on metabolic nuclear receptors were analyzed in CBRH-7919 cells and primarily-hepatic cells from DA.1U and E3 rats. We found that E3 rats were susceptible, while DA.1U rats were resisted to HFD-MetS. The expression of liver X receptor α,β (LXR-α,β), farnesoid X receptor (FXR), peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ (PPAR-γ) and cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) increased markedly in DA.1U rat liver, whereas they decreased significantly in E3 rats. The expression of Hdac3 increased by HFD treatment in both E3 and DA.1U rat livers, but the constitutive Hdac3 expression was lower in DA.IU rat liver than in E3 rat liver. Importantly, overexpression of Hdac3 could downregulate the expression of LXR-α, PPAR-γ and CYP7A1 in both CBRH-7919 cells and primarily cultured hepatic cells from DA.IU rats. On the contrary, disruption of Hdac3 by shRNA upregulated the expression of LXR-α, PPAR-γ and CYP7A1 in both CBRH-7919 cells and primarily cultured hepatic cells from E3 rats. The results suggested that a high constitutive expression of Hdac3 inhibiting the expression of PPAR-γ, LXR-α and CYP7A1 in liver contributes to HFD-MetS in E3 rats. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hyperbaric oxygen upregulates cochlear constitutive nitric oxide synthase

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kao Ming-Ching

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT is a known adjuvant for treating ischemia-related inner ear diseases. Controversies still exist in the role of HBOT in cochlear diseases. Few studies to date have investigated the cellular changes that occur in inner ears after HBOT. Nitric oxide, which is synthesized by nitric oxide synthase (NOS, is an important signaling molecule in cochlear physiology and pathology. Here we investigated the effects of hyperbaric oxygen on eardrum morphology, cochlear function and expression of NOS isoforms in cochlear substructures after repetitive HBOT in guinea pigs. Results Minor changes in the eardrum were observed after repetitive HBOT, which did not result in a significant hearing threshold shift by tone burst auditory brainstem responses. A differential effect of HBOT on the expression of NOS isoforms was identified. Upregulation of constitutive NOS (nNOS and eNOS was found in the substructures of the cochlea after HBOT, but inducible NOS was not found in normal or HBOT animals, as shown by immunohistochemistry. There was no obvious DNA fragmentation present in this HBOT animal model. Conclusions The present evidence indicates that the customary HBOT protocol may increase constitutive NOS expression but such upregulation did not cause cell death in the treated cochlea. The cochlear morphology and auditory function are consequently not changed through the protocol.

The comparative constitutional law on national constitutional system: with regard to the IX World Congress of Constitutional Law

OpenAIRE

Landa Arroyo, César

2015-01-01

From  the  process  of  globalization  of  law,  the  comparative constitutional law has gained a leading role for a better understanding and solving old and new constitutional national and international challenges. Therefore, some assumptions and considerations to take into account are presented for the development of the national constitutional order within the framework of the comparative constitutional law, such as universality and relativism of human rights; the concept of power and cons...

Constitutional Principles of State Control in the Republic of Armenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriel K. Balayan

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In the present article some of the provision of the RA Constitution’s basic principles of state control, which, in my opinion, should be guided by regulatory authorities during the inspection are discussed. These principles are considered by the author as the basis of the constitutionality of state control. Some of the control principles are divided by the author into positive and negative. Positive defines the principles that provide the freedom of action of man and citizen. Negative same principles are for government agencies, since they restrict their activities. A separate analysis is subject to the presidency on the basis of the principle of separation and balance of powers. In conclusion, author concludes that, based on the interpretation of the constitutional principles discussed, the term "law" applies only to natural and legal persons on the other hand can not be used as an analogue of the terms "authority" and "authority." According to the author, the fundamental constitutional principles of state control are expressed formally in a single system as defined in the first chapter of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia. Compliance and reform of constitutional principles provide the synergy and the constitutionality of the process of governance.

Loss of constitutive ABCB1 expression in breast cancer associated with worse prognosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Delou JM

2017-06-01

histopathological variables was also evaluated. The Kaplan–Meier curves and multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to identify independent predictors of disease-free survival of patients with breast cancer. ABCB1 was detected in 86.3% (656 of breast tumors, 98.8% (606 of nonmalignant mammary tissue adjacent to tumors, and 100% (28 of benign lesions. Reduced ABCB1 protein levels in breast tumors was associated with triple-negative subtype (adjusted odds ratio [ORadj] =0.24; 95% confidence interval [CI] =0.13–0.45, lymph node status < pN2 (ORadj =0.27; 95% CI =0.10–0.71, tumor size >2 cm (ORadj =0.55; 95% CI =0.32–0.93, and hypertensive status (ORadj =0.42; 95% CI =0.24–0.73, and it was significantly associated with shorter disease-free survival, either for all breast cancer patients (p log-rank =0.012; hazard ratio [HR] =3.46; 95% CI =1.21–9.91 or for those with triple-negative tumors (p log-rank =0.007; HR =11.41; 95% CI =1.29–100.67. The loss of constitutive ABCB1 expression in breast cancer, especially in triple-negative tumors, seems to indicate a subgroup of worse prognosis. Keywords: multidrug resistance, single-nucleotide polymorphisms, immunohistochemistry, disease-free survival, triple-negative breast cancer, hypertension

Ortho-aminoazotoluene activates mouse constitutive androstane receptor (mCAR) and increases expression of mCAR target genes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smetanina, Mariya A.; Pakharukova, Mariya Y.; Kurinna, Svitlana M.; Dong, Bingning; Hernandez, Juan P.; Moore, David D.; Merkulova, Tatyana I.

2011-01-01

2'-3-dimethyl-4-aminoazobenzene (ortho-aminoazotoluene, OAT) is an azo dye and a rodent carcinogen that has been evaluated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a possible (class 2B) human carcinogen. Its mechanism of action remains unclear. We examined the role of the xenobiotic receptor Constitutive Androstane Receptor (CAR, NR1I3) as a mediator of the effects of OAT. We found that OAT increases mouse CAR (mCAR) transactivation in a dose-dependent manner. This effect is specific because another closely related azo dye, 3'-methyl-4-dimethyl-aminoazobenzene (3'MeDAB), did not activate mCAR. Real-time Q-PCR analysis in wild-type C57BL/6 mice revealed that OAT induces the hepatic mRNA expression of the following CAR target genes: Cyp2b10, Cyp2c29, Cyp3a11, Ugt1a1, Mrp4, Mrp2 and c-Myc. CAR-null (Car -/- ) mice showed no increased expression of these genes following OAT treatment, demonstrating that CAR is required for their OAT dependent induction. The OAT-induced CAR-dependent increase of Cyp2b10 and c-Myc expression was confirmed by Western blotting. Immunohistochemistry analysis of wild-type and Car -/- livers showed that OAT did not acutely induce hepatocyte proliferation, but at much later time points showed an unexpected CAR-dependent proliferative response. These studies demonstrate that mCAR is an OAT xenosensor, and indicate that at least some of the biological effects of this compound are mediated by this nuclear receptor. - Highlights: → The azo dye and mouse carcinogen OAT is a very effective mCAR activator. → OAT increases mCAR transactivation in a dose-dependent manner. → OAT CAR-dependently increases the expression of a specific subset of CAR target genes. → OAT induces an unexpectedly deferred, but CAR-dependent hepatocyte proliferation.

UNDERSTANDING INFORMAL CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen M. Griffin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Amid much recent American work on the problem of informal constitutional change, this article stakes out a distinctive position. I argue that theories of constitutional change in the US must address the question of the relationship between the “small c” and “big C” Constitution and treat seriously the possibility of conflict between them. I stress the unavoidable role the text of the Constitution and structural doctrines of federalism and separation of powers play in this relationship and thus in constitutional change, both formal and informal. I therefore counsel against theories that rely solely on a practice-based approach or analogies between “small c” constitutional developments and British or Commonwealth traditions of the “unwritten” constitution and constitutional “conventions.” The alternative I advocate is to approach constitutional change from a historicist perspective that focuses attention on state building and the creation of new institutional capacities. This approach will allow us to make progress by highlighting that there can be multiple constitutional orders in a given historical era, thus accounting for the conflictual nature of contemporary constitutional development in the US.

Listeria-vectored vaccine expressing the Mycobacterium tuberculosis 30 kDa major secretory protein via the constitutively active prfA* regulon boosts BCG efficacy against tuberculosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Qingmei; Dillon, Barbara Jane; Masleša-Galić, Saša; Horwitz, Marcus A

2017-06-19

A potent vaccine against tuberculosis, one of the world's deadliest diseases, is needed to enhance the immunity of people worldwide, most of whom have been vaccinated with the partially effective BCG vaccine. Here we investigate novel live attenuated recombinant Listeria monocytogenes (rLm) vaccines expressing the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) 30 kDa major secretory protein (r30/Ag85B) (rLm30) as heterologous booster vaccines in animals primed with BCG. Using three attenuated Lm vectors, rLm Δ actA (LmI), rLm Δ actA Δ inlB (LmII), and rLm Δ actA Δ inlB prfA * (LmIII), we constructed five rLm30 vaccine candidates expressing the r30 linked in-frame to the Lm Listeriolycin O signal sequence and driven by the hly promoter (h30) or linked in-frame to the ActA N-terminus and driven by the actA promoter (a30). All five rLm30 vaccines secreted r30 in broth and macrophages; while rLm expressing r30 via a constitutively active prfA * regulon (rLmIII/a30) expressed the greatest amount of r30 in broth culture, all five rLm vaccines expressed equivalent amounts of r30 in infected macrophages. In comparative studies, boosting BCG-immunized mice with rLmIII/a30 induced the strongest antigen-specific T-cell responses, including splenic and lung polyfunctional CD4+ T-cells expressing the three cytokines of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin-2 (IL-2) ( P vaccines were generally more potent booster vaccines than r30 in adjuvant and a recombinant adenovirus vaccine expressing r30. In a setting in which BCG alone was highly immunoprotective, boosting mice with rLmIII/a30, the most potent of the vaccines, significantly enhanced protection against aerosolized Mtb ( P <0.01). Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

Constitutive modelling in the range of inelastic deformations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruhns, O.T.; White, P.S.; Chaboche, J.L.; Eikhoff, J.V.D.

1988-01-01

The main objective of this report is to describe the state of the art in constitutive modelling in the range of inelastic deformations, with particular consideration of the practical use of these models in the field of fast reactors, rather than to formulate new models. An outline is given of the constitutive equations for high-temperature reactor materials developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Two forms of equations are considered, a semi-classical treatment in terms of separate plasticity and creep and unified equations in which the classical plasticity does not explicitly occur. The fraction model originally proposed by Besseling is described. The basic concept of this model is that the material is thought to be subdivided into a number of parallel fractions, each with simple conventional properties. The more complicated behaviour of real material is thus approximated by choosing a number of parallel fractions with suitable models and model parameters. Three time-independent formulations of plasticity are considered and compared. Attention is focused on the kinematic hardening in the multi-yield surface theory of Mroz and the non-linear kinematic rule intensively used at Enset and Onera. Some connections are pointed out with the two-surface model of Dafalias and Popov, and the range of applicability of the different models is studied in detail. Finally, the constitutive equations of the Interatom model are presented. They are mainly based on the concept of overstresses, expressing the rate-dependence of the material by the magnitude of these overstresses. This model furthermore comprises a combination of general non-linear isotropic and kinematic hardening, with a smooth transition from isotropic to kinematic hardening as a function of process time

Transnational Constitutional Law

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zumbansen, P (Peer); K.I. Bhatt (Kinnari)

2018-01-01

textabstractThis chapter provides an overview of the emerging field of transnational constitutional law (TCL). Whilst questions of constitutional law are typically discussed in the context of a specific domestic legal setting, a salient strategy of TCL is to understand constitutional law and its

Altered methylation and expression of ER-associated degradation factors in long-term alcohol and constitutive ER stress-induced murine hepatic tumors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hui eHan

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Mortality from liver cancer in humans is increasingly attributable to heavy or long-term alcohol consumption. The mechanisms by which alcohol exerts its carcinogenic effect are not well understood. In this study, the role of alcohol-induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER stress response in liver cancer development was investigated using an animal model with a liver knockout of the chaperone BiP and under constitutive hepatic ER stress. Long-term alcohol and high fat diet (HFD feeding resulted in higher levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT, impaired ER stress response, and higher incidence of liver tumor in older (aged 16 months knockout females than in either middle-aged (6 months knockouts or older (aged 16 months wild type females. In the older knockout females, stronger effects of the alcohol on methylation of CpG islands at promoter regions of genes involved in the ER associated degradation (ERAD were also detected. Altered expression of ERAD factors including derlin 3, Creld2 (cysteine-rich with EGF-like domains 2, Herpud1 (ubiquitin-like domain member, Wfs1 (wolfram syndrome gene, and Yod1 (deubiquinating enzyme 1 was co-present with decreased proteasome activities, increased estrogen receptor alpha variant (ERa36, and enhanced phosphorylations of ERK1/2 (extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases 1 and 2 and STAT3 (the signal transducers and activators of transcription in the older knockout female fed alcohol. Our results suggest that long-term alcohol consumption and ageing may promote liver tumorigenesis in females through interfering with DNA methylation and expression of genes involved in the ER associated degradation.

Constitutive expression of CaPLA1 conferred enhanced growth and grain yield in transgenic rice plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Ki Youl; Kim, Eun Yu; Seo, Young Sam; Kim, Woo Taek

2016-03-01

Phospholipids are not only important components of cell membranes, but participate in diverse processes in higher plants. In this study, we generated Capsicum annuum phospholipiase A1 (CaPLA1) overexpressing transgenic rice (Oryza sativa L.) plants under the control of the maize ubiquitin promoter. The T4 CaPLA1-overexpressing rice plants (Ubi:CaPLA1) had a higher root:shoot mass ratio than the wild-type plants in the vegetative stage. Leaf epidermal cells from transgenic plants had more cells than wild-type plants. Genes that code for cyclin and lipid metabolic enzymes were up-regulated in the transgenic lines. When grown under typical paddy field conditions, the transgenic plants produced more tillers, longer panicles and more branches per panicle than the wild-type plants, all of which resulted in greater grain yield. Microarray analysis suggests that gene expressions that are related with cell proliferation, lipid metabolism, and redox state were widely altered in CaPLA1-overexpressing transgenic rice plants. Ubi:CaPLA1 plants had a reduced membrane peroxidation state, as determined by malondialdehyde and conjugated diene levels and higher peroxidase activity than wild-type rice plants. Furthermore, three isoprenoid synthetic genes encoding terpenoid synthase, hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase were up-regulated in CaPLA1-overexpressing plants. We suggest that constitutive expression of CaPLA1 conferred increased grain yield with enhanced growth in transgenic rice plants by alteration of gene activities related with cell proliferation, lipid metabolism, membrane peroxidation state and isoprenoid biosynthesis.

Increased HSF activation in muscles with a high constitutive Hsp70 expression

OpenAIRE

Locke, Marius; Tanguay, Robert M.

1996-01-01

Stress-induced transcriptional regulation of the Hsps is mediated by trimerization and binding of a pre-existing heat shock transcription factor (HSF1) to a specific DNA sequence located in the 5′ region of hsp genes, known as the heat shock element. Hsp70 has been implicated in regulating the activation of the HSF and, according to cell culture models, high steady-state levels of Hsp70 are inversely correlated with HSF activation. To determine if this applies in an intact animal, muscles of ...

Expression of a constitutively activated plasma membrane H+-ATPase in Nicotiana tabacum BY-2 cells results in cell expansion.

Science.gov (United States)

Niczyj, Marta; Champagne, Antoine; Alam, Iftekhar; Nader, Joseph; Boutry, Marc

2016-11-01

Increased acidification of the external medium by an activated H + -ATPase results in cell expansion, in the absence of upstream activating signaling. The plasma membrane H + -ATPase couples ATP hydrolysis with proton transport outside the cell, and thus creates an electrochemical gradient, which energizes secondary transporters. According to the acid growth theory, this enzyme is also proposed to play a major role in cell expansion, by acidifying the external medium and so activating enzymes that are involved in cell wall-loosening. However, this theory is still debated. To challenge it, we made use of a plasma membrane H + -ATPase isoform from Nicotiana plumbaginifolia truncated from its C-terminal auto-inhibitory domain (ΔCPMA4), and thus constitutively activated. This protein was expressed in Nicotiana tabacum BY-2 suspension cells using a heat shock inducible promoter. The characterization of several independent transgenic lines showed that the expression of activated ΔCPMA4 resulted in a reduced external pH by 0.3-1.2 units, as well as in an increased H + -ATPase activity by 77-155 % (ATP hydrolysis), or 70-306 % (proton pumping) of isolated plasma membranes. In addition, ΔCPMA4-expressing cells were 17-57 % larger than the wild-type cells and displayed abnormal shapes. A proteomic comparison of plasma membranes isolated from ΔCPMA4-expressing and wild-type cells revealed the altered abundance of several proteins involved in cell wall synthesis, transport, and signal transduction. In conclusion, the data obtained in this work showed that H + -ATPase activation is sufficient to induce cell expansion and identified possible actors which intervene in this process.

Polynomial constitutive model for shape memory and pseudo elasticity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Savi, M.A.; Kouzak, Z.

1995-01-01

This paper reports an one-dimensional phenomenological constitutive model for shape memory and pseudo elasticity using a polynomial expression for the free energy which is based on the classical Devonshire theory. This study identifies the main characteristics of the classical theory and introduces a simple modification to obtain better results. (author). 9 refs., 6 figs

High proportion of PD-1-expressing CD4+ T cells in adipose tissue constitutes an immunomodulatory microenvironment that may support HIV persistence.

Science.gov (United States)

Damouche, Abderaouf; Pourcher, Guillaume; Pourcher, Valérie; Benoist, Stéphane; Busson, Elodie; Lataillade, Jean-Jacques; Le Van, Mélanie; Lazure, Thierry; Adam, Julien; Favier, Benoit; Vaslin, Bruno; Müller-Trutwin, Michaela; Lambotte, Olivier; Bourgeois, Christine

2017-12-01

We and others have demonstrated that adipose tissue is a reservoir for HIV. Evaluation of the mechanisms responsible for viral persistence may lead to ways of reducing these reservoirs. Here, we evaluated the immune characteristics of adipose tissue in HIV-infected patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) and in non-HIV-infected patients. We notably sought to determine whether adipose tissue's intrinsic properties and/or HIV induced alteration of the tissue environment may favour viral persistence. ART-controlled HIV infection was associated with a difference in the CD4/CD8 T-cell ratio and an elevated proportion of Treg cells in subcutaneous adipose tissue. No changes in Th1, Th2 and Th17 cell proportions or activation markers expression on T cell (Ki-67, HLA-DR) could be detected, and the percentage of CD69-expressing resident memory CD4 + T cells was not affected. Overall, our results indicate that adipose-tissue-resident CD4 + T cells are not extensively activated during HIV infection. PD-1 was expressed by a high proportion of tissue-resident memory CD4 + T cells in both HIV-infected patients and non-HIV-infected patients. Our findings suggest that adipose tissue's intrinsic immunomodulatory properties may limit immune activation and thus may strongly contribute to viral persistence. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Constitutional Rights in Indonesia

OpenAIRE

Judhariksawan

2018-01-01

The constitution is fundamental to the life of the modern state as a major foothold in state governance. Includes the guarantee of constitutional rights of citizens. The The constitution is the basis of state organizers to be implemented so that the state is obliged to guarantee the fulfillment of citizens' constitutional rights. Human rights have become an important part of the modern constitution. This study will describe how human rights guarantees become part of consti...

A Fine Grain, High Mn Steel with Excellent Cryogenic Temperature Properties and Corresponding Constitutive Behaviour

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuhui Wang

2018-02-01

Full Text Available A Fe-34.5 wt % Mn-0.04 wt % C ultra-high Mn steel with a fully recrystallised fine-grained structure was produced by cold rolling and subsequent annealing. The steel exhibited excellent cryogenic temperature properties with enhanced work hardening rate, high tensile strength, and high uniform elongation. In order to capture the unique mechanical behaviour, a constitutive model within finite strain plasticity framework based on Hill-type yield function was established with standard Armstrong-Frederick type isotropic hardening. In particular, the evolution of isotropic hardening was determined by the content of martensite; thus, a relationship between model parameters and martensite content is built explicitly.

Structure and expression of GSL1 and GSL2 genes encoding gibberellin stimulated-like proteins in diploid and highly heterozygous tetraploid potato reveals their highly conserved and essential status.

Science.gov (United States)

Meiyalaghan, Sathiyamoorthy; Thomson, Susan J; Fiers, Mark W E J; Barrell, Philippa J; Latimer, Julie M; Mohan, Sara; Jones, E Eirian; Conner, Anthony J; Jacobs, Jeanne M E

2014-01-02

GSL1 and GSL2, Gibberellin Stimulated-Like proteins (also known as Snakin-1 and Snakin-2), are cysteine-rich peptides from potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) with antimicrobial properties. Similar peptides in other species have been implicated in diverse biological processes and are hypothesised to play a role in several aspects of plant development, plant responses to biotic or abiotic stress through their participation in hormone crosstalk, and redox homeostasis. To help resolve the biological roles of GSL1 and GSL2 peptides we have undertaken an in depth analysis of the structure and expression of these genes in potato. We have characterised the full length genes for both GSL1 (chromosome 4) and GSL2 (chromosome 1) from diploid and tetraploid potato using the reference genome sequence of potato, coupled with further next generation sequencing of four highly heterozygous tetraploid cultivars. The frequency of SNPs in GSL1 and GSL2 were very low with only one SNP every 67 and 53 nucleotides in exon regions of GSL1 and GSL2, respectively. Analysis of comprehensive RNA-seq data substantiated the role of specific promoter motifs in transcriptional control of gene expression. Expression analysis based on the frequency of next generation sequence reads established that GSL2 was expressed at a higher level than GSL1 in 30 out of 32 tissue and treatment libraries. Furthermore, both the GSL1 and GSL2 genes exhibited constitutive expression that was not up regulated in response to biotic or abiotic stresses, hormone treatments or wounding. Potato transformation with antisense knock-down expression cassettes failed to recover viable plants. The potato GSL1 and GSL2 genes are very highly conserved suggesting they contribute to an important biological function. The known antimicrobial activity of the GSL proteins, coupled with the FPKM analysis from RNA-seq data, implies that both genes contribute to the constitutive defence barriers in potatoes. The lethality of antisense knock

The wheat resistance gene Lr34 results in the constitutive induction of multiple defense pathways in transgenic barley.

Science.gov (United States)

Chauhan, Harsh; Boni, Rainer; Bucher, Rahel; Kuhn, Benjamin; Buchmann, Gabriele; Sucher, Justine; Selter, Liselotte L; Hensel, Goetz; Kumlehn, Jochen; Bigler, Laurent; Glauser, Gaëtan; Wicker, Thomas; Krattinger, Simon G; Keller, Beat

2015-10-01

The wheat gene Lr34 encodes an ABCG-type transporter which provides durable resistance against multiple pathogens. Lr34 is functional as a transgene in barley, but its mode of action has remained largely unknown both in wheat and barley. Here we studied gene expression in uninfected barley lines transgenic for Lr34. Genes from multiple defense pathways contributing to basal and inducible disease resistance were constitutively active in seedlings and mature leaves. In addition, the hormones jasmonic acid and salicylic acid were induced to high levels, and increased levels of lignin as well as hordatines were observed. These results demonstrate a strong, constitutive re-programming of metabolism by Lr34. The resistant Lr34 allele (Lr34res) encodes a protein that differs by two amino acid polymorphisms from the susceptible Lr34sus allele. The deletion of a single phenylalanine residue in Lr34sus was sufficient to induce the characteristic Lr34-based responses. Combination of Lr34res and Lr34sus in the same plant resulted in a reduction of Lr34res expression by 8- to 20-fold when the low-expressing Lr34res line BG8 was used as a parent. Crosses with the high-expressing Lr34res line BG9 resulted in an increase of Lr34sus expression by 13- to 16-fold in progenies that inherited both alleles. These results indicate an interaction of the two Lr34 alleles on the transcriptional level. Reduction of Lr34res expression in BG8 crosses reduced the negative pleiotropic effects of Lr34res on barley growth and vigor without compromising disease resistance, suggesting that transgenic combination of Lr34res and Lr34sus can result in agronomically useful resistance. © 2015 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Constitutional Amendment Process

Science.gov (United States)

Chism, Kahlil

2005-01-01

This article discusses the constitutional amendment process. Although the process is not described in great detail, Article V of the United States Constitution allows for and provides instruction on amending the Constitution. While the amendment process currently consists of six steps, the Constitution is nevertheless quite difficult to change.…

Constitutional Politics, Constitutional Texts and Democratic Variety in Central and Eastern Europe

OpenAIRE

Blokker, Paul

2008-01-01

In the paper, it is argued that democratization in Central and Eastern Europe involves important forms of differentiation of democracy, rather than merely convergence to a singular – liberal-democratic, constitutional - model. One way of taking up democratic differentiation in post-communist societies is by analysing the constitutional documents of the new democratic orders, and the constitutional politics leading to the foundational documents. In a first step, the paper analyses constitution...

Misconceptions of High School Students Related to the Conceptions of Absolutism and Constitutionalism in History Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Bal, Mehmet Suat

2011-01-01

The goal of this study is to analyze the 10th grade high school students' misconceptions related to the sense of ruling in the Ottoman State during the absolutist and constitutional periods and to investigate the causes of these misconceptions. The data were collected through eight open-ended questions related to the concepts of absolutism and…

Global Constitutionalism, Control of Conventionality and the Right to Strike in Chile

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gonzalo Aguilar Cavallo

2016-01-01

Full Text Available n the Inter-American context, the control of conventionality promoted by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights is linked to the process of construction of an ius commune in human rights. Human rights are identified as norm of constitutional character. The universality of human rights allows its consideration as an aspect of global constitutionalism. This paper aims at determining whether the control of conventionality can be considered an expression of global constitutionalism within the Inter-American region. We hold that the control of conventionality in the Inter-American system has propelled the application of a minimum standard of human rights and has stimulated the emergence of an ius commune in human rights.

Constitutional MLH1 methylation presenting with colonic polyposis syndrome and not Lynch syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Kidambi, Trilokesh D; Blanco, Amie; Van Ziffle, Jessica; Terdiman, Jonathan P

2016-04-01

At least one-third of patients meeting clinical criteria for Lynch syndrome will have no germline mutation and constitutional epimutations leading to promoter methylation of MLH1 have been identified in a subset of these patients. We report the first case of constitutional MLH1 promoter methylation associated with a colonic polyposis syndrome in a 39 year-old man with a family history of colorectal cancer (CRC) and a personal history of 21 polyps identified over 8 years as well as the development of two synchronous CRCs over 16 months who was evaluated for a hereditary cancer syndrome. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) of multiple tumors showed absent MLH1 and PMS2 expression, though germline testing with Sanger sequencing and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification of these mismatch repair genes (MMR) genes was negative. A next generation sequencing panel of 29 genes also failed to identify a pathogenic mutation. Hypermethylation was identified in MLH1 intron 1 in tumor specimens along with buccal cells and peripheral white blood cells, confirming the diagnosis of constitutional MLH1 promoter methylation. This case highlights that constitutional MLH1 methylation should be considered in the differential diagnosis for a polyposis syndrome if IHC staining shows absent MMR gene expression.

Modulating ectopic gene expression levels by using retroviral vectors equipped with synthetic promoters

OpenAIRE

Ferreira, Joshua P.; Peacock, Ryan W. S.; Lawhorn, Ingrid E. B.; Wang, Clifford L.

2011-01-01

The human cytomegalovirus and elongation factor 1α promoters are constitutive promoters commonly employed by mammalian expression vectors. These promoters generally produce high levels of expression in many types of cells and tissues. To generate a library of synthetic promoters capable of generating a range of low, intermediate, and high expression levels, the TATA and CAAT box elements of these promoters were mutated. Other promoter variants were also generated by random mutagenesis. Evalua...

The TLR4 D299G and T399I SNPs are constitutively active to up-regulate expression of Trif-dependent genes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Georgina L Hold

Full Text Available Dysregulated Toll-Like Receptor (TLR signalling and genetic polymorphisms in these proteins are linked to many human diseases. We investigated TLR4 functional variants D299G and T399I to assess the impact on LPS-induced responsiveness in comparison to wild-type TLR4. The mechanism by which this occurs in unclear as these SNPs do not lie within the lipid A binding domain or dimerisation sites of the LPS-TLR4/MD2 receptor complexes. Transfection of TLR4D299G, TLR4T399I or TLR4D299G. T399I into HEK cells resulted in constitutive activation of an NF-κB reporter gene and a blunting of the LPS-induced reporter activation compared to WT-TLR4. Unstimulated human monocyte/macrophages, from patients with the D299G and T399I SNPs demonstrated a downregulation of many genes, particularly Tram/Trif signalling pathway constitutents compared to the TLR4 wild-type subjects supporting the concept of basal receptor activity. Monocyte/macrophages from carriers of the TLR4 D299G and T399I polymorphisms stimulated with LPS showed >6 fold lower levels of NF-κB and ∼12 fold higher IFN-β gene expression levels compared to wild-type subjects (P<0.05; MWU test and dramatically altered resultant cytokine profiles. We conclude that these TLR4 SNPs affect constitutive receptor activity which impacts on the hosts ability to respond to LPS challenge leading to a dysregulated sub-optimal immune response to infection.

Entropic Constitutive Relation and Modeling for Fourier and Hyperbolic Heat Conductions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shu-Nan Li

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Most existing phenomenological heat conduction models are expressed by temperature and heat flux distributions, whose definitions might be debatable in heat conductions with strong non-equilibrium. The constitutive relations of Fourier and hyperbolic heat conductions are here rewritten by the entropy and entropy flux distributions in the frameworks of classical irreversible thermodynamics (CIT and extended irreversible thermodynamics (EIT. The entropic constitutive relations are then generalized by Boltzmann–Gibbs–Shannon (BGS statistical mechanics, which can avoid the debatable definitions of thermodynamic quantities relying on local equilibrium. It shows a possibility of modeling heat conduction through entropic constitutive relations. The applicability of the generalizations by BGS statistical mechanics is also discussed based on the relaxation time approximation, and it is found that the generalizations require a sufficiently small entropy production rate.

BUT IS IT SPEECH? MAKING CRITICAL SENSE OF THE DOMINANT CONSTITUTIONAL DISCOURSE ON PORNOGRAPHY, MORALITY AND HARM UNDER THE PERVASIVE INFLUENCE OF UNITED STATES FIRST AMENDMENT JURISPRUDENCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Letetia van der Poll

2012-08-01

that “non-obscene” sexually explicit material has social value, as do esteemed works of literature and art. Secondly, the court assumes that all individuals have equal access to the means of expression and dissemination of ideas and thus fails to acknowledge substantive (and gendered structural inequalities. A closer inspection reveals that the Supreme Court’s justification of why freedom of expression is such a fundamental freedom in a constitutional democracy (and the reason that “non-obscene” sexually explicit material consequently enjoys constitutional protection is highly suspect, both intellectually and philosophically. And yet the South African Constitutional Court has explicitly recognised the same philosophical justification as the basis for free speech and expression. The Constitutional Court has, in fact, both supported and emphasised the idea that freedom of expression stands central to the concepts of democracy and political transformation through participation, and has expressly confirmed the association between freedom of expression and the political rights safeguarded under the Bill of Rights. Moreover, the Constitutional Court has also endorsed the conception of adult gender-specific sexually explicit material as a form of free expression. And yet by embracing a moralistic, libertarian model of free expression, the very ideal of a free, democratic and equal society, one in which women can live secure from the threat of harm, is put at risk. A moralistic, libertarian model is simply not capable of conceptualising sexually explicit material as a possible violation of women’s fundamental interests in equality, dignity and physical integrity.This article has a two-fold objective. The first is to critically examine the dominant discourse on adult gender-specific sexually explicit material emanating from United States jurisprudence (and its resonance in South African constitutional thought, and secondly, to assess whether this particular

Cell-type specific expression of constitutively-active Rheb promotes regeneration of bulbospinal respiratory axons following cervical SCI.

Science.gov (United States)

Urban, Mark W; Ghosh, Biswarup; Strojny, Laura R; Block, Cole G; Blazejewski, Sara M; Wright, Megan C; Smith, George M; Lepore, Angelo C

2018-05-01

Damage to respiratory neural circuitry and consequent loss of diaphragm function is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in individuals suffering from traumatic cervical spinal cord injury (SCI). Repair of CNS axons after SCI remains a therapeutic challenge, despite current efforts. SCI disrupts inspiratory signals originating in the rostral ventral respiratory group (rVRG) of the medulla from their phrenic motor neuron (PhMN) targets, resulting in loss of diaphragm function. Using a rat model of cervical hemisection SCI, we aimed to restore rVRG-PhMN-diaphragm circuitry by stimulating regeneration of injured rVRG axons via targeted induction of Rheb (ras homolog enriched in brain), a signaling molecule that regulates neuronal-intrinsic axon growth potential. Following C2 hemisection, we performed intra-rVRG injection of an adeno-associated virus serotype-2 (AAV2) vector that drives expression of a constitutively-active form of Rheb (cRheb). rVRG neuron-specific cRheb expression robustly increased mTOR pathway activity within the transduced rVRG neuron population ipsilateral to the hemisection, as assessed by levels of phosphorylated ribosomal S6 kinase. By co-injecting our novel AAV2-mCherry/WGA anterograde/trans-synaptic axonal tracer into rVRG, we found that cRheb expression promoted regeneration of injured rVRG axons into the lesion site, while we observed no rVRG axon regrowth with AAV2-GFP control. AAV2-cRheb also significantly reduced rVRG axonal dieback within the intact spinal cord rostral to the lesion. However, cRheb expression did not promote any recovery of ipsilateral hemi-diaphragm function, as assessed by inspiratory electromyography (EMG) burst amplitudes. This lack of functional recovery was likely because regrowing rVRG fibers did not extend back into the caudal spinal cord to synaptically reinnervate PhMNs that we retrogradely-labeled with cholera toxin B from the ipsilateral hemi-diaphragm. Our findings demonstrate that enhancing neuronal

Public health and the Australian Constitution.

Science.gov (United States)

Reynolds, C

1995-06-01

The powers vested in the Commonwealth Government by the Constitution contain the basis of much public health law in Australia. Yet this is not often recognised; public health law is generally, and historically, seen as the states' responsibility. This article surveys the broad range of constitutional powers that the Commonwealth Government can rely upon to make public health laws. It considers areas of power specified in the Constitution, such as those with respect to external affairs and corporations. Decisions of the High Court have interpreted the various heads of power very broadly and have significantly enhanced the potential of the Commonwealth to pass detailed and far-reaching public health law. To this fact must be added the taxation arrangements in Australia and, with these, the very extensive control that the Commonwealth can exercise through its monopoly of major taxation sources. Its power to make financial arrangements can tie dependent states into specific policies (including public health policies) as a condition of the grants made to them. However, these broad powers may be limited in some important respects: the High Court is increasingly identifying rights and freedoms in the Constitution that may increasingly bring both state and Commonwealth public health law under challenge. Despite this possibility, the Commonwealth may prove to be our most significant source of public health law, and public health policy makers should recognise the full potential of its power to make such laws.

Dynamic compressive constitutive relation and shearing instability of metallic neodymium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Huanran; Cai Canyuan; Chen Danian; Ma Dongfang; Hou Yanjun; Wu Shanxing

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Dynamic constitutive relation of Nd was determined in first compression of SHPB. → Deformation of Nd in multi-compression of SHPB were recorded by high-speed camera. → Constitutive relation of Nd was adjusted in modeling large deformation of Nd. → Results of SDDM investigation of recovered Nd specimens showed shearing fracture. → Shearing instability of Nd was estimated with constitutive relation. - Abstract: Based on static tests on MTS and dynamic tests on split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) during the first loading, this study determined the dynamic compressive constitutive relation of metallic Nd. Based on large deformations of metallic Nd specimens generated by the multi-compressive loadings during SHPB tests, and recorded by a high-speed camera, the results of numerical simulations for SHPB test processes were used to extend the determined constitutive relation from small strain to large strain. The shearing instability strain in dynamic compressive deformations of metallic Nd was estimated with the extended constitutive relation according to the criterion given by Batra and Wei, and was compared with the average strain of recovered specimens.

The road to democracy: The development of constitutionalism in Serbia 1869-1903

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bataković Dušan T.

2007-01-01

Full Text Available After the swiftly abolished liberal Constitution of 1835 and the imposed 'Turkish' one of 1838 (imposed by the Russians and Ottomans, guarantors of Serbia's autonomy granted in 1830, to limit the princely power, the development of constitutionalism in modern Serbia went through several phases. As elsewhere in the Balkans, constitutions usually resulted from a compromise between the ruler and the elites rather than from the will of the people. The 1868 Constitution drew to an extent upon the early nineteenth-century German constitutional monarchies, but, under pressure from the politically mobilized population, the 1888 Constitution, proposed by the Radical Party in response to the egalitarian aspirations of the nation's agrarian majority, adopted a French constitutional model - with a unicameral system and frequent coalition governments. Shaped on the model of the Belgian Constitution of 1831, which in its turn was a modified version of the French Charte of 1830, it restored a French influence, expressed for the first time in the 1835 Constitution. The 1888 Constitution was passed by the Grand National Assembly with its five-sixth majority of Radicals, representatives of the agrarian majority. It was soon annulled by the coup d'état of 1894 and the Court-imposed Constitution of 1869 was reinstituted. The Constitution of 1901 was an attempt to introduce a bicameral system as a means of upholding the influential role of the ruler, while limiting that of the Radical Party, which had enjoyed an ample electoral support since the 1888 Constitution. After the assassination in 1903 of the last Obrenović ruler king Alexander, and his wife, queen Draga, the liberal Constitution of 1888 with minor modifications was reinstituted. Under this Constitution - which is commonly known as the 1903 Constitution and which, during the democratic reign of king Peter I Karđorđević, was no longer challenged - Serbian democracy remained fragile, because there was no

Transnational Constitutional Law

OpenAIRE

Zumbansen, P (Peer); Bhatt, Kinnari

2018-01-01

textabstractThis chapter provides an overview of the emerging field of transnational constitutional law (TCL). Whilst questions of constitutional law are typically discussed in the context of a specific domestic legal setting, a salient strategy of TCL is to understand constitutional law and its values by placing them ‘in context’ with existing and evolving cultural norms and political, social and economic discourses and struggles. Drawing on socio-legal investigations into the relationships ...

CAN THE MUSLIM WORLD BORROW FROM INDONESIAN CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM? A Comparative Constitutional Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nadirsyah Hosen

2007-06-01

Full Text Available This paper attempts to analytically examine the possibility of constitutional borrowing for the Muslim world regardless the differences in history, system, culture, language, and cha­racteristics. It discusses this issue by looking at the arguments put forth by the oppo­nents of comparative cons­titutional interpre­tation and their counter arguments. It will consider materials from Canada, USA, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hungary, taking the position that constitutional borrowing can be justified. The paper argues that the 1999-2002 Indonesian constitutional reform should be taken into account by other Muslim countries in undertaking their constitutional reform. The substantive approach of the Shari‘ah that has been used in Indonesia has shown that Muslim world can reform its constitutions without the “assistance” of Western foreign policy. Indo­nesian constitutional reform has demonstrated that Islamic constitutionalism comes from within Islamic teaching and the Islamic community itself; it is a home grown product.

Co-regulation of the atrial natriuretic factor and cardiac myosin light chain-2 genes during alpha-adrenergic stimulation of neonatal rat ventricular cells. Identification of cis sequences within an embryonic and a constitutive contractile protein gene which mediate inducible expression.

Science.gov (United States)

Knowlton, K U; Baracchini, E; Ross, R S; Harris, A N; Henderson, S A; Evans, S M; Glembotski, C C; Chien, K R

1991-04-25

To study the mechanisms which mediate the transcriptional activation of cardiac genes during alpha adrenergic stimulation, the present study examined the regulated expression of three cardiac genes, a ventricular embryonic gene (atrial natriuretic factor, ANF), a constitutively expressed contractile protein gene (cardiac MLC-2), and a cardiac sodium channel gene. alpha 1-Adrenergic stimulation activates the expression and release of ANF from neonatal ventricular cells. As assessed by RNase protection analyses, treatment with alpha-adrenergic agonists increases the steady-state levels of ANF mRNA by greater than 15-fold. However, a rat cardiac sodium channel gene mRNA is not induced, indicating that alpha-adrenergic stimulation does not lead to an increase in the expression of all cardiac genes. Studies employing a series of rat ANF luciferase and rat MLC-2 luciferase fusion genes identify 315- and 92-base pair cis regulatory sequences within an embryonic gene (ANF) and a constitutively expressed contractile protein gene (MLC-2), respectively, which mediate alpha-adrenergic-inducible gene expression. Transfection of various ANF luciferase reporters into neonatal rat ventricular cells demonstrated that upstream sequences which mediate tissue-specific expression (-3003 to -638) can be segregated from those responsible for inducibility. The lack of inducibility of a cardiac Na+ channel gene, and the segregation of ANF gene sequences which mediate cardiac specific from those which mediate inducible expression, provides further insight into the relationship between muscle-specific and inducible expression during cardiac myocyte hypertrophy. Based on these results, a testable model is proposed for the induction of embryonic cardiac genes and constitutively expressed contractile protein genes and the noninducibility of a subset of cardiac genes during alpha-adrenergic stimulation of neonatal rat ventricular cells.

The application of section 8(3) of the constitution in the development of customary law values in South Africa's new constitutional dispensation

OpenAIRE

Ntlama, Nomthandazo

2012-01-01

The constitutional recognition of customary law alongside common law in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 is highly commendable. It also raises the question of whether or not the recognition was undertaken out of genuine respect for customary law or merely forgotten in section 8(3) of the Constitution. It is argued that the exclusion of customary law from the provision of the section is nothing more than the advancement of the dominant status enjoyed by common law, as was...

Constitutively active transforming growth factor β receptor 1 in the mouse ovary promotes tumorigenesis

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Yang; Vincent, David F.; Davis, Anna Jane; Sansom, Owen J.; Bartholin, Laurent; Li, Qinglei

2016-01-01

Despite the well-established tumor suppressive role of TGFβ proteins, depletion of key TGFβ signaling components in the mouse ovary does not induce a growth advantage. To define the role of TGFβ signaling in ovarian tumorigenesis, we created a mouse model expressing a constitutively active TGFβ receptor 1 (TGFBR1) in ovarian somatic cells using conditional gain-of-function approach. Remarkably, these mice developed ovarian sex cord-stromal tumors with complete penetrance, leading to reproductive failure and mortality. The tumors expressed multiple granulosa cell markers and caused elevated serum inhibin and estradiol levels, reminiscent of granulosa cell tumors. Consistent with the tumorigenic effect, overactivation of TGFBR1 altered tumor microenvironment by promoting angiogenesis and enhanced ovarian cell proliferation, accompanied by impaired cell differentiation and dysregulated expression of critical genes in ovarian function. By further exploiting complementary genetic models, we substantiated our finding that constitutively active TGFBR1 is a potent oncogenic switch in mouse granulosa cells. In summary, overactivation of TGFBR1 drives gonadal tumor development. The TGFBR1 constitutively active mouse model phenocopies a number of morphological, hormonal, and molecular features of human granulosa cell tumors and are potentially valuable for preclinical testing of targeted therapies to treat granulosa cell tumors, a class of poorly defined ovarian malignancies. PMID:27344183

Constitutional Issues--Watergate and the Constitution. Teaching with Documents.

Science.gov (United States)

National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC.

When U.S. President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 in the wake of the Watergate scandal, it was only the second time that impeachment of a president had been considered. Although the U.S. Constitution has provisions for a person removed from office to be indicted, there are no guidelines in the Constitution about a President who has resigned. The…

NIK is involved in constitutive activation of the alternative NF-κB pathway and proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishina, Takashi; Yamaguchi, Noritaka; Gohda, Jin; Semba, Kentaro; Inoue, Jun-ichiro

2009-01-01

Pancreatic cancer has one of the poorest prognoses among human neoplasms. Constitutive activation of NF-κB is frequently observed in pancreatic cancer cells and is involved in their malignancy. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism of this constitutive NF-κB activation. Here, we show that the alternative pathway is constitutively activated and NF-κB-inducing kinase (NIK), a mediator of the alternative pathway, is significantly expressed in pancreatic cancer cells. siRNA-mediated silencing of NIK expression followed by subcellular fractionation revealed that NIK is constitutively involved in the processing of p100 and nuclear transport of p52 and RelB in pancreatic cancer cells. In addition, NIK silencing significantly suppressed proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells. These results clearly indicate that NIK is involved in the constitutive activation of the alternative pathway and controls cell proliferation in pancreatic cancer cells. Therefore, NIK might be a novel target for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

NIK is involved in constitutive activation of the alternative NF-{kappa}B pathway and proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nishina, Takashi [Division of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639 (Japan); Yamaguchi, Noritaka [Division of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639 (Japan); Consolidated Research Institute for Advanced Science and Medical Care, Waseda University, 513 Wasedatsurumaki-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0041 (Japan); Gohda, Jin [Division of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639 (Japan); Semba, Kentaro [Consolidated Research Institute for Advanced Science and Medical Care, Waseda University, 513 Wasedatsurumaki-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0041 (Japan); Department of Life Science and Medical Bio-science, Waseda University, 2-2 Wakamatsu-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8480 (Japan); Inoue, Jun-ichiro, E-mail: jun-i@ims.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Division of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639 (Japan)

2009-10-09

Pancreatic cancer has one of the poorest prognoses among human neoplasms. Constitutive activation of NF-{kappa}B is frequently observed in pancreatic cancer cells and is involved in their malignancy. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism of this constitutive NF-{kappa}B activation. Here, we show that the alternative pathway is constitutively activated and NF-{kappa}B-inducing kinase (NIK), a mediator of the alternative pathway, is significantly expressed in pancreatic cancer cells. siRNA-mediated silencing of NIK expression followed by subcellular fractionation revealed that NIK is constitutively involved in the processing of p100 and nuclear transport of p52 and RelB in pancreatic cancer cells. In addition, NIK silencing significantly suppressed proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells. These results clearly indicate that NIK is involved in the constitutive activation of the alternative pathway and controls cell proliferation in pancreatic cancer cells. Therefore, NIK might be a novel target for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Isolation and functional characterization of a cotton ubiquitination-related promoter and 5'UTR that drives high levels of expression in root and flower tissues.

Science.gov (United States)

Viana, Antonio A B; Fragoso, Rodrigo R; Guimarães, Luciane M; Pontes, Naiara; Oliveira-Neto, Osmundo B; Artico, Sinara; Nardeli, Sarah M; Alves-Ferreira, Marcio; Batista, João A N; Silva, Maria C M; Grossi-de-Sa, Maria F

2011-11-24

Cotton (Gossypium spp.) is an important crop worldwide that provides raw material to 40% of the textile fiber industry. Important traits have been studied aiming the development of genetically modified crops including resistance to insect and diseases, and tolerance to drought, cold and herbicide. Therefore, the characterization of promoters and regulatory regions is also important to achieve high gene expression and/or a specific expression pattern. Commonly, genes involved in ubiquitination pathways are highly and differentially expressed. In this study, we analyzed the expression of a cotton ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (E2) family member with no previous characterization. Nucleotide analysis revealed high identity with cotton E2 homologues. Multiple alignment showed a premature stop codon, which prevents the encoding of the conserved cysteine residue at the E2 active site, and an intron that is spliced in E2 homologues, but not in GhGDRP85. The GhGDRP85 gene is highly expressed in different organs of cotton plants, and has high transcript levels in roots. Its promoter (uceApro2) and the 5'UTR compose a regulatory region named uceA1.7, and were isolated from cotton and studied in Arabidopsis thaliana. uceA1.7 shows strong expression levels, equaling or surpassing the expression levels of CaMV35S. The uceA1.7 regulatory sequence drives GUS expression 7-fold higher in flowers, 2-fold in roots and at similar levels in leaves and stems. GUS expression levels are decreased 7- to 15-fold when its 5'UTR is absent in uceApro2. uceA1.7 is a strong constitutive regulatory sequence composed of a promoter (uceApro2) and its 5'UTR that will be useful in genetic transformation of dicots, having high potential to drive high levels of transgene expression in crops, particularly for traits desirable in flower and root tissues.

A Modified Constitutive Model for Tensile Flow Behaviors of BR1500HS Ultra-High-Strength Steel at Medium and Low Temperature Regions

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Jun; Quan, Guo-Zheng; Pan, Jia; Wang, Xuan; Wu, Dong-Sen; Xia, Yu-Feng

2018-01-01

Constitutive model of materials is one of the most requisite mathematical model in the finite element analysis, which describes the relationships of flow behaviors with strain, strain rate and temperature. In order to construct such constitutive relationships of ultra-high-strength BR1500HS steel at medium and low temperature regions, the true stress-strain data over a wide temperature range of 293-873 K and strain rate range of 0.01-10 s-1 were collected from a series of isothermal uniaxial tensile tests. The experimental results show that stress-strain relationships are highly non-linear and susceptible to three parameters involving temperature, strain and strain rate. By considering the impacts of strain rate and temperature on strain hardening, a modified constitutive model based on Johnson-Cook model was proposed to characterize flow behaviors in medium and low temperature ranges. The predictability of the improved model was also evaluated by the relative error (W(%)), correlation coefficient (R) and average absolute relative error (AARE). The R-value and AARE-value for modified constitutive model at medium and low temperature regions are 0.9915 & 1.56 % and 0.9570 & 5.39 %, respectively, which indicates that the modified constitutive model can precisely estimate the flow behaviors for BR1500HS steel in the medium and low temperature regions.

Genome-wide screens for expressed hypothetical proteins

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Claus Desler; Durhuus, Jon Ambæk; Rasmussen, Lene Juel

2012-01-01

A hypothetical protein (HP) is defined as a protein that is predicted to be expressed from an open reading frame, but for which there is no experimental evidence of translation. HPs constitute a substantial fraction of proteomes of human as well as of other organisms. With the general belief that...... that the majority of HPs are the product of pseudogenes, it is essential to have a tool with the ability of pinpointing the minority of HPs with a high probability of being expressed....

Gutta cavat lapidem... the Brokdorf decision of the Federal Constitutional Court

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eyermann, E.

1986-01-01

The issue discussed is the decision taken by the Federal Constitutional Court on May 14, 1985 - Case number 1 BvR 233 and 341/81 -, concerning a ban on political demonstrations against the Brokdorf reactor. The author expresses surprise and concern about the fact that the right to hold demonstrations in the public is so overemphasized, as he holds that the too great number of political demonstrations we have seen in the past will snag a common feeling of solidarity with the Government and will foster a feeling of listlessness in the general population. As to the case brought before the Federal Constitutional Court, the author's opinion is that the Court ought to have dismissed the constitutional complaints as there is no infringement of civil rights involved in the case, and complaints were inadmissible. (HSCH) [de

Essential Medicines in National Constitutions

Science.gov (United States)

Toebes, Brigit; Hogerzeil, Hans

2016-01-01

Abstract A constitutional guarantee of access to essential medicines has been identified as an important indicator of government commitment to the progressive realization of the right to the highest attainable standard of health. The objective of this study was to evaluate provisions on access to essential medicines in national constitutions, to identify comprehensive examples of constitutional text on medicines that can be used as a model for other countries, and to evaluate the evolution of constitutional medicines-related rights since 2008. Relevant articles were selected from an inventory of constitutional texts from WHO member states. References to states’ legal obligations under international human rights law were evaluated. Twenty-two constitutions worldwide now oblige governments to protect and/or to fulfill accessibility of, availability of, and/or quality of medicines. Since 2008, state responsibilities to fulfill access to essential medicines have expanded in five constitutions, been maintained in four constitutions, and have regressed in one constitution. Government commitments to essential medicines are an important foundation of health system equity and are included increasingly in state constitutions. PMID:27781006

The Australian Constitution and the Aid/Watch Case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

George Williams

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The Australian Constitution played a significant role in underpinning the result in the Aid/Watch Case. It was invoked by the majority to support their conclusion that a body can be a ‘charitable institution’ despite engaging in political activities. The use of the Constitution in this way came as a surprise. The case extended an existing constitutional principle relating to freedom of political communication from its electoral base into the protection of the political activities of non-government organisations. This may have future ramifications for those organisations in other areas, as well as further implications for the development of what it means to be a charity in Australia. This article examines the use of the Australian Constitution in the Aid/Watch Case. It explains how the High Court was able to invoke the Constitution in defining what it means to be a ‘charitable institution’. It also examines the implications of that reasoning for the development of charitable law in Australia.

Ethylene production and constitutive expression of ethylene receptors and ethylene signal transduction during grain filling in apical and basal spikelets of compact-and lax-panicle rice (Oryza sativa cultivars

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sudhanshu Sekhar

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Grain yields in modern super rice cultivars do not always meet the expectations because many spikelets are located on secondary branches in closely packed homogeneous distribution in these plants, and they do not fill properly. The factors limiting grain filling of such spikelets, especially in the lower panicle branches, are elusive. Two long-duration rice cultivars differing in panicle density, Mahalaxmi (compact and Upahar (lax were cultivated in an open field plot. Grain filling, ethylene production and constitutive expression of ethylene receptors and ethylene signal transducers in apical and basal spikelets of the panicle were compared during the early post-anthesis stage, which is the most critical period for grain development. In another experiment, a similar assessment was made for the medium-duration cultivars compact-panicle OR-1918 and lax-panicle Lalat. Grain weight of the apical spikelets was always higher than that of the basal spikelets. This gradient of grain weight was wide in the compact-panicle cultivars and narrow in the lax-panicle cultivars. Compared to apical spikelets, the basal spikelets produced more ethylene at anthesis and retained the capacity for post-anthesis expression of ethylene receptors and ethylene signal transducers longer. High ethylene production enhanced the expression of the RSR1 gene, but reduced expression of the GBSS1 gene. Ethylene inhibited the partitioning of assimilates of developing grains resulting in low starch biosynthesis and high accumulation of soluble carbohydrates. It is concluded that an increase in grain/spikelet density in rice panicles reduces apical dominance to the detriment of grain filling by production of ethylene and/or enhanced perception of the ethylene signal. Ethylene could be a second messenger for apical dominance in grain filling. The manipulation of the ethylene signal would possibly improve rice grain yield.

The Causes of Failure of the European Constitution From the Perspective of the Constitution-Making Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Podolnjak

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The basic argument of the article is that the main causes of failure of the European Constitution stem from an inadequate preparation and implementation of a complex procedure of constitution-making for a federation of countries on a continental scale. This process includes the issues of temporal aspects of constitutionmaking, the subject of constitution-making, the text of the constitution, the strategy of constitutional ratifi cation and the constitution-makers themselves. The principal causes of failure of the European Constitution will be presented in the form of certain preliminary assumptions, which will then be examined in the light of certain comparative experiences of constitution-making in two federal systems – the American and the Swiss system. The primary mistakes of the European constitution-making are refl ected in the lack of an appropriate moment for making the constitution, in the vagueness of the document in terms of its constitutional or contractual quality, in the creation of a text of the Constitution which is completely incomprehensible to the average citizen, in the making of the Constitution without a vision or ambition, in the complete lack of any strategy of ratifi cation of the Constitution, in the insistence on the direct participation of the people in the adoption of the Constitution, which is legally and politically considered primarily an international treaty, and in badly managed media presentation and defence of the Constitution before the European public. The most important mistakes, crucial to the failure of the Constitution, are the ambivalent approach of the European constitutionmakers to the mode of ratifi cation of the Constitution, and their disregard of the constitution-making experience of other federal countries.

ECHR and national constitutional courts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nastić Maja

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Comprising fundamental rights and freedoms and establishing the effective control system, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR encroaches upon the area that is traditional reserved for constitutional law. Although built on the doctrine reserved for international treaty law, the Convention goes beyond the traditional boundaries that exist between international and constitutional law. It has gradually infiltrated into the national legal systems. Constitutional courts have had the crucial role in this process. This paper will focus on the applicability of the ECHR in proceedings before national constitutional courts. Having in mind the jurisdiction of the national constitutional court, the ECHR may be applied in two ways: first, in the process of constitutional review by national constitutional courts and, second, in the process of deciding on constitutional complaints.

Studies on mechanical behavior of bentonite for development of the constitutive model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sasakura, Tsuyoshi; Kuroyanagi, Mikio; Okamoto, Michitaka

2002-02-01

To integrate the system for evaluation of long-term hydraulic condition in near field of TRU waste disposal, series of laboratory tests were conducted to investigate the effect of (1) cation exchange of Na-bentonite for Ca ion, and (2) the swelling behavior of bentonite, on its mechanical and hydraulic properties. For the purpose of this study, same lot of bentonite was used in a series of tests to obtain consistent data. A constitutive model of clayey materials, called Cam-clay model, was expanded conceptually to express the effects mentioned above. The research results of this year are summarized below; 1) Some basic properties such as cation exchange capacity, particle density, grain size distribution, compaction-characteristics and water content were obtained. To examine the effect of previous swelling history of bentonite on its swelling characteristics and hydraulic and mechanical properties, specimens, which generated swelling deformation to various volumetric strain levels, were specially prepared and used in the following tests. Swelling pressure tests, swelling deformation tests, permeability tests were conducted to observe one dimensional swelling characteristics and hydraulic properties of Na-bentonite and Ca-bentonite. High-pressured triaxial consolidated-undrained (CU) compression tests and high-pressured consolidation tests were also carried out to investigate the compression, swelling, and shearing behavior of each type of bentonite. 2) As indicated in previous studies, two important phenomena (1) bentonite possesses remarkable swelling capacity, (2) cation exchange of Na-bentonite for Ca-ion lead increasing of hydraulic conductivity, were confirmed in the test results. From the swelling deformation test results and published data, it was found that swelling capacity of bentonite has no dependency on previous swelling history and it could be easily expressed as a function of void ratio e. It was also confirmed that swelling pressure and water

The Arabidopsis mutant cev1 has constitutively active jasmonate and ethylene signal pathways and enhanced resistance to pathogens.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellis, C; Turner, J G

2001-05-01

Jasmonates (JAs) inhibit plant growth and induce plant defense responses. To define genes in the Arabidopsis JA signal pathway, we screened for mutants with constitutive expression of a luciferase reporter for the JA-responsive promoter from the vegetative storage protein gene VSP1. One mutant, named constitutive expression of VSP1 (cev1), produced plants that were smaller than wild type, had stunted roots with long root hairs, accumulated anthocyanin, had constitutive expression of the defense-related genes VSP1, VSP2, Thi2.1, PDF1.2, and CHI-B, and had enhanced resistance to powdery mildew diseases. Genetic evidence indicated that the cev1 phenotype required both COI1, an essential component of the JA signal pathway, and ETR1, which encodes the ethylene receptor. We conclude that cev1 stimulates both the JA and the ethylene signal pathways and that CEV1 regulates an early step in an Arabidopsis defense pathway.

Institute of constitutional revision in the Constitution of the Republic of Albania, comparative view

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Makbule Çeço

2014-07-01

Full Text Available In its very dynamic essence, a democratic society bears the need for continuous reformation and perfection, and that is why the application of reforms represents an inseparable feature for this type of society. The consolidation of the rule of law, the institutional independence, and the cause of justice itself comprise, inter alia, the need for constitutional revision. This study puts forward a theoretical-historical comparative view of the relevant and dynamic issue of the institute of constitutional revision in the framework of the Constitution of the Republic of Albania, as a complex process accompanied by limitations on constitutional revision. The historical evolution of constitutional drafting, modern constitutions, relevant issues, political and social circumstances as well as drafting and adoption procedures, dynamism of constitutions to cope with the course of time achieved by revisions for the purpose of their stability as well as consolidation of the role of constitutions as a factor that facilitates and precedes social development, comprise the pillar of this study addressed in a comparative point of view.

Identification of genes preferentially expressed by highly virulent piscine Streptococcus agalactiae upon interaction with macrophages.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chang-Ming Guo

Full Text Available Streptococcus agalactiae, long recognized as a mammalian pathogen, is an emerging concern with regard to fish. In this study, we used a mouse model and in vitro cell infection to evaluate the pathogenetic characteristics of S. agalactiae GD201008-001, isolated from tilapia in China. This bacterium was found to be highly virulent and capable of inducing brain damage by migrating into the brain by crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB. The phagocytosis assays indicated that this bacterium could be internalized by murine macrophages and survive intracellularly for more than 24 h, inducing injury to macrophages. Further, selective capture of transcribed sequences (SCOTS was used to investigate microbial gene expression associated with intracellular survival. This positive cDNA selection technique identified 60 distinct genes that could be characterized into 6 functional categories. More than 50% of the differentially expressed genes were involved in metabolic adaptation. Some genes have previously been described as associated with virulence in other bacteria, and four showed no significant similarities to any other previously described genes. This study constitutes the first step in further gene expression analyses that will lead to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms used by S. agalactiae to survive in macrophages and to cross the BBB.

Identification of Genes Preferentially Expressed by Highly Virulent Piscine Streptococcus agalactiae upon Interaction with Macrophages

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Chang-Ming; Chen, Rong-Rong; Kalhoro, Dildar Hussain; Wang, Zhao-Fei; Liu, Guang-Jin; Lu, Cheng-Ping; Liu, Yong-Jie

2014-01-01

Streptococcus agalactiae, long recognized as a mammalian pathogen, is an emerging concern with regard to fish. In this study, we used a mouse model and in vitro cell infection to evaluate the pathogenetic characteristics of S. agalactiae GD201008-001, isolated from tilapia in China. This bacterium was found to be highly virulent and capable of inducing brain damage by migrating into the brain by crossing the blood–brain barrier (BBB). The phagocytosis assays indicated that this bacterium could be internalized by murine macrophages and survive intracellularly for more than 24 h, inducing injury to macrophages. Further, selective capture of transcribed sequences (SCOTS) was used to investigate microbial gene expression associated with intracellular survival. This positive cDNA selection technique identified 60 distinct genes that could be characterized into 6 functional categories. More than 50% of the differentially expressed genes were involved in metabolic adaptation. Some genes have previously been described as associated with virulence in other bacteria, and four showed no significant similarities to any other previously described genes. This study constitutes the first step in further gene expression analyses that will lead to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms used by S. agalactiae to survive in macrophages and to cross the BBB. PMID:24498419

On establishing constitutive equations for use in design of high-temperature fast-reactor structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pugh, C.E.

1978-01-01

The presentation describes the approach being used to establish constitutive equations for wide use in the design of fast breeder reactor (FBR) components in the US. The approach combines exploratory experiments, constitutive model studies, studies of computational techniques, and tests of simple structural configurations. Short-time (elastic-plastic) behavior, long-time (creep) behavior, and their interactions are considered, and some of the background to equations now identified for use in current FBR design applications involving three structural alloys is discussed. Comments are also given on current efforts aimed at identifying improved constitutive equations for these alloys and on properties data required for design applications. References are cited which have addressed the status of the process at various times. (Auth.)

Constitutional developments in Latin American abortion law.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergallo, Paola; Ramón Michel, Agustina

2016-11-01

For most of the 20th Century, restrictive abortion laws were in place in continental Latin America. In recent years, reforms have caused a liberalizing shift, supported by constitutional decisions of the countries' high courts. The present article offers an overview of the turn toward more liberal rules and the resolution of abortion disputes by reference to national constitutions. For such purpose, the main legal changes of abortion laws in the last decade are first surveyed. Landmark decisions of the high courts of Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, and Mexico are then analyzed. It is shown that courts have accepted the need to balance interests and competing rights to ground less restrictive laws. In doing so, they have articulated limits to protection of fetal interests, and basic ideas of women's dignity, autonomy, and equality. The process of constitutionalization has only just begun. Constitutional judgments are not the last word, but they are important contributions in reinforcing the legality of abortion. Copyright © 2016 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Micromechanics of Composite Materials Governed by Vector Constitutive Laws

Science.gov (United States)

Bednarcyk, Brett A.; Aboudi, Jacob; Arnold, Steven M.

2017-01-01

The high-fidelity generalized method of cells micromechanics theory has been extended for the prediction of the effective property tensor and the corresponding local field distributions for composites whose constituents are governed by vector constitutive laws. As shown, the shear analogy, which can predict effective transverse properties, is not valid in the general three-dimensional case. Consequently, a general derivation is presented that is applicable to both continuously and discontinuously reinforced composites with arbitrary vector constitutive laws and periodic microstructures. Results are given for thermal and electric problems, effective properties and local field distributions, ordered and random microstructures, as well as complex geometries including woven composites. Comparisons of the theory's predictions are made to test data, numerical analysis, and classical expressions from the literature. Further, classical methods cannot provide the local field distributions in the composite, and it is demonstrated that, as the percolation threshold is approached, their predictions are increasingly unreliable. XXXX It has been observed that the bonding between the fibers and matrix in composite materials can be imperfect. In the context of thermal conductivity, such imperfect interfaces have been investigated in micromechanical models by Dunn and Taya (1993), Duan and Karihaloo (2007), Nan et al. (1997) and Hashin (2001). The present HFGMC micromechanical method, derived for perfectly bonded composite materials governed by vector constitutive laws, can be easily generalized to include the effects of weak bonding between the constituents. Such generalizations, in the context of the mechanical micromechanics problem, involve introduction of a traction-separation law at the fiber/matrix interface and have been presented by Aboudi (1987), Bednarcyk and Arnold (2002), Bednarcyk et al. (2004) and Aboudi et al. (2013) and will be addressed in the future.

Macroscopic Expressions of Molecular Adiabatic Compressibility of Methyl and Ethyl Caprate under High Pressure and High Temperature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fuxi Shi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The molecular compressibility, which is a macroscopic quantity to reveal the microcompressibility by additivity of molecular constitutions, is considered as a fixed value for specific organic liquids. In this study, we introduced two calculated expressions of molecular adiabatic compressibility to demonstrate its pressure and temperature dependency. The first one was developed from Wada’s constant expression based on experimental data of density and sound velocity. Secondly, by introducing the 2D fitting expressions and their partial derivative of pressure and temperature, molecular compressibility dependency was analyzed further, and a 3D fitting expression was obtained from the calculated data of the first one. The third was derived with introducing the pressure and temperature correction factors based on analogy to Lennard-Jones potential function and energy equipartition theorem. In wide range of temperatures (293

Identification and analysis of an efficient dicot constitutive promoter from tomato

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bacha, S.; Khatoon, A.; Asif, M.; Bashir, A.

2015-01-01

The regulatory sequence of sucrose synthase (susy) was explored in HTGS and screened using various bioinformatics tools for promoter prediction and identification of functional regulatory motifs. Transcription start site (TSS) was predicted in the promoter sequence. Species specific motifs were identified by using Plant PAN database. The Plant Care predicted various light responsive, hormone inducible and tissue specific motifs in the full length promoter which may be essential for the constitutive expression governed by this promoter. Full length susy promoter isolated from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) drove maximum transient expression of GUS gene in various tissues of tobacco, cotton and peas. The susy promoter identified and analyzed in this study is suitable for transgene expression in economically important agricultural crops, especially to avoid strong over-expression. (author)

The Application of Section 8(3) of the Constitution in the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The constitutional recognition of customary law alongside common law in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 is highly commendable. It also raises the question of whether or not the recognition was undertaken out of genuine respect for customary law or merely forgotten in section 8(3) of the Constitution.

Cervical Cancers Require the Continuous Expression of the Human Papillomavirus Type 16 E7 Oncoprotein Even in the Presence of the Viral E6 Oncoprotein

Science.gov (United States)

Jabbar, Sean F.; Park, Soyeong; Schweizer, Johannes; Berard-Bergery, Marthe; Pitot, Henry C.; Lee, Denis; Lambert, Paul F.

2012-01-01

High-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV), such as HPV-16, are etiologic agents of a variety of anogenital and oral malignancies, including nearly all cases of cervical cancer. Cervical cancers arising in transgenic mice that express HPV-16 E7 in an inducible manner require the continuous expression of E7 for their maintenance. However, in HPV-associated cancers in vivo, E6 and E7 invariably are co-expressed. In this study, we investigated whether cervical cancers rely on the continuous expression of E7 in the context of constitutively expressed E6. We placed the inducible HPV-16 E7 transgene onto a background in which HPV-16 E6 was constitutively expressed. In transgenic mice with high-grade cervical dysplastic lesions and cervical cancer, repressing the expression of E7 led to the regression of all cancers and the vast majority of high-grade dysplastic lesions. In addition, cervical cancers were occasionally observed in transgenic mice in which E7 was repressed and then re-expressed. Our findings therefore indicate that even in the presence of constitutively expressed E6, the continuous expression of E7 is required for the maintenance of cervical cancers and most precancerous lesions. These data have important implications for the potential clinical use of drugs designed to inhibit the expression and/or function of E7 to treat HPV-associated cancers. PMID:22700879

MLH1 constitutional and somatic methylation in patients with MLH1 negative tumors fulfilling the revised Bethesda criteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Crucianelli, Francesca; Tricarico, Rossella; Turchetti, Daniela; Gorelli, Greta; Gensini, Francesca; Sestini, Roberta; Giunti, Laura; Pedroni, Monica; Ponz de Leon, Maurizio; Civitelli, Serenella; Genuardi, Maurizio

2014-10-01

Lynch syndrome (LS) is a tumor predisposing condition caused by constitutional defects in genes coding for components of the mismatch repair (MMR) apparatus. While hypermethylation of the promoter of the MMR gene MLH1 occurs in about 15% of colorectal cancer samples, it has also been observed as a constitutional alteration, in the absence of DNA sequence mutations, in a small number of LS patients. In order to obtain further insights on the phenotypic characteristics of MLH1 epimutation carriers, we investigated the somatic and constitutional MLH1 methylation status of 14 unrelated subjects with a suspicion of LS who were negative for MMR gene constitutional mutations and whose tumors did not express the MLH1 protein. A novel case of constitutional MLH1 epimutation was identified. This patient was affected with multiple primary tumors, including breast cancer, diagnosed starting from the age of 55 y. Investigation of her offspring by allele specific expression revealed that the epimutation was not stable across generations. We also found MLH1 hypermethylation in cancer samples from 4 additional patients who did not have evidence of constitutional defects. These patients had some characteristics of LS, namely early age at onset and/or positive family history, raising the possibility of genetic influences in the establishment of somatic MLH1 methylation.

The Possibility of Vice-Presidents’ Authority Arrangement in the 1945 Constitution through Constitutional Amendment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fajar L. Suroso

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The debate over the vice-presidents’ authority reappeared in the administration of President Jokowi after the “authority expansion of the Chief of Presidency Staff” and the case of “Rizal Ramli vs Jusuf Kalla”. This article is intended to provide arguments for the idea of some parties to organize more explicit and detailed the authority of vice-president in the 1945 Constitution. The idea arises from the absence of further arrangement on the authority of vice-president in the 1945 Constitution. This article is systematized into 3 (three sub-theme; 1 the arrangement of the vice-presidents’ authority in the constitution for several countries; 2 The authority of the vice-president according to the 1945 Constitution, and 3 New resultant and the possibility of 1945 Constitution amendment. The result revealed a number of interesting things; 1 the constitutions of other countries do not specify the authority of the vice-president and put the vice-president as a “spare tire” when the president is absent; 2 no new resultant about the position and authority of the vice-president so that theoretically is not reason enough to regulate in detail the authority of the vice-president through the 1945 Constitution amendment; 3 arrangement in detail in the authority of vice-president in the 1945 Constitution holds the potential to confuse the presidential system design as the 1945 Constitution. Therefore, the possibility of vice-presidents’ authority arrangement in the 1945 Constitution through amendment is very small, both in terms of momentum and the substance of issues.

Constitutional Fundamentals of Conscription and Some Aspects of the Ordinary Legal Regulation of Constitutionality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenstavičienė Kristina

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Article 139 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania is one of the constitutional fundamentals of state defense and stipulates the defense of the state as the right of citizens on the one hand and the duty on the other. This article of the Constitution gives the legislative power the right of discretion to detail by law the order of the implementation of citizens’ duty to perform military or alternative country defense service. Due to the reorganization of the armed forces into a professional and volunteer army, the issue of some ordinary regulation rules concerning the constitutionality of nationwide conscription, though at present suspended but not abolished, is becoming urgent. Though the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania presented their ruling on the constitutionality of the suspension of military conscription, it does not mean that all problems related to conscription have been settled. The aim of this article is to analyze the constitutional basis of nationwide conscription as well as the constitutionality of some ordinary regulation provisions related to nationwide conscription. Therefore, the issue to be analyzed is whether nationwide conscription, if it were to be implemented, complies with the constitutional principles of human equality and military justice1. Consequently, the question is posed how the constitutional objective of ensuring the defense of the state determines conscription. Because of the growing employment of the army abroad, yet the dwindling demand for conscripts, it should be explored whether the suspension of the nationwide conscription as a part of the defense reform is further feasible in order to guarantee the defense of the state. In answering the raised questions, the author will analyze the abundant and long-lasting constitutional doctrine of Germany which provides clarifications of the Basic Law, as the legal act of the establishing power, which can doubtless be of assistance in

Presumption of lawful acquirement of property and confiscation of unlawfully acquired property in the case-law of the Romanian Constitutional Court. The reference constitutional framework for regulating of the extended confiscation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marieta SAFTA

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This study examines - from a dual perspective - historical and teleological, the constitutional provisions that enshrine the presumption of lawful acquirement of assets, including the development and interpretation thereof in the case-law of the Constitutional Court, in order to create a framework for analysis of Law no. 63/2012 amending and supplementing the Criminal Code and Law no. 286/2009 on the Criminal Code, a law that establishes the measure of extended confiscation, expression of international regulatory concerns in this area.

Yeast Fex1p Is a Constitutively Expressed Fluoride Channel with Functional Asymmetry of Its Two Homologous Domains*

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Kathryn D.; Gordon, Patricia B.; Rivetta, Alberto; Allen, Kenneth E.; Berbasova, Tetyana; Slayman, Clifford; Strobel, Scott A.

2015-01-01

Fluoride is a ubiquitous environmental toxin with which all biological species must cope. A recently discovered family of fluoride export (FEX) proteins protects organisms from fluoride toxicity by removing it from the cell. We show here that FEX proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae function as ion channels that are selective for fluoride over chloride and that these proteins are constitutively expressed at the yeast plasma membrane. Continuous expression is in contrast to many other toxin exporters in yeast, and this, along with the fact that two nearly duplicate proteins are encoded in the yeast genome, suggests that the threat posed by fluoride ions is frequent and detrimental. Structurally, eukaryotic FEX proteins consist of two homologous four-transmembrane helix domains folded into an antiparallel dimer, where the orientation of the two domains is fixed by a single transmembrane linker helix. Using phylogenetic sequence conservation as a guide, we have identified several functionally important residues. There is substantial functional asymmetry in the effect of mutation at corresponding sites in the two domains. Specifically, mutations to residues in the C-terminal domain proved significantly more detrimental to function than did similar mutations in the N-terminal domain. Our data suggest particular residues that may be important to anion specificity, most notably the necessity of a positive charge near the end of TMH1 in the C-terminal domain. It is possible that a cationic charge at this location may create an electrostatic well for fluoride ions entering the channel from the cytoplasm. PMID:26055717

Engineering high Zn in tomato shoots through expression of AtHMA4 involves tissue-specific modification of endogenous genes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kendziorek, Maria; Klimecka, Maria; Barabasz, Anna; Borg, Sören; Rudzka, Justyna; Szczęsny, Paweł; Antosiewicz, Danuta Maria

2016-08-12

To increase the Zn level in shoots, AtHMA4 was ectopically expressed in tomato under the constitutive CaMV 35S promoter. However, the Zn concentration in the shoots of transgenic plants failed to increase at all tested Zn levels in the medium. Modification of Zn root/shoot distribution in tomato expressing 35S::AtHMA4 depended on the concentration of Zn in the medium, thus indicating involvement of unknown endogenous metal-homeostasis mechanisms. To determine these mechanisms, those metal-homeostasis genes that were expressed differently in transgenic and wild-type plants were identified by microarray and RT-qPCR analysis using laser-assisted microdissected RNA isolated from two root sectors: (epidermis + cortex and stele), and leaf sectors (upper epidermis + palisade parenchyma and lower epidermis + spongy parenchyma). Zn-supply-dependent modification of Zn root/shoot distribution in AtHMA4-tomato (increase at 5 μM Zn, no change at 0.5 μM Zn) involved tissue-specific, distinct from that in the wild type, expression of tomato endogenous genes. First, it is suggested that an ethylene-dependent pathway underlies the detected changes in Zn root/shoot partitioning, as it was induced in transgenic plants in a distinct way depending on Zn exposure. Upon exposure to 5 or 0.5 μM Zn, in the epidermis + cortex of the transgenics' roots the expression of the Strategy I Fe-uptake system (ethylene-dependent LeIRT1 and LeFER) was respectively lower or higher than in the wild type and was accompanied by respectively lower or higher expression of the identified ethylene genes (LeNR, LeACO4, LeACO5) and of LeChln. Second, the contribution of LeNRAMP2 expression in the stele is shown to be distinct for wild-type and transgenic plants at both Zn exposures. Ethylene was also suggested as an important factor in a pathway induced in the leaves of transgenic plants by high Zn in the apoplast, which results in the initiation of loading of the excess Zn into the

The Application of Section 8(3 of the Constitution in the Development of Customary Law Values in South Africa's New Constitutional Dispensation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N Ntlama

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The constitutional recognition of customary law alongside common law in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 is highly commendable. It also raises the question of whether or not the recognition was undertaken out of genuine respect for customary law or merely forgotten in section 8(3 of the Constitution. It is argued that the exclusion of customary law from the provision of the section is nothing more than the advancement of the dominant status enjoyed by common law, as was the case before the dawn of democracy. This argument is limited to the application of section 8(3 and the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court, without focusing on the shortcomings of the latter in relation to the remedies provided in the resolution of disputes arising from customary law.

Efficient secretory expression of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli with a novel actinomycete signal peptide.

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Yanbing; Meng, Yiwei; Zhang, Juan; Cheng, Bin; Yin, Huijia; Gao, Chao; Xu, Ping; Yang, Chunyu

2017-01-01

In well-established heterologous hosts, such as Escherichia coli, recombinant proteins are usually intracellular and frequently found as inclusion bodies-especially proteins possessing high rare codon content. In this study, successful secretory expression of three hydrolases, in a constructed inducible or constitutive system, was achieved by fusion with a novel signal peptide (Kp-SP) from an actinomycete. The signal peptide efficiently enabled extracellular protein secretion and also contributed to the active expression of the intracellular recombinant proteins. The thermophilic α-amylase gene of Bacillus licheniformis was fused with Kp-SP. Both recombinants, carrying inducible and constitutive plasmids, showed remarkable increases in extracellular and intracellular amylolytic activity. Amylase activity was observed to be > 10-fold in recombinant cultures with the constitutive plasmid, pBSPPc, compared to that in recombinants lacking Kp-SP. Further, the signal peptide enabled efficient secretion of a thermophilic cellulase into the culture medium, as demonstrated by larger halo zones and increased enzymatic activities detected in both constructs from different plasmids. For heterologous proteins with a high proportion of rare codons, it is difficult to obtain high expression in E. coli owing to the codon bias. Here, the fusion of an archaeal homologue of the amylase encoding gene, FSA, with Kp-SP resulted in > 5-fold higher extracellular activity. The successful extracellular expression of the amylase indicated that the signal peptide also contributed significantly to its active expression and signified the potential value of this novel and versatile signal peptide in recombinant protein production. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

High-frequency deregulated expression of Wnt signaling pathway members in breast carcinomas.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Zahid; Arafah, Maha; Shaik, Jilani Purusottapatnam; Mahale, Alka; Alanazi, Mohammad Saud

2018-01-01

Breast carcinoma is the most common malignancy and leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women worldwide including Saudi Arabia. Breast cancer in Saudi women develops at a much early age with median age of onset of 49 years compared to 62 years observed in patients from USA. Aberrations in wingless and integration site growth factor (Wnt) signaling pathway have been pathologically implicated in development of breast cancers and hence its role was examined in Saudi patients. We immunohistochemically examined various components of Wnt signaling pathway including β-catenin, tumor suppressor proteins, adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), and Axin, expression of naturally occurring pathway antagonists such as Dickkopf Wnt signaling pathway inhibitor 3 (DKK3), FRP2, and WIF1, as well as Wnt target cyclin D1 and c-Myc to establish if the pathway is constitutively activated in breast cancers arising in Saudi women. Cytoplasmic β-catenin, indicative of activation of the pathway, was observed in 24% of cases. Expression of APC and Axin, which are components of β-catenin destruction complex, was lost in 5% and 10% of tumors, respectively. Additionally, Wnt signaling inhibitors DKK3, FRP2, and Wnt inhibitory factor 1 (WIF1) were not expressed in 8%, 14%, and 5% breast tumors, respectively. Overall, accumulation of cytoplasmic β-catenin and downregulation of other Wnt pathway proteins (APC/Axin/DKK3/FRP2/WIF1) were found in approximately half of the breast cancers (47%) in our cohort. Consistent with this, analysis of Wnt target genes demonstrated moderate-to-strong expression of c-Myc in 58% and cyclin D1 in 50% of breast cancers. Deregulation of Wnt pathway was not associated with age of onset of the disease, tumor grade, and triple-negative status of breast cancers. High level of deregulated expression of Wnt pathway proteins suggests its important role in pathogenesis of breast cancers arising in Saudi women who may benefit from development of therapeutic drugs

Constitutive expression of a fungus-inducible carboxylesterase improves disease resistance in transgenic pepper plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Moonkyung; Cho, Jung Hyun; Seo, Hyo-Hyoun; Lee, Hyun-Hwa; Kang, Ha-Young; Nguyen, Thai Son; Soh, Hyun Cheol; Kim, Young Soon; Kim, Jeong-Il

2016-08-01

Resistance against anthracnose fungi was enhanced in transgenic pepper plants that accumulated high levels of a carboxylesterase, PepEST in anthracnose-susceptible fruits, with a concurrent induction of antioxidant enzymes and SA-dependent PR proteins. A pepper esterase gene (PepEST) is highly expressed during the incompatible interaction between ripe fruits of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) and a hemibiotrophic anthracnose fungus (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides). In this study, we found that exogenous application of recombinant PepEST protein on the surface of the unripe pepper fruits led to a potentiated state for disease resistance in the fruits, including generation of hydrogen peroxide and expression of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes that encode mostly small proteins with antimicrobial activity. To elucidate the role of PepEST in plant defense, we further developed transgenic pepper plants overexpressing PepEST under the control of CaMV 35S promoter. Molecular analysis confirmed the establishment of three independent transgenic lines carrying single copy of transgenes. The level of PepEST protein was estimated to be approximately 0.002 % of total soluble protein in transgenic fruits. In response to the anthracnose fungus, the transgenic fruits displayed higher expression of PR genes, PR3, PR5, PR10, and PepThi, than non-transgenic control fruits did. Moreover, immunolocalization results showed concurrent localization of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and PR3 proteins, along with the PepEST protein, in the infected region of transgenic fruits. Disease rate analysis revealed significantly low occurrence of anthracnose disease in the transgenic fruits, approximately 30 % of that in non-transgenic fruits. Furthermore, the transgenic plants also exhibited resistance against C. acutatum and C. coccodes. Collectively, our results suggest that overexpression of PepEST in pepper confers enhanced resistance against the anthracnose fungi by activating the defense signaling

78 FR 57777 - Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, Constitution Week, 2013

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-19

... strength of our common ideals. In a document that has endured for more than two and a quarter centuries, the Framers put forth their vision for a more perfect Union. Our Constitution was signed on September... citizenship, recognize the enduring strength of our Constitution, and reaffirm our commitment to the rights...

Change of position of constitutional judiciary

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Orlović Slobodan P.

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Constitutional judiciary is the youngest branch of authority in the horizontal level of state power. Constitutional judiciary has, during its existence - during two centuries as an ordinary court and during one century as a special authority, changed its position, role and importance. Those characteristics of constitutional judiciary had an increasing way - the position became better, in political and law sense, its role has expanded and the importance has increased. Today, constitutional judiciary is an inevitable subject of constitutional regimes in huge number of states (between them are almost all federations but, in the same time, constitutional judiciary is an authority which is at least limited by the constitution. The constitution is "soft" to the constitutional judiciary because the judiciary interpreted the constitution in accordance to its political and law attitudes, hidden by the guise of protection. Different separation of power, a rise of executive power, requests for better protections of fundamental human rights, a changed role of state and executive power, altogether, have influenced to change of position of constitutional judiciary.

Contested constitutions: Legitimacy of constitution-making and constitutional conflict in Central Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Raadt, J.B.

2009-01-01

What were the effects of constitution-making procedures on the acceptance of the new "rules of the political game" in postcommunist Central Europe? This article sets out to scrutinise the increasingly popular claim among politicians and scholars of democratisation that inclusiveness and popular

Constitutional Referendums:A Theoretical Enquiry

OpenAIRE

Tierney, Stephen

2009-01-01

In recent decades the use of referendums to settle major constitutional questions has increased dramatically. Addressing this phenomenon as a case study in the relationship between democracy and constitutional sovereignty, this article has two aims.The first is to argue that these constitutional referendums are categorically different from ordinary, legislative referendums, and that this has important implications for theories of constitutional sovereignty. Secondly, the article suggests that...

Isolation and functional characterization of a cotton ubiquitination-related promoter and 5'UTR that drives high levels of expression in root and flower tissues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viana Antonio AB

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Cotton (Gossypium spp. is an important crop worldwide that provides raw material to 40% of the textile fiber industry. Important traits have been studied aiming the development of genetically modified crops including resistance to insect and diseases, and tolerance to drought, cold and herbicide. Therefore, the characterization of promoters and regulatory regions is also important to achieve high gene expression and/or a specific expression pattern. Commonly, genes involved in ubiquitination pathways are highly and differentially expressed. In this study, we analyzed the expression of a cotton ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (E2 family member with no previous characterization. Results Nucleotide analysis revealed high identity with cotton E2 homologues. Multiple alignment showed a premature stop codon, which prevents the encoding of the conserved cysteine residue at the E2 active site, and an intron that is spliced in E2 homologues, but not in GhGDRP85. The GhGDRP85 gene is highly expressed in different organs of cotton plants, and has high transcript levels in roots. Its promoter (uceApro2 and the 5'UTR compose a regulatory region named uceA1.7, and were isolated from cotton and studied in Arabidopsis thaliana. uceA1.7 shows strong expression levels, equaling or surpassing the expression levels of CaMV35S. The uceA1.7 regulatory sequence drives GUS expression 7-fold higher in flowers, 2-fold in roots and at similar levels in leaves and stems. GUS expression levels are decreased 7- to 15-fold when its 5'UTR is absent in uceApro2. Conclusions uceA1.7 is a strong constitutive regulatory sequence composed of a promoter (uceApro2 and its 5'UTR that will be useful in genetic transformation of dicots, having high potential to drive high levels of transgene expression in crops, particularly for traits desirable in flower and root tissues.

Constitutional reform as process

OpenAIRE

Schultze, Rainer-Olaf (Prof.)

2000-01-01

Constitutional reform as process. - In: The politics of constitutional reform in North America / Rainer-Olaf Schultze ... (eds.). - Opladen : Leske + Budrich, 2000. - S. 11-31. - (Politikwissenschaftliche paperbacks ; 30)

Constitutive and ligand-induced TCR degradation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

von Essen, Marina; Bonefeld, Charlotte Menné; Siersma, Volkert

2004-01-01

Modulation of TCR expression levels is a central event during T cell development and activation, and it probably plays an important role in adjusting T cell responsiveness. Conflicting data have been published on down-regulation and degradation rates of the individual TCR subunits, and several di...... to the lysosomes. Similar results were obtained in studies of primary human Vbeta8+ T cells stimulated with superantigen. Based on these results, the simplest model for TCR internalization, sorting, and degradation is proposed.......Modulation of TCR expression levels is a central event during T cell development and activation, and it probably plays an important role in adjusting T cell responsiveness. Conflicting data have been published on down-regulation and degradation rates of the individual TCR subunits, and several...... divergent models for TCR down-regulation and degradation have been suggested. The aims of this study were to determine the rate constants for constitutive and ligand-induced TCR degradation and to determine whether the TCR subunits segregate or are processed as an intact unit during TCR down...

Post-Revolution Constitutionalism: The Impact of Drafting Processes on the Constitutional Documents in Tunisia and Egypt

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elsayed, Ahmed Mohamed Abdelfattah

2014-01-01

This paper seeks to address the constitutional paths that followed the Arab awakening in both Tunisia and Egypt. The Tunisian constitutional process, despite some tensions, was largely peaceful and consensual. On the other hand, the process in Egypt of establishing a new constitutional arrangement...... at identifying the factors have impacted both the constitutional drafting process and the popular perception of the produced constitutions in each of Tunisia and Egypt....

Strain rate dependent tensile behavior of advanced high strength steels: Experiment and constitutive modeling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Ji-Hoon; Kim, Daeyong; Han, Heung Nam; Barlat, F.; Lee, Myoung-Gyu

2013-01-01

High strain rate tensile tests were conducted for three advanced high strength steels: DP780, DP980 and TRIP780. A high strain rate tensile test machine was used for applying the strain rate ranging from 0.1/s to 500/s. Details of the measured stress–strain responses were comparatively analyzed for the DP780 and TRIP780 steels which show similar microstructural feature and ultimate tensile strength, but different strengthening mechanisms. The experimental observations included: usual strain rate dependent plastic flow stress behavior in terms of the yield stress (YS), the ultimate tensile strength (UTS), the uniform elongation (UE) and the total elongation (TE) which were observed for the three materials. But, higher strain hardening rate at early plastic strain under quasi-static condition than that of some increased strain rates was featured for TRIP780 steel, which might result from more active transformation during deformation with lower velocity. The uniform elongation that explains the onset of instability and the total elongation were larger in case of TRIP steel than the DP steel for the whole strain rate range, but interestingly the fracture strain measured by the reduction of area (RA) method showed that the TRIP steel has lower values than DP steel. The fractographs using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) at the fractured surfaces were analyzed to relate measured fracture strain and the microstructural difference of the two materials during the process of fracture under various strain rates. Finally, constitutive modeling for the plastic flow stresses under various strain rates was provided in this study. The proposed constitutive law could represent both Hollomon-like and Voce-like hardening laws and the ratio between the two hardening types was efficiently controlled as a function of strain rate. The new strength model was validated successfully under various strain rates for several grades of steels such as mild steels, DP780, TRIP780, DP980 steels.

Constitutive mRNA expression and protein activity levels of nine ABC efflux transporters in seven permanent cell lines derived from different tissues of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Stephan; Loncar, Jovica; Zaja, Roko; Schnell, Sabine; Schirmer, Kristin; Smital, Tvrtko; Luckenbach, Till

2011-01-25

Permanent fish cell lines have become common model systems for determining ecotoxicological effects of pollutants. For these cell lines little is known on the cellular active transport mechanisms that control the amount of a compound entering the cell, such as the MXR (multixenobiotic resistance) system mediated by ATP binding cassette (ABC) transport proteins. Therefore, for toxic evaluation of chemicals with those cells information on MXR is important. We here present data on constitutive mRNA expression and protein activity levels of a series of ABC efflux transporters in seven permanent cell lines derived from liver (RTL-W1; R1) and liver hepatoma (RTH-149), gill (RTgill-W1), gonad (RTG-2), gut (RTgutGC) and brain (RTbrain) of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). In addition to known transporters abcb1 (designated here abcb1a), abcb11, abcc1-3, abcc5 and abcg2, we quantified expression levels of a newly identified abcb1 isoform (abcb1b) and abcc4, previously unknown in trout. Quantitative real time PCR (qPCR) indicated that mRNA of the examined ABC transporters was constitutively expressed in all cell lines. Transporter mRNA expression patterns were similar in all cell lines, with expression levels of abcc transporters being 80 to over 1000 fold higher than for abcg2, abcb1a/b and abcb11 (abcc1-5>abcg2>abcb1a/b, 11). Transporter activity in the cell lines was determined by measuring uptake of transporter type specific fluorescent substrates in the presence of activity inhibitors. The combination of the ABCB1 and ABCC transporter substrate calcein-AM with inhibitors cyclosporine A, PSC833 and MK571 resulted in a concentration-dependent fluorescence increase of up to 3-fold, whereas reversin 205 caused a slight, but not concentration-dependent fluorescence increase. Accumulation of the dyes Hoechst 33342 and 2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate was basically unchanged in the presence of Ko134 and taurocholate, respectively, indicating low Abcg2 and Abcb11

Constitutively active Notch1 converts cranial neural crest-derived frontonasal mesenchyme to perivascular cells in vivo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sophie R. Miller

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Perivascular/mural cells originate from either the mesoderm or the cranial neural crest. Regardless of their origin, Notch signalling is necessary for their formation. Furthermore, in both chicken and mouse, constitutive Notch1 activation (via expression of the Notch1 intracellular domain is sufficient in vivo to convert trunk mesoderm-derived somite cells to perivascular cells, at the expense of skeletal muscle. In experiments originally designed to investigate the effect of premature Notch1 activation on the development of neural crest-derived olfactory ensheathing glial cells (OECs, we used in ovo electroporation to insert a tetracycline-inducible NotchΔE construct (encoding a constitutively active mutant of mouse Notch1 into the genome of chicken cranial neural crest cell precursors, and activated NotchΔE expression by doxycycline injection at embryonic day 4. NotchΔE-targeted cells formed perivascular cells within the frontonasal mesenchyme, and expressed a perivascular marker on the olfactory nerve. Hence, constitutively activating Notch1 is sufficient in vivo to drive not only somite cells, but also neural crest-derived frontonasal mesenchyme and perhaps developing OECs, to a perivascular cell fate. These results also highlight the plasticity of neural crest-derived mesenchyme and glia.

The diffusion of constitutional rights

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Goderis, B.V.G.; Versteeg, M.

Constitutions are commonly regarded as uniquely national products, shaped by domestic ideals and politics. This paper develops and empirically investigates a novel hypothesis, which is that constitutions are also shaped by transnational influence, or “diffusion.” Constitutional rights can diffuse

Federalism and constitutional change in Nigeria

OpenAIRE

Okpanachi, Eyene; Garba, Ali

2010-01-01

In comparison with established democracies Nigeria is a highly populated and ethnic fragmented state. Therefore after colonial rule and independence a federal constitutional structure was supposed to bring the processes for conflict resolution between the ethnic groups. In 1960 Nigeria started as a highly decentralised state and went through important changes until 1999 towards greater centralisation which found its culmination in regular military governments and open conflicts. Until 1999 ea...

Constitutive STAT5 Activation Correlates With Better Survival in Cervical Cancer Patients Treated With Radiation Therapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Helen H.W. [Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cheng Kung University, Medical College and Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan (China); Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan (China); Chou, Cheng-Yang [Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, National Cheng Kung University, Medical College and Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan (China); Wu, Yuan-Hua; Hsueh, Wei-Ting; Hsu, Chiung-Hui [Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cheng Kung University, Medical College and Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan (China); Guo, How-Ran [Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, National Cheng Kung University, Medical College and Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan (China); Lee, Wen-Ying, E-mail: 7707@so-net.net.tw [Department of Pathology, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan (China) and Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan (China); Su, Wu-Chou, E-mail: sunnysu@mail.ncku.edu.tw [Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Medical College and Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan (China)

2012-02-01

Purpose: Constitutively activated signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) factors, in particular STAT1, STAT3, and STAT5, have been detected in a wide variety of human primary tumors and have been demonstrated to directly contribute to oncogenesis. However, the expression pattern of these STATs in cervical carcinoma is still unknown, as is whether or not they have prognostic significance. This study investigated the expression patterns of STAT1, STAT3, and STAT5 in cervical cancer and their associations with clinical outcomes in patients treated with radical radiation therapy. Methods and Materials: A total of 165 consecutive patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) Stages IB to IVA cervical cancer underwent radical radiation therapy, including external beam and/or high-dose-rate brachytherapy between 1989 and 2002. Immunohistochemical studies of their formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues were performed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify and to evaluate the effects of these factors affecting patient survival. Results: Constitutive activations of STAT1, STAT3, and STAT5 were observed in 11%, 22%, and 61% of the participants, respectively. While STAT5 activation was associated with significantly better metastasis-free survival (p < 0.01) and overall survival (p = 0.04), STAT1 and STAT3 activation were not. Multivariate analyses showed that STAT5 activation, bulky tumor ({>=}4 cm), advanced stage (FIGO Stages III and IV), and brachytherapy (yes vs. no) were independent prognostic factors for cause-specific overall survival. None of the STATs was associated with local relapse. STAT5 activation (odds ratio = 0.29, 95% confidence interval = 0.13-0.63) and advanced stage (odds ratio = 2.54; 95% confidence interval = 1.03-6.26) were independent predictors of distant metastasis. Conclusions: This is the first report to provide the overall expression patterns and prognostic significance of

High Cell Density Process for Constitutive Production of a Recombinant Phytase in Thermotolerant Methylotrophic Yeast Ogataea thermomethanolica Using Table Sugar as Carbon Source.

Science.gov (United States)

Charoenrat, Theppanya; Antimanon, Sompot; Kocharin, Kanokarn; Tanapongpipat, Sutipa; Roongsawang, Niran

2016-12-01

The yeast Ogataea thermomethanolica has recently emerged as a potential host for heterologous protein expression at elevated temperature. To evaluate the feasibility of O. thermomethanolica as heterologous host in large-scale fermentation, constitutive production of fungal phytase was investigated in fed-batch fermentation. The effect of different temperatures, substrate feeding strategies, and carbon sources on phytase production was investigated. It was found that O. thermomethanolica can grow in the temperature up to 40 °C and optimal at 34 °C. However, the maximum phytase production was observed at 30 °C and slightly decreased at 34 °C. The DOT stat control was the most efficient feeding strategy to obtain high cell density and avoid by-product formation. The table sugar can be used as an alternative substrate for phytase production in O. thermomethanolica. The highest phytase activity (134 U/mL) was obtained from table sugar at 34 °C which was 20-fold higher than batch culture (5.7 U/mL). At a higher cultivation temperature of 38 °C, table sugar can be used as a low-cost substrate for the production of phytase which was expressed with an acceptable yield (85 U/mL). Lastly, the results from this study reveal the industrial favorable benefits of employing O. thermomethanolica as a host for heterologous protein production.

Legitimacy of Constitutional Justice: Democracy, Constitutional Court and Theory Against Majority Interest

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thaminne Nathalia Cabral Moraes e Silva

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This article has as its theme the analysis of the separation of powers and the rule of democracy, in addition to the possibility of the Constitutional Court be composed of people appointed by the President of the Republic, not fulfilling the democratic rule, and make the control of constitutionality of laws, created through democratic process. Will be answered: the separation of powers obey the democratic rule? When the Legislature fails to fulfill its function of legislating, opens the opportunity for the Supreme Court, as the Constitutional Court that is, create, through judicial activism, silent rules? That injured the democratic rule?

Human Rights in Armed Conflicts and Constitutional Law

OpenAIRE

Antonios Maniatis

2017-01-01

The main purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of both International Humanitarian Law and anti-piracy International Law on Constitutional Law. International Law is endowed with a rich set of norms on the protection of private individuals in armed conflicts and copes with the diachronic crime of maritime piracy, which may be considered as a private war in the high seas. Constitutional Law has been traditionally geared at two generations of fundamental rights. The paper will aim at a...

Legal theology in imposed constitutionalism

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Abat Ninet, Antoni

2018-01-01

The focus of this paper is the question of legitimacy, and how can we consider legitimate an imposed constitution and the subsequent constitutional principles, practices and values that go hand-in-hand with the legal and political acculturation. Constitutional texts around the world are good...

Сontemporary forms of protection of the constitution: comparative legal aspects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Д. П. Таран

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Systematic analysis of protection forms of the constitution allows to identify legal tools that can be applied in order to prevent encroachments on the constitutional values or in the commission of such an offense or to identify the real threat. Up to now there is no a single approach to understanding of protection of the constitution, its relationship with the protection, system of its forms and so on. There remain unclear regularities that have their influence on different protection forms of the constitution in foreign countries as well as the consistency and adequacy of the use of such forms in Ukraine. Recent research and publications analysis. Scientists name various forms of protection of the constitution. Approaches of scientists that give their lists differ very much. Hence there is no necessity in talking about some constant regarding this matter. Some aspects of the issue that is related to the system of protection forms of the constitution found their reflection in the works of local and foreign scientists such as Y.G. Barabash, M.V. Vitruk, I.V. Koreyba, K.O. Pavshuk, P.B. Stetsyuk, K. Hesse, T. Y. Habriyeva, V.E. Chyrkin and others. Paper objective. The objectives of the paper are: clarification of the nature of the protection of the constitution and what means or what forms and what subjects it should be implemented by; the comparison of the experience of foreign countries regarding the issue and determination of the reasons for which different countries use different protection forms of the constitutions; expression of suggestions regarding legislation improvement in regards to specific protection forms of the Constitution of Ukraine. Paper main body. Countries with established democracy traditionally use a smaller set of protection forms of the constitution and the concept of "protection of the constitution" itself is almost not applied. The opposite approach is inherent to countries emerging from totalitarian and authoritarian

Differential gene expression by RamA in ciprofloxacin-resistant Salmonella Typhimurium.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jie Zheng

Full Text Available Overexpression of ramA has been implicated in resistance to multiple drugs in several enterobacterial pathogens. In the present study, Salmonella Typhimurium strain LTL with constitutive expression of ramA was compared to its ramA-deletion mutant by employing both DNA microarrays and phenotype microarrays (PM. The mutant strain with the disruption of ramA showed differential expression of at least 33 genes involved in 11 functional groups. The study confirmed at the transcriptional level that the constitutive expression of ramA was directly associated with increased expression of multidrug efflux pump AcrAB-TolC and decreased expression of porin protein OmpF, thereby conferring multiple drug resistance phenotype. Compared to the parent strain constitutively expressing ramA, the ramA mutant had increased susceptibility to over 70 antimicrobials and toxic compounds. The PM analysis also uncovered that the ramA mutant was better in utilization of 10 carbon sources and 5 phosphorus sources. This study suggested that the constitutive expression of ramA locus regulate not only multidrug efflux pump and accessory genes but also genes involved in carbon metabolic pathways.

A micromorphic model for monolayer hexagonal boron nitride with determined constitutive constants by phonon dispersions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Bin; Yang, Gang

2014-01-01

A two dimensional (2D) micromorphic model is developed for monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). Theoretical expressions of phonon dispersions for 2D crystals are derived based on the simplified governing equations of specialized three dimensional micromorphic crystals. The constitutive constants of governing equations of the h-BN micromorphic model are determined, which is performed by fitting the available phonon dispersions data of experimental measurements and first-principles calculations with our theoretical expressions. The obtained Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio of h-BN are comparable with the results of ab initio calculations and inelastic x-ray scattering experiments, thus the constitutive relations of the h-BN model are verified, which also indicates that mechanical properties of monolayer h-BN could be characterized by our 2D micromorphic model

Constitutive activation of the ERK pathway in melanoma and skin melanocytes in Grey horses.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Lin; Campagne, Cécile; Sundström, Elisabeth; Sousa, Pedro; Imran, Saima; Seltenhammer, Monika; Pielberg, Gerli; Olsson, Mats J; Egidy, Giorgia; Andersson, Leif; Golovko, Anna

2014-11-21

Constitutive activation of the ERK pathway, occurring in the vast majority of melanocytic neoplasms, has a pivotal role in melanoma development. Different mechanisms underlie this activation in different tumour settings. The Grey phenotype in horses, caused by a 4.6 kb duplication in intron 6 of Syntaxin 17 (STX17), is associated with a very high incidence of cutaneous melanoma, but the molecular mechanism behind the melanomagenesis remains unknown. Here, we investigated the involvement of the ERK pathway in melanoma development in Grey horses. Grey horse melanoma tumours, cell lines and normal skin melanocytes were analyzed with help of indirect immunofluorescence and immunoblotting for the expression of phospho-ERK1/2 in comparison to that in non-grey horse and human counterparts. The mutational status of BRAF, RAS, GNAQ, GNA11 and KIT genes in Grey horse melanomas was determined by direct sequencing. The effect of RAS, RAF and PI3K/AKT pathways on the activation of the ERK signaling in Grey horse melanoma cells was investigated with help of specific inhibitors and immunoblotting. Individual roles of RAF and RAS kinases on the ERK activation were examined using si-RNA based approach and immunoblotting. We found that the ERK pathway is constitutively activated in Grey horse melanoma tumours and cell lines in the absence of somatic activating mutations in BRAF, RAS, GNAQ, GNA11 and KIT genes or alterations in the expression of the main components of the pathway. The pathway is mitogenic and is mediated by BRAF, CRAF and KRAS kinases. Importantly, we found high activation of the ERK pathway also in epidermal melanocytes, suggesting a general predisposition to melanomagenesis in these horses. These findings demonstrate that the presence of the intronic 4.6 kb duplication in STX17 is strongly associated with constitutive activation of the ERK pathway in melanocytic cells in Grey horses in the absence of somatic mutations commonly linked to the activation of this

Multistate and phase change selection in constitutional multivalent systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Barboiu, Mihail

2012-01-01

Molecular architectures and materials can be constitutionally self-sorted in the presence of different biomolecular targets or external physical stimuli or chemical effectors, thus responding to an external selection pressure. The high selectivity and specificity of different bioreceptors or self-correlated internal interactions may be used to describe the complex constitutional behaviors through multistate component selection from a dynamic library. The self-selection may result in the dynamic amplification of self-optimized architectures during the phase change process. The sol-gel resolution of dynamic molecular/supramolecular libraries leads to higher self-organized constitutional hybrid materials, in which organic (supramolecular)/inorganic domains are reversibily connected.

Dynamic Plasticity and Fracture in High Density Polycrystals: Constitutive Modeling and Numerical Simulation

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Clayton, J. D

2006-01-01

Presented is a constitutive framework for modeling the dynamic response of polycrystalline microstructures, posed in a thermodynamically consistent manner and accounting for finite deformation, strain...

Constitutive Equation with Varying Parameters for Superplastic Flow Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Guan, Zhiping; Ren, Mingwen; Jia, Hongjie; Zhao, Po; Ma, Pinkui

2014-03-01

In this study, constitutive equations for superplastic materials with an extra large elongation were investigated through mechanical analysis. From the view of phenomenology, firstly, some traditional empirical constitutive relations were standardized by restricting some strain paths and parameter conditions, and the coefficients in these relations were strictly given new mechanical definitions. Subsequently, a new, general constitutive equation with varying parameters was theoretically deduced based on the general mechanical equation of state. The superplastic tension test data of Zn-5%Al alloy at 340 °C under strain rates, velocities, and loads were employed for building a new constitutive equation and examining its validity. Analysis results indicated that the constitutive equation with varying parameters could characterize superplastic flow behavior in practical superplastic forming with high prediction accuracy and without any restriction of strain path or deformation condition, showing good industrial or scientific interest. On the contrary, those empirical equations have low prediction capabilities due to constant parameters and poor applicability because of the limit of special strain path or parameter conditions based on strict phenomenology.

Political dimension of European constitutionalism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaplánová Patricia

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Author in the article tries to analyse different elements of document called European Constitution. Analysis is supported with theoretical framework of federalism, presented by Brezovšek. Authors is playing with idea of (confederal and international organization elements of European Constitution and their mix. They are also trying to set some connections between so called common European identity as necessary condition to give legitimacy to the European Constitution. This became important question after „votes of non-confidence“ to the European Constitution in France, despite it should be addressed already before. However, European Constitution is important document on the path of European integration and lack of support to it will slow down this process of widening and deepening European ties.

COUNTERMAJORITARIAN INSTITUTIONS IN THE RUSSIAN CONSTITUTION OF 1993 AS AN INSTRUMENT ENSURING CONSTITUTIONAL AND POLITICAL STABILITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Shakhray

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The article enriches the discussion on the legal reasons and conditions fostering the viability of democratic constitutions by analyzing the rich experience of the Russian Constitution of 1993. Particular attention is paid to the concept of countermajoritarian institutions. The authors elaborate the idea that countermajoritarian institutions can play an important role in ensuring the viability (put in other terms, the proper balance between stability, adaptability, and dynamic development of modern democratic constitutions as well as political regimes.The article presents evidence-based data showing that the President and the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation systematically acted as countermajoritarian institutions at the initial stage of the implementation of the “blueprint for the future” set down in the 1993 Russian Constitution. As a result of the activities of these institutions, strong legal frameworks were created that are necessary for the establishment of anew constitutional system of the Russian state and law.Today, the Russian Constitution of 1993 is one of the longest lasting democratic constitutions in the world (the average “life expectancy” of democratic constitutions adopted over the past 250 years is about seventeen years. The study of the countermajoritarian provisions in the 1993 Russian Constitution is of both theoretical and practical importance. In particular, the results of the study can be useful in creating efficient legal instruments for the maintenance of political stability and social development management both within sovereign states and within interstate communities.

Legal positions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine: main signs and definition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Romana Reva

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The practice of a single body of constitutional jurisdiction indicates on the necessity of a certain number of amendments to the current Law of Ukraine “On the Constitutional Court of Ukraine”. It is impossible to achieve the quality regulation of these issues without a thorough scientific analysis of basic features of the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. The purpose of the article is to analyze the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and scientific views on their signs, to identify and describe the main features of the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. There are the conclusions made that an important step in any legal position research is the establishment of the legal nature. The article discusses different scientific views on the basic features of the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. On the basis of the analysis of acts of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and scientific works, there are defined, in particular, the following main features of the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine: they are the result of interpretation and represent the most generalized, concentrated expression of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine understanding of the provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine, laws and/ or other regulations, which are carried out within the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine; they are the basis for the final decision, which is set in the act of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine; they appear in the reasoning and/ or the operative parts of the decisions and conclusions and some rulings; they have a special legal force; they are obligatory, that are binding throughout the territory of Ukraine for all public authorities, local governments, enterprises, institutions and organizations, officials, citizens and their associations; suitable for further repeated use in solving similar cases; as opposed to the decisions of

Constitutive activation of Gli2 impairs bone formation in postnatal growing mice.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyu Sang Joeng

Full Text Available Indian hedgehog (Ihh signaling is indispensable for osteoblast differentiation during endochondral bone development in the mouse embryo. We have previously shown that the Gli2 transcription activator critically mediates Ihh function in osteoblastogenesis. To explore the possibility that activation of Hedgehog (Hh signaling may enhance bone formation, we generated mice that expressed a constitutively active form of Gli2 in the Osx-lineage cells. Unexpectedly, these mice exhibited severe osteopenia due to a marked decrease in osteoblast number and function, although bone resorption was not affected. Quantitative analyses of the molecular markers indicated that osteoblast differentiation was impaired in the mutant mouse. However, the osteoblast-lineage cells isolated from these mice exhibited more robust osteoblast differentiation than normal in vitro. Similarly, pharmacological stimulation of Hh signaling enhanced osteoblast differentiation from Osx-expressing cells isolated from the wild-type mouse. Thus, even though Hh signaling directly promotes osteoblast differentiation in vitro, constitutive activation of this pathway impairs bone formation in vivo, perhaps through an indirect mechanism.

Selective elimination of high constitutive activity or chemokine binding in the human herpesvirus 8 encoded seven transmembrane oncogene ORF74

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rosenkilde, M M; Kledal, T N; Holst, Peter Johannes

2000-01-01

Open reading frame 74 (ORF74) encoded by human herpesvirus 8 is a highly constitutively active seven transmembrane (7TM) receptor stimulated by angiogenic chemokines, e.g. growth-related oncogene-alpha, and inhibited by angiostatic chemokines e.g. interferon-gamma-inducible protein. Transgenic mice...

Activation of the Constitutive Androstane Receptor induces hepatic lipogenesis and regulates Pnpla3 gene expression in a LXR-independent way

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marmugi, Alice; Lukowicz, Céline; Lasserre, Frederic; Montagner, Alexandra; Polizzi, Arnaud; Ducheix, Simon; Goron, Adeline; Gamet-Payrastre, Laurence; Gerbal-Chaloin, Sabine; Pascussi, Jean Marc; Moldes, Marthe; Pineau, Thierry; Guillou, Hervé; Mselli-Lakhal, Laila

2016-01-01

The Constitutive Androstane Receptor (CAR, NR1I3) has been newly described as a regulator of energy metabolism. A relevant number of studies using animal models of obesity suggest that CAR activation could be beneficial on the metabolic balance. However, this remains controversial and the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. This work aimed to investigate the effect of CAR activation on hepatic energy metabolism during physiological conditions, i.e. in mouse models not subjected to metabolic/nutritional stress. Gene expression profiling in the liver of CAR knockout and control mice on chow diet and treated with a CAR agonist highlighted CAR-mediated up-regulations of lipogenic genes, concomitant with neutral lipid accumulation. A strong CAR-mediated up-regulation of the patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing protein 3 (Pnpla3) was demonstrated. Pnpla3 is a gene whose polymorphism is associated with the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) development. This observation was confirmed in human hepatocytes treated with the antiepileptic drug and CAR activator, phenobarbital and in immortalized human hepatocytes treated with CITCO. Studying the molecular mechanisms controlling Pnpla3 gene expression, we demonstrated that CAR does not act by a direct regulation of Pnpla3 transcription or via the Liver X Receptor but may rather involve the transcription factor Carbohydrate Responsive Element-binding protein. These data provide new insights into the regulation by CAR of glycolytic and lipogenic genes and on pathogenesis of steatosis. This also raises the question concerning the impact of drugs and environmental contaminants in lipid-associated metabolic diseases. - Highlights: • Induction of hepatic glycolytic and lipogenic genes upon CAR activation by TCPOBOP. • These effects are not mediated by the nuclear receptor LXR. • CAR activation resulted in hepatic lipid accumulation. • Pnpla3 expression is regulated by CAR in mouse liver and

Activation of the Constitutive Androstane Receptor induces hepatic lipogenesis and regulates Pnpla3 gene expression in a LXR-independent way

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marmugi, Alice; Lukowicz, Céline; Lasserre, Frederic; Montagner, Alexandra; Polizzi, Arnaud; Ducheix, Simon; Goron, Adeline; Gamet-Payrastre, Laurence [INRA, TOXALIM (Research Centre in Food Toxicology), Toulouse (France); Université de Toulouse, INP, UPS, TOXALIM, Toulouse (France); Gerbal-Chaloin, Sabine [Institute of Regenerative Medicine and Biotherapy, INSERM, U1183 Montpellier (France); Pascussi, Jean Marc [Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR5203, Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle, Montpellier (France); Moldes, Marthe [Centre de Recherche Saint-Antoine, INSERM, UMR 938, Sorbonne Universités, Université Paris 6, Paris (France); Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire ICAN, Paris (France); Pineau, Thierry; Guillou, Hervé [INRA, TOXALIM (Research Centre in Food Toxicology), Toulouse (France); Université de Toulouse, INP, UPS, TOXALIM, Toulouse (France); Mselli-Lakhal, Laila, E-mail: laila.lakhal@toulouse.inra.fr [INRA, TOXALIM (Research Centre in Food Toxicology), Toulouse (France); Université de Toulouse, INP, UPS, TOXALIM, Toulouse (France)

2016-07-15

The Constitutive Androstane Receptor (CAR, NR1I3) has been newly described as a regulator of energy metabolism. A relevant number of studies using animal models of obesity suggest that CAR activation could be beneficial on the metabolic balance. However, this remains controversial and the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. This work aimed to investigate the effect of CAR activation on hepatic energy metabolism during physiological conditions, i.e. in mouse models not subjected to metabolic/nutritional stress. Gene expression profiling in the liver of CAR knockout and control mice on chow diet and treated with a CAR agonist highlighted CAR-mediated up-regulations of lipogenic genes, concomitant with neutral lipid accumulation. A strong CAR-mediated up-regulation of the patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing protein 3 (Pnpla3) was demonstrated. Pnpla3 is a gene whose polymorphism is associated with the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) development. This observation was confirmed in human hepatocytes treated with the antiepileptic drug and CAR activator, phenobarbital and in immortalized human hepatocytes treated with CITCO. Studying the molecular mechanisms controlling Pnpla3 gene expression, we demonstrated that CAR does not act by a direct regulation of Pnpla3 transcription or via the Liver X Receptor but may rather involve the transcription factor Carbohydrate Responsive Element-binding protein. These data provide new insights into the regulation by CAR of glycolytic and lipogenic genes and on pathogenesis of steatosis. This also raises the question concerning the impact of drugs and environmental contaminants in lipid-associated metabolic diseases. - Highlights: • Induction of hepatic glycolytic and lipogenic genes upon CAR activation by TCPOBOP. • These effects are not mediated by the nuclear receptor LXR. • CAR activation resulted in hepatic lipid accumulation. • Pnpla3 expression is regulated by CAR in mouse liver and

High Expression of Cry1Ac Protein in Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum by Combining Independent Transgenic Events that Target the Protein to Cytoplasm and Plastids.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amarjeet Kumar Singh

Full Text Available Transgenic cotton was developed using two constructs containing a truncated and codon-modified cry1Ac gene (1,848 bp, which was originally characterized from Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies kurstaki strain HD73 that encodes a toxin highly effective against many lepidopteran pests. In Construct I, the cry1Ac gene was cloned under FMVde, a strong constitutively expressing promoter, to express the encoded protein in the cytoplasm. In Construct II, the encoded protein was directed to the plastids using a transit peptide taken from the cotton rbcSIb gene. Genetic transformation experiments with Construct I resulted in a single copy insertion event in which the Cry1Ac protein expression level was 2-2.5 times greater than in the Bacillus thuringiensis cotton event Mon 531, which is currently used in varieties and hybrids grown extensively in India and elsewhere. Another high expression event was selected from transgenics developed with Construct II. The Cry protein expression resulting from this event was observed only in the green plant parts. No transgenic protein expression was observed in the non-green parts, including roots, seeds and non-green floral tissues. Thus, leucoplasts may lack the mechanism to allow entry of a protein tagged with the transit peptide from a protein that is only synthesized in tissues containing mature plastids. Combining the two events through sexual crossing led to near additive levels of the toxin at 4-5 times the level currently used in the field. The two high expression events and their combination will allow for effective resistance management against lepidopteran insect pests, particularly Helicoverpa armigera, using a high dosage strategy.

Elastic-Plastic Constitutive Equation of WC-Co Cemented Carbides with Anisotropic Damage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayakawa, Kunio; Nakamura, Tamotsu; Tanaka, Shigekazu

2007-01-01

Elastic-plastic constitutive equation of WC-Co cemented carbides with anisotropic damage is proposed to predict a precise service life of cold forging tools. A 2nd rank symmetric tensor damage tensor is introduced in order to express the stress unilaterality; a salient difference in uniaxial behavior between tension and compression. The conventional framework of irreversible thermodynamics is used to derive the constitutive equation. The Gibbs potential is formulated as a function of stress, damage tensor, isotropic hardening variable and kinematic hardening variable. The elastic-damage constitutive equation, conjugate forces of damage, isotropic hardening and kinematic hardening variable is derived from the potential. For the kinematic hardening variable, the superposition of three kinematic hardening laws is employed in order to improve the cyclic behavior of the material. For the evolution equation of the damage tensor, the damage is assumed to progress by fracture of the Co matrix - WC particle interface and by the mechanism of fatigue, i.e. the accumulation of microscopic plastic strain in matrix and particles. By using the constitutive equations, calculation of uniaxial tensile and compressive test is performed and the results are compared with the experimental ones in the literature. Furthermore, finite element analysis on cold forward extrusion was carried out, in which the proposed constitutive equation was employed as die insert material

A unified inelastic constitutive equation in terms of anisotropic yield function

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inoue, T.; Imatani, S.

1989-01-01

In order to describe the material behavior under complicated loading conditions, inelastic constitutive equations accounting for the plasticity-creep interaction have been proposed by several researchers. However, these models are developed to predict the hardening and/or softening phenomena during the inelastic deformation processes, and two important features still remain to be considered; material anisotropy induced by the prior deformation history and inelastic flow or, in another word, directionality of the inelastic strain rate. This paper deals with a unified constitutive model capable of expressing both the deformation-induced anisotropy and the anisotropic flow. In the first part of the paper, an anisotropic yield function which can simulate both the Bauschinger effect and the cross effect is proposed. Then, the excess stress theory is applied to a viscoplastic constitutive relationship so as to describe the plasticity-creep interaction behavior. The experimental verification is carried out for SUS304 stainless steel at 650 degrees C in a biaxial stress state. Moreover, a generalized flow rule of the inelastic strain rate is also developed, by which the description of the ratcheting process can be improved

THE PLACE OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN A DEMOCRATIC STATE, THROUGH THE GLASS OF CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valentina BĂRBĂȚEANU

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Political parties are nowadays key actors in democratic societies, shaping social mentalities, creating and following ideologies, inducing common vision, establishing targets and ideals. Their main goal is gaining the political power by conquering the access to the highest levels of decision in the State. They are based on the freedom of association and, unlike other associations, they have a specific constitutional and legal position because they are defining and giving expression to the citizens' political will, in respect of the principles of democracy. Romanian Basic Law provides that political pluralism represents one of the supreme values of the Romanian State governed by the rule of law. In this context, the Constitutional Court has solved, over the years, various issues regarding the political parties. Authorities of constitutional jurisdiction in European countries have also been asked to express, one way or another, their opinion in connection with the activity of the political parties. Taking into consideration their importance for a healthy democratic system, the European Commission for Democracy through Law -Venice Commission has paid special attention to the complexity of aspects involved by the protection of democratic values.

Preubiquitinated chimeric ErbB2 is constitutively endocytosed and subsequently degraded in lysosomes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vuong, Tram Thu [Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Rikshospitalet, 0027 Oslo (Norway); Berger, Christian [Department of Pathology, Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, P.O. Box 4950 Nydalen, 0424 Oslo (Norway); Bertelsen, Vibeke; Rødland, Marianne Skeie [Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Rikshospitalet, 0027 Oslo (Norway); Stang, Espen [Department of Pathology, Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, P.O. Box 4950 Nydalen, 0424 Oslo (Norway); Madshus, Inger Helene, E-mail: i.h.madshus@medisin.uio.no [Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Rikshospitalet, 0027 Oslo (Norway); Department of Pathology, Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, P.O. Box 4950 Nydalen, 0424 Oslo (Norway)

2013-02-01

The oncoprotein ErbB2 is endocytosis-deficient, probably due to its interaction with Heat shock protein 90. We previously demonstrated that clathrin-dependent endocytosis of ErbB2 is induced upon incubation of cells with Ansamycin derivatives, such as geldanamycin and its derivative 17-AAG. Furthermore, we have previously demonstrated that a preubiquitinated chimeric EGFR (EGFR-Ub{sub 4}) is constitutively endocytosed in a clathrin-dependent manner. We now demonstrate that also an ErbB2-Ub{sub 4} chimera is endocytosed constitutively and clathrin-dependently. Upon expression, the ErbB2-Ub{sub 4} was further ubiquitinated, and by Western blotting, we demonstrated the formation of both Lys48-linked and Lys63-linked polyubiquitin chains. ErbB2-Ub{sub 4} was constitutively internalized and eventually sorted to late endosomes and lysosomes where the fusion protein was degraded. ErbB2-Ub{sub 4} was not cleaved prior to internalization. Interestingly, over-expression of Ubiquitin Interaction Motif-containing dominant negative fragments of the clathrin adaptor proteins epsin1 and Eps15 negatively affected endocytosis of ErbB2. Altogether, this argues that ubiquitination is sufficient to induce clathrin-mediated endocytosis and lysosomal degradation of the otherwise plasma membrane localized ErbB2. Also, it appears that C-terminal cleavage is not required for endocytosis. -- Highlights: ► A chimera containing ErbB2 and a tetra-Ubiquitin chain internalizes constitutively. ► Receptor fragmentation is not required for endocytosis of ErbB2. ► Ubiquitination is sufficient to induce endocytosis and degradation of ErbB2. ► ErbB2-Ub4 is internalized clathrin-dependently.

Preubiquitinated chimeric ErbB2 is constitutively endocytosed and subsequently degraded in lysosomes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vuong, Tram Thu; Berger, Christian; Bertelsen, Vibeke; Rødland, Marianne Skeie; Stang, Espen; Madshus, Inger Helene

2013-01-01

The oncoprotein ErbB2 is endocytosis-deficient, probably due to its interaction with Heat shock protein 90. We previously demonstrated that clathrin-dependent endocytosis of ErbB2 is induced upon incubation of cells with Ansamycin derivatives, such as geldanamycin and its derivative 17-AAG. Furthermore, we have previously demonstrated that a preubiquitinated chimeric EGFR (EGFR-Ub 4 ) is constitutively endocytosed in a clathrin-dependent manner. We now demonstrate that also an ErbB2-Ub 4 chimera is endocytosed constitutively and clathrin-dependently. Upon expression, the ErbB2-Ub 4 was further ubiquitinated, and by Western blotting, we demonstrated the formation of both Lys48-linked and Lys63-linked polyubiquitin chains. ErbB2-Ub 4 was constitutively internalized and eventually sorted to late endosomes and lysosomes where the fusion protein was degraded. ErbB2-Ub 4 was not cleaved prior to internalization. Interestingly, over-expression of Ubiquitin Interaction Motif-containing dominant negative fragments of the clathrin adaptor proteins epsin1 and Eps15 negatively affected endocytosis of ErbB2. Altogether, this argues that ubiquitination is sufficient to induce clathrin-mediated endocytosis and lysosomal degradation of the otherwise plasma membrane localized ErbB2. Also, it appears that C-terminal cleavage is not required for endocytosis. -- Highlights: ► A chimera containing ErbB2 and a tetra-Ubiquitin chain internalizes constitutively. ► Receptor fragmentation is not required for endocytosis of ErbB2. ► Ubiquitination is sufficient to induce endocytosis and degradation of ErbB2. ► ErbB2-Ub4 is internalized clathrin-dependently.

A Highly Expressed High-Molecular-Weight S-Layer Complex of Pelosinus sp. Strain UFO1 Binds Uranium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thorgersen, Michael P. [Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States). Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Lancaster, W. Andrew [Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States). Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Rajeev, Lara [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Biological Systems and Engineering Division; Ge, Xiaoxuan [Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States). Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Vaccaro, Brian J. [Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States). Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Poole, Farris L. [Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States). Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Arkin, Adam P. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Biological Systems and Engineering Division; Mukhopadhyay, Aindrila [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Biological Systems and Engineering Division; Adams, Michael W. W. [Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States). Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

2016-12-02

Cell suspensions of Pelosinus sp. strain UFO1 were previously shown, using spectroscopic analysis, to sequester uranium as U(IV) complexed with carboxyl and phosphoryl group ligands on proteins. The goal of our present study was to characterize the proteins involved in uranium binding. Virtually all of the uranium in UFO1 cells was associated with a heterodimeric protein, which was termed the uranium-binding complex (UBC). The UBC was composed of two S-layer domain proteins encoded by UFO1_4202 and UFO1_4203. Samples of UBC purified from the membrane fraction contained 3.3 U atoms/heterodimer, but significant amounts of phosphate were not detected. The UBC had an estimated molecular mass by gel filtration chromatography of 15 MDa, and it was proposed to contain 150 heterodimers (UFO1_4203 and UFO1_4202) and about 500 uranium atoms. The UBC was also the dominant extracellular protein, but when purified from the growth medium, it contained only 0.3 U atoms/heterodimer. The two genes encoding the UBC were among the most highly expressed genes within the UFO1 genome, and their expressions were unchanged by the presence or absence of uranium. Therefore, the UBC appears to be constitutively expressed and is the first line of defense against uranium, including by secretion into the extracellular medium. Although S-layer proteins were previously shown to bind U(VI), here we showed that U(IV) binds to S-layer proteins, we identified the proteins involved, and we quantitated the amount of uranium bound. Widespread uranium contamination from industrial sources poses hazards to human health and to the environment. Here in this paper, we identified a highly abundant uranium-binding complex (UBC) from Pelosinus sp. strain UFO1. The complex makes up the primary protein component of the S-layer of strain UFO1 and binds 3.3 atoms of U(IV) per heterodimer. Finally, while other bacteria have been shown to bind U(VI) on their S-layer, we demonstrate here an example of U(IV) bound by

Identification and Characterization of CINPA1 Metabolites Facilitates Structure-Activity Studies of the Constitutive Androstane Receptor

OpenAIRE

Cherian, Milu T.; Yang, Lei; Chai, Sergio C.; Lin, Wenwei; Chen, Taosheng

2016-01-01

The constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) regulates the expression of genes involved in drug metabolism and other processes. A specific inhibitor of CAR is critical for modulating constitutive CAR activity. We recently described a specific small-molecule inhibitor of CAR, CINPA1 (ethyl (5-(diethylglycyl)-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[b,f]azepin-3-yl)carbamate), which is capable of reducing CAR-mediated transcription by changing the coregulator recruitment pattern and reducing CAR occupancy at the...

Study on the constitutive model for jointed rock mass.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qiang Xu

Full Text Available A new elasto-plastic constitutive model for jointed rock mass, which can consider the persistence ratio in different visual angle and anisotropic increase of plastic strain, is proposed. The proposed the yield strength criterion, which is anisotropic, is not only related to friction angle and cohesion of jointed rock masses at the visual angle but also related to the intersection angle between the visual angle and the directions of the principal stresses. Some numerical examples are given to analyze and verify the proposed constitutive model. The results show the proposed constitutive model has high precision to calculate displacement, stress and plastic strain and can be applied in engineering analysis.

CIP2A protein expression in high-grade, high-stage bladder cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Lisa P; Savoly, Diana; Sidi, Abraham A; Adelson, Martin E; Mordechai, Eli; Trama, Jason P

2012-01-01

Bladder cancer is one of the most common cancers in the United States. Numerous markers have been evaluated for suitability of bladder cancer detection and surveillance. However, few of them are acceptable as a routine tool. Therefore, there exists a continuing need for an assay that detects the presence of bladder cancer in humans. It would be advantageous to develop an assay with a protein that is associated with the development of bladder cancer. We have identified the cancerous inhibitor of PP2A (CIP2A) protein as a novel bladder cancer biomarker. In this study, Western blot analysis was used to assess the expression level of CIP2A protein in bladder cancer cell lines and bladder cancer patient tissues (n = 43). Our studies indicated CIP2A protein was abundantly expressed in bladder cancer cell lines but not in nontumor epithelial cell lines. Furthermore, CIP2A was specifically expressed in transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder tumor tissues but not in adjacent nontumor bladder tissue. Our data showed that CIP2A protein detection in high-grade TCC tissues had a sensitivity of 65%, which is 3.4-fold higher than that seen in low-grade TCC tissues (19%). The level of CIP2A protein expression increased with the stage of disease (12%, 27%, 67%, and 100% for pTa, pT1, pT2, and pT3 tumor, respectively). In conclusion, our studies suggest that CIP2A protein is specifically expressed in human bladder tumors. CIP2A is preferentially expressed in high-grade and high-stage TCC tumors, which are high-risk and invasive tumors. Our studies reported here support the role of CIP2A in bladder cancer progression and its usefulness for the surveillance of recurrence or progression of human bladder cancer

The extracellular loop 2 (ECL2 of the human histamine H4 receptor substantially contributes to ligand binding and constitutive activity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Wifling

Full Text Available In contrast to the corresponding mouse and rat orthologs, the human histamine H4 receptor (hH4R shows extraordinarily high constitutive activity. In the extracellular loop (ECL, replacement of F169 by V as in the mouse H4R significantly reduced constitutive activity. Stabilization of the inactive state was even more pronounced for a double mutant, in which, in addition to F169V, S179 in the ligand binding site was replaced by M. To study the role of the FF motif in ECL2, we generated the hH4R-F168A mutant. The receptor was co-expressed in Sf9 insect cells with the G-protein subunits Gαi2 and Gβ1γ2, and the membranes were studied in [3H]histamine binding and functional [35S]GTPγS assays. The potency of various ligands at the hH4R-F168A mutant decreased compared to the wild-type hH4R, for example by 30- and more than 100-fold in case of the H4R agonist UR-PI376 and histamine, respectively. The high constitutive activity of the hH4R was completely lost in the hH4R-F168A mutant, as reflected by neutral antagonism of thioperamide, a full inverse agonist at the wild-type hH4R. By analogy, JNJ7777120 was a partial inverse agonist at the hH4R, but a partial agonist at the hH4R-F168A mutant, again demonstrating the decrease in constitutive activity due to F168A mutation. Thus, F168 was proven to play a key role not only in ligand binding and potency, but also in the high constitutive activity of the hH4R.

On the Constitution and the Constitutions in Contemporary Egypt (2011-2014: Analysis and Early Thoughts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Carlos Castañeda Reyes

2016-01-01

world witnessed, a testament to what massive popular participation can attain. We believe the Constitution has true potential to guide the forces of change in the country. Therefore, the struggle for “bread, freedom, social justice and human dignity” will continue and is actually continuing in the Nile country via constitutional and non-constitutional means.

The constitutional court review of judicial decisions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stojanović Dragan M.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In principle, the constitutional precepts envisage that judicial decisions are not subject to extrajudicial control. However, in the course of deciding on constitutional complaints, the Constitutional Court reviews the compliance of individual legal acts and actions of state authorities with the Constitution, including court decisions on cases involving the constitutionally guaranteed rights. Hence, in order to eliminate tension or even contradiction between the constitutional precepts, the constitutional review of judicial decisions should be considered as a special form of judicial control, regardless of the fact that the Constitutional Court is not part of the judicial structure in the strict organizational sense. Thus, unlike the cases where the Court is involved in the normative control of the applicable law, in the process of reviewing judicial decision of lower courts the constitutional judiciary acts in the capacity of a specific judicial authority. According to another possible interpretation of the aforementioned constitutional norms, the direct constitutional protection of the constitutionally guaranteed rights may only be pursued in the process of reviewing individual legal acts and actions of state authorities, but not by pursuing a judicial review of court decisions which the Constitutional Court has no jurisdiction to decide upon. Thus, the dogma of judicial independence would prevail over the dogma of direct protection of fundamental rights. The third interpretation of this relationship maintains that that judicial decisions may be subject to control but, in this specific case, the Constitutional Court may only issue an opinion (a statement rather than a binding decision which would cancel the lower court judgment. Then, it is up to the judicial authorities of the lower instance to adjust their judicial decision, which in the opinion of the Constitutional Court constitutes a violation of the constitutionally guaranteed rights

Analyzing Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 gene expression by a next generation sequencing based method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jespersen, Jakob S.; Petersen, Bent; Seguin-Orlando, Andaine

2013-01-01

at identifying PfEMP1 features associated with high virulence. Here we present the first effective method for sequence analysis of var genes expressed in field samples: a sequential PCR and next generation sequencing based technique applied on expressed var sequence tags and subsequently on long range PCR......, encoded by ~60 highly variable 'var' genes per haploid genome. PfEMP1 is exported to the surface of infected erythrocytes and is thought to be fundamental to immune evasion by adhesion to host and parasite factors. The highly variable nature has constituted a roadblock in var expression studies aimed...

amiA is a negative regulator of acetamidase expression in Mycobacterium smegmatis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Turner Jane

2001-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The acetamidase of Mycobacterium smegmatis is a highly inducible enzyme. Expression of this enzyme is increased 100-fold when the substrate acetamide is present. The acetamidase gene is found immediately downstream of three open reading frames. Two of these are proposed to be involved in regulation. Results We constructed a deletion mutant in one of the upstream ORFs (amiA. This mutant (Mad1 showed a constitutively high level of acetamidase expression. We identified four promoters in the upstream region using a β-galactosidase reporter gene. One of these (P2 was inducible in the wild-type, but was constitutively active in Mad1. Conclusions These results demonstrate that amiA encodes a negative regulatory protein which interacts with P2. Since amiA has homology to DNA-binding proteins, it is likely that it exerts the regulatory effect by binding to the promoter to prevent transcription.

Controversial constitutive TSHR activity: patients, physiology, and in vitro characterization.

Science.gov (United States)

Huth, S; Jaeschke, H; Schaarschmidt, J; Paschke, R

2014-06-01

G protein-coupled receptors constitute a large family of transmembrane receptors, which activate cellular responses by signal transmission and regulation of second messenger metabolism after ligand binding. For several of these receptors it is known that they also signal ligand-independently. The G protein-coupled thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) is characterized by a high level of constitutive activity in the wild type state. However, little is known yet concerning the physiological relevance of the constitutive wild type TSHR activity. Certainly, knowledge of the physiological relevance of constitutive wild type receptor activity is necessary to better understand thyroid physiology and it is a prerequisite for the development of better therapies for nonautoimmune hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer. Based on a literature search regarding all published TSHR mutations, this review covers several mutations which are clearly associated with a hyperthyroidism-phenotype, but interestingly show a lack of constitutive activity determined by in vitro characterization. Possible reasons for the observed discrepancies between clinical phenotypes and in vitro characterization results for constitutive TSHR activity are reviewed. All current in vitro characterization methods for constitutive TSHR mutations are "preliminary attempts" and may well be revised by more comprehensive and even better approaches. However, a standardized approach for the determination of constitutive activity can help to identify TSHR mutations for which the investigation of additional signaling mechanisms would be most interesting to find explanations for the current clinical phenotype/in vitro discrepancies and thereby also define suitable methods to explore the physiological relevance of constitutive wild type TSHR activity. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

A geometric rationale for invariance, covariance and constitutive relations

Science.gov (United States)

Romano, Giovanni; Barretta, Raffaele; Diaco, Marina

2018-01-01

There are, in each branch of science, statements which, expressed in ambiguous or even incorrect but seemingly friendly manner, were repeated for a long time and eventually became diffusely accepted. Objectivity of physical fields and of their time rates and frame indifference of constitutive relations are among such notions. A geometric reflection on the description of frame changes as spacetime automorphisms, on induced push-pull transformations and on proper physico-mathematical definitions of material, spatial and spacetime tensor fields and of their time-derivatives along the motion, is here carried out with the aim of pointing out essential notions and of unveiling false claims. Theoretical and computational aspects of nonlinear continuum mechanics, and especially those pertaining to constitutive relations, involving material fields and their time rates, gain decisive conceptual and operative improvement from a proper geometric treatment. Outcomes of the geometric analysis are frame covariance of spacetime velocity, material stretching and material spin. A univocal and frame-covariant tool for evaluation of time rates of material fields is provided by the Lie derivative along the motion. The postulate of frame covariance of material fields is assessed to be a natural physical requirement which cannot interfere with the formulation of constitutive laws, with claims of the contrary stemming from an improper imposition of equality in place of equivalence.

Development and validation of constitutive equation of HBS irradiation swelling considering hydrostatic pressure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Lijun; Jiang Shengyao; Yu Jiyang; Chen Bingde; Xiao Zhong

2014-01-01

The mechanism of hydrostatic pressure affecting the irradiation swelling of UO_2 high burnup structure was analyzed. Three basic assumptions used to develop the constitutive equation of irradiation swelling were made accordingly. It is concluded that hydrostatic pressure imposes an important impact on irradiation swelling mainly through compressing the UO_2 high burnup structure pores. Based on the already developed correlation of the irradiation swelling of UO_2 high burnup structure, pore shrinkage due to the application of hydrostatic pressure and thus the reduction of irradiation swelling of UO_2 high burnup structure were determined quantitatively, and the constitutive equation of irradiation swelling of UO_2 high burnup structure considering the hydrostatic pressure was constructed successfully. The constitutive equation is validated using available irradiation swelling data of UO_2 high burnup structure, which demonstrates its reasonability. (authors)

Cell cycle, differentiation and tissue-independent expression of ribosomal protein L37.

Science.gov (United States)

Su, S; Bird, R C

1995-09-15

A unique human cDNA (hG1.16) that encodes a mRNA of 450 nucleotides was isolated from a subtractive library derived from HeLa cells. The relative expression level of hG1.16 during different cell-cycle phases was determined by Northern-blot analysis of cells synchronized by double-thymidine block and serum deprivation/refeeding. hG1.16 was constitutively expressed during all phases of the cell cycle, including the quiescent phase when even most constitutively expressed genes experience some suppression of expression. The expression level of hG1.16 did not change during terminal differentiation of myoblasts to myotubes, during which cells become permanently post-mitotic. Examination of other tissues revealed that the relative expression level of hG1.16 was constitutive in all embryonic mouse tissues examined, including brain, eye, heart, kidney, liver, lung and skeletal muscle. This was unusual in that expression was not down-modulated during differentiation and did not vary appreciably between tissue types. Analysis by inter-species Northern-blot analysis revealed that hG1.16 was highly conserved among all vertebrates studied (from fish to humans but not in insects). DNA sequence analysis of hG1.16 revealed a high level of similarity to rat ribosomal protein L37, identifying hG1.16 as a new member of this multigene family. The deduced amino acid sequence of hG1.16 was identical to rat ribosomal protein L37 that contained 97 amino acids, many of which are highly positively charged (15 arginine and 14 lysine residues with a predicted M(r) of 11,065). hG1.16 protein has a single C2-C2 zinc-finger-like motif which is also present in rat ribosomal protein L37. Using primers designed from the sequence of hG1.16, unique bovine and rat cDNAs were also isolated by 5'-rapid-amplification of cDNA ends. DNA sequences of bovine and rat G1.16, clones were 92.8% and 92.2% similar to human G1.16 while the deduced amino acid sequences derived from bovine and rat cDNAs each differed

Constitutive expression of fluorescent protein by Aspergillus var. niger and Aspergillus carbonarius to monitor fungal colonization in maize plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Palencia, Edwin Rene; Glenn, Anthony Elbie; Hinton, Dorothy Mae; Bacon, Charles Wilson

2013-09-01

Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus carbonarius are two species in the Aspergillus section Nigri (black-spored aspergilli) frequently associated with peanut (Arachis hypogea), maize (Zea mays), and other plants as pathogens. These infections are symptomless and as such are major concerns since some black aspergilli produce important mycotoxins, ochratoxins A, and the fumonisins. To facilitate the study of the black aspergilli-maize interactions with maize during the early stages of infections, we developed a method that used the enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (eYFP) and the monomeric red fluorescent protein (mRFP1) to transform A. niger and A. carbonarius, respectively. The results were constitutive expressions of the fluorescent genes that were stable in the cytoplasms of hyphae and conidia under natural environmental conditions. The hyphal in planta distribution in 21-day-old seedlings of maize were similar wild type and transformants of A. niger and A. carbonarius. The in planta studies indicated that both wild type and transformants internally colonized leaf, stem and root tissues of maize seedlings, without any visible disease symptoms. Yellow and red fluorescent strains were capable of invading epidermal cells of maize roots intercellularly within the first 3 days after inoculation, but intracellular hyphal growth was more evident after 7 days of inoculation. We also tested the capacity of fluorescent transformants to produce ochratoxin A and the results with A. carbonarius showed that this transgenic strain produced similar concentrations of this secondary metabolite. This is the first report on the in planta expression of fluorescent proteins that should be useful to study the internal plant colonization patterns of two ochratoxigenic species in the Aspergillus section Nigri. © 2013.

ECHR and national constitutional courts

OpenAIRE

Nastić, Maja

2015-01-01

Comprising fundamental rights and freedoms and establishing the effective control system, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) encroaches upon the area that is traditional reserved for constitutional law. Although built on the doctrine reserved for international treaty law, the Convention goes beyond the traditional boundaries that exist between international and constitutional law. It has gradually infiltrated into the national legal systems. Constitutional courts have had the cruc...

An OMV Vaccine Derived from a Capsular Group B Meningococcus with Constitutive FetA Expression: Preclinical Evaluation of Immunogenicity and Toxicity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gunnstein Norheim

Full Text Available Following the introduction of effective protein-polysaccharide conjugate vaccines against capsular group C meningococcal disease in Europe, meningococci of capsular group B remain a major cause of death and can result in debilitating sequelae. The outer membrane proteins PorA and FetA have previously been shown to induce bactericidal antibodies in humans. Despite considerable antigenic variation among PorA and FetA OMPs in meningococci, systematic molecular epidemiological studies revealed this variation is highly structured so that a limited repertoire of antigenic types is congruent with the hyperinvasive meningococcal lineages that have caused most of the meningococcal disease in Europe in recent decades. Here we describe the development of a prototype vaccine against capsular group B meningococcal infection based on a N. meningitidis isolate genetically engineered to have constitutive expression of the outer membrane protein FetA. Deoxycholate outer membrane vesicles (dOMVs extracted from cells cultivated in modified Frantz medium contained 21.8% PorA protein, 7.7% FetA protein and 0.03 μg LPS per μg protein (3%. The antibody response to the vaccine was tested in three mouse strains and the toxicological profile of the vaccine was tested in New Zealand white rabbits. Administration of the vaccine, MenPF-1, when given by intramuscular injection on 4 occasions over a 9 week period, was well tolerated in rabbits up to 50 μg/dose, with no evidence of systemic toxicity. These data indicated that the MenPF-1 vaccine had a toxicological profile suitable for testing in a phase I clinical trial.

The U.S. Constitution in Today's World.

Science.gov (United States)

Patrick, John J.

A comparative study of constitutions and governments in world history is a key to deeper understanding of the U.S. Constitution. While many countries have constitutions, the United States is among a minority of nations in today's world that has a constitutional government. Many nations' constitutions truly guarantee few protections of individual…

Engineering high Zn in tomato shoots through expression of AtHMA4 involves tissue-specific modification of endogenous genes

OpenAIRE

Kendziorek, Maria; Klimecka, Maria; Barabasz, Anna; Borg, S?ren; Rudzka, Justyna; Szcz?sny, Pawe?; Antosiewicz, Danuta Maria

2016-01-01

Background To increase the Zn level in shoots, AtHMA4 was ectopically expressed in tomato under the constitutive CaMV 35S promoter. However, the Zn concentration in the shoots of transgenic plants failed to increase at all tested Zn levels in the medium. Modification of Zn root/shoot distribution in tomato expressing 35S::AtHMA4 depended on the concentration of Zn in the medium, thus indicating involvement of unknown endogenous metal-homeostasis mechanisms. To determine these mechanisms, thos...

Transitional processes: Territorial organization of authorities and the future constitution of Serbia comparative analysis of five constitutional models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Despotović Ljubiša M.

2004-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper the authors give a comparative analysis of territorial organization of authorities in five constitutional models for Serbia. The paper consists of the following chapters: Introduction, Outline of the Constitution of Kingdom of Serbia, Basic Principles of the New Constitution of Serbia - DSS, Outline of Constitution of Republic of Serbia - DS Constitutional Solutions for Serbia - BCLJP, Project of Constitution of Republic of Serbia - Forum iuris, Conclusion. The analysis of territorial organization of authorities has been seen in the context of the processes of transition and archiving the important principles of civil society and civil autonomies.

Constitution and religiosity of/in the constitutional order of the National Socialist Empire

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Velez, Pedro

2017-05-01

Full Text Available In this article, we will analyse the National Socialist regime as a politico-constitutional reality. We will do it from a new way of looking at politico-constitutional phenomena, interpreting them as registered in a religious grounding. It seeks to show that the National Socialist regime was characterised by having identified the political community – a racially interpreted and raised community to the Absolute – with an empirical historic personality regarded as eminently communitarian. It suggests that the regime constitutes a sui generis case, either in a context of regimes conventionally classified as "right-wing authoritarian and/or totalitarian" or in a larger context of contemporary politics.

The Spanish Constitutional Rights Court and its interpretation of the Term 'Feminism

OpenAIRE

Alejandra Germán Doldán

2015-01-01

The Constitutional Tribunal, the highest judicial court involved in the interpretation of the Spanish Constitution, has issued numerous judgments of high technical value in order to advance gender equality. Its decisions had widely developed, as a guarantee, the prohibition of gender discrimination included in Article 14 of the Spanish Constitution. However, these decisions had not always employed theoretically accurate concepts or adequately refined conceptual models This article is a critic...

Distinguishing pathological from constitutional small for gestational age births in population-based studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Ananth, Cande V; Vintzileos, Anthony M

2009-10-01

Small for gestational age (SGA) can occur following a pathological process or may represent constitutionally small fetuses. However, distinguishing these processes is often difficult, especially in large studies, where the term SGA is often used as a proxy for restricted fetal growth. Since biologic variation in fetal size is largely a third trimester phenomenon, we hypothesized that the definition of SGA at term may include a sizeable proportion of constitutionally small fetuses. In contrast, since biologic variation in fetal size is not fully expressed in (early) preterm gestations, it is plausible that SGA in early preterm gestations would comprise a large proportion of growth restricted fetuses. We compared mortality and morbidity rates between SGA and appropriate for gestational age (AGA) babies. A population-based study of over 19million non-malformed, singleton births (1995-04) in the United States was performed. Gestational age (24-44weeks) was based on a clinical estimate. SGA and AGA were defined as sex-specific birthweight constitutionally small.

CONSTITUTIONAL INTERPRETATION OF ROMANIA: POST MODERNITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. RATHNASWAMY

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Austria had in 1920 Constitutional Court followed by Italy in 1946, Germany in 1949, Romania in 1989, South Africa in 1991, and Ethiopia in 1995. Each Constitution has its provisions on the constitutional interpretation. Romania has its own provisions and it is considered here its legality and the best possible measures and recommendations for future. Judicial power is vested in judiciary to interpret constitution, laws, and actions of other organs of government. Judicial review is the function resulted upon judicial power. Political body joins through the appointment of its members in the judicial review and it limits the independence of judiciary. It also reduces the values of separation of powers. Challenges and opportunities of growth and development do influence the spirit of separation of powers and judicial independence. The principle of inherent judicial power in judiciary inducts upon the constitutional interpretation. Thus, the principles of constitutional interpretation are varying in Romania and other similar constitutional courts of Germany, Ethiopia, and Italy but not in South Africa.

Economic Reforms and Constitutional Transition

OpenAIRE

Jeffrey D. Sachs; Wing Thye Woo; Xiaokai Yang

2000-01-01

This paper investigates the relationship between economic reforms and constitutional transition, which has been neglected by many transition economists. It is argued that assessment of reform performance might be very misleading if it is not recognized that economic reforms are just a small part of large scale of constitutional transition. Rivalry and competition between states and between political forces within each country are the driving forces for constitutional transition. We use Russia...

Computational analysis and low-scale constitutive expression of laccases synthetic genes GlLCC1 from Ganoderma lucidum and POXA 1B from Pleurotus ostreatus in Pichia pastoris.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia M Rivera-Hoyos

Full Text Available Lacasses are multicopper oxidases that can catalyze aromatic and non-aromatic compounds concomitantly with reduction of molecular oxygen to water. Fungal laccases have generated a growing interest due to their biotechnological potential applications, such as lignocellulosic material delignification, biopulping and biobleaching, wastewater treatment, and transformation of toxic organic pollutants. In this work we selected fungal genes encoding for laccase enzymes GlLCC1 in Ganoderma lucidum and POXA 1B in Pleurotus ostreatus. These genes were optimized for codon use, GC content, and regions generating secondary structures. Laccase proposed computational models, and their interaction with ABTS [2, 2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid] substrate was evaluated by molecular docking. Synthetic genes were cloned under the control of Pichia pastoris glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAP constitutive promoter. P. pastoris X-33 was transformed with pGAPZαA-LaccGluc-Stop and pGAPZαA-LaccPost-Stop constructs. Optimization reduced GC content by 47 and 49% for LaccGluc-Stop and LaccPost-Stop genes, respectively. A codon adaptation index of 0.84 was obtained for both genes. 3D structure analysis using SuperPose revealed LaccGluc-Stop is similar to the laccase crystallographic structure 1GYC of Trametes versicolor. Interaction analysis of the 3D models validated through ABTS, demonstrated higher substrate affinity for LaccPost-Stop, in agreement with our experimental results with enzymatic activities of 451.08 ± 6.46 UL-1 compared to activities of 0.13 ± 0.028 UL-1 for LaccGluc-Stop. This study demonstrated that G. lucidum GlLCC1 and P. ostreatus POXA 1B gene optimization resulted in constitutive gene expression under GAP promoter and α-factor leader in P. pastoris. These are important findings in light of recombinant enzyme expression system utility for environmentally friendly designed expression systems, because of the wide range

Evaluation of high temperature mechanical properties and constitutive equation of austenitic stainless steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blanchard, P.; Tortel, J.

1985-08-01

A large amount of experimental data (tensile tests, creep tests, cyclic strain tests, relaxation experiments and biaxial experiments) on 17-12 Mo SPH (316 L SPH) stainless steel used for building the primary loop of Super Phenix Reactor have been obtained during the last years. The aim of this paper is to illustrate by a few examples the work done in the constitutive equations area using this powerful data base. Numerous semiempirical equations have been developed to represent tensile, cyclic, creep or relaxation tests on 17-12 Mo SPH (316 L SPH) stainless steel. These equations, althrough not being able to be properly called ''constitutive equations'' in the full sense of the word, are nevertheless very useful for design studies. Actually these semiempirical equations are necessary tools for building elastic analysis's rules. Some examples of these equations are given along with specific applications (creep-fatigue rules). The qualitative and semiquantitative comparisons of the stress-strain behaviour (both uniaxial and biaxial) predicted by the most common constitutive equations (PRAGER, MEIJERS, HART, CHABOCHE, KRIEB, MILLER, ROBINSON) with the actual behaviour of 17-12 Mo SPH (316 L SPH) steel, allows us to shed some light on the strengths and weaknesses of these equations. This comparison is presented and discussed. The way to more realistic equations is shown. A detailed and quantitative comparison of the capabilities of two models, the CHABOCHE model and the multilayer unified model which has been developed is presented

Constitutively polarized granules prime KHYG-1 NK cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Suck, Garnet; Branch, Donald R; Aravena, Paola; Mathieson, Mark; Helke, Simone; Keating, Armand

2006-09-01

The major mechanism for NK cell lysis of tumor cells is granule-mediated cytotoxicity. Polarization of granules is a prelude to the release of their cytotoxic contents in response to target-cell binding. We describe the novel observation of constitutive granule polarization in the cytotoxic NK cell line, KHYG-1. Continuous degranulation of KHYG-1 cells, however, does not occur and still requires target-cell contact. Disruption of microtubules with colcemid is sufficient to disperse the granules in KHYG-1 and significantly decreases cytotoxicity. A similar effect is not obtained by inhibiting extracellular signal-related kinase 2 (ERK2), the most distal kinase investigated in the cytolytic pathway. Disruption of microtubules significantly down-regulates activation receptors, NKp44 and NKG2D, implicating them as potential microtubule-trafficking receptors. Such changes in upstream receptor expression may have caused deactivation of ERK2, since NKG2D cross-linking also leads to receptor down-regulation and diminished ERK phosphorylation. Thus, a functional role for NKG2D in KHYG-1 cytotoxicity is demonstrated. Moreover, the novel primed state may contribute to the high cytotoxicity exhibited by KHYG-1.

Reduced expression of IL-12 p35 by SJL/J macrophages responding to Theiler's virus infection is associated with constitutive activation of IRF-3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dahlberg, Angela; Auble, Mark R.; Petro, Thomas M.

2006-01-01

Macrophages responding to viral infections may contribute to autoimmune demyelinating diseases (ADD). Macrophages from ADD-susceptible SJL/J mice responding to Theiler's Virus (TMEV) infection, the TLR7 agonist loxoribine, or the TLR4 agonist-LPS expressed less IL-12 p35 but more IL-12/23 p40 and IFN-β than macrophages from ADD-resistant B10.S mice. While expression of IRF-1 and -7 was similar between B10.S and SJL/J TMEV-infected macrophages, SJL/J but not B10.S macrophages exhibited constitutively active IRF-3. In contrast to overexpressed IRF-1, IRF-5, and IRF-7, which stimulated p35 promoter reporter activity, overexpressed IRF-3 repressed p35 promoter activity in response to TMEV infection, loxoribine, IFN-γ/LPS, but not IFN-γ alone. IRF-3 lessened but did not eliminate IRF-1-stimulated p35 promoter activity. Repression by IRF-3 required bp -172 to -122 of the p35 promoter. The data suggest that pre-activated IRF-3 is a major factor in the differences in IL-12 production between B10.S and SJL/J macrophages responding to TMEV

Economic and social rights in the Constitution of Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rapajić Milan M.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The work is an attempt of the author to, in a relatively systematic way, presents the norms of Economic and Social Rights in the Constitution of Serbia from 2006. Before that, in the introduction the author refers to the commonplace with regard to human rights and their institutionalization, constitutionalization and internationalization. The process of institutionalization of human rights was started in England by adoption of the Great Charter of Freedoms (Magna Carta Libertatum in 1215. Constitutionalization of human rights begins with the adoption of the first ten amendments to the US Constitution in 1791. French writers of the Constitution unlike the American in Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen proclaimed certain new rights such as freedom of movement, freedom of assembly, the right to free expression of thought, right to petition or freedom of culture. At first human rights were an asset to limit state power, but with new theories by which the state can not be seen only as a political organization, but as a community that has a socio-economic content, the state must guarantee to the citizens a certain corpus of economic and social rights by Constitution. Economic, social and cultural rights are classified as second generation of rights. Economic and social rights are directed to the fact that individuals are brought to the position that they can enjoy their civil and political rights. These rights, known as social welfare, are rights based on the principles of equality and solidarity, and their purpose is, inter alia, to help to the socially vulnerable members of the community. Constitutional act, which is important for the world the constitutional recognition of these rights is the Weimar Constitution from 1919. which predicted legislative measures to implement these rights. For the internationalization of these rights very important is Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948 and the International Covenant on

Constitutive phosphorylation of Shc proteins in human tumors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pelicci, G; Lanfrancone, L; Salcini, A E

1995-01-01

The Shc gene encodes three overlapping proteins which all contain a carboxy-terminal SH2 domain. Shc proteins are ubiquitously expressed and are downstream targets and effectors of activated tyrosine kinases (TK). We investigated tyrosine-phosphorylation of Shc proteins in normal and transformed...... of the Shc-associated phosphoproteins (EGFR, PDGFR, erbB-2, Met, bcr-abl, H4-ret) bound both the Shc- and Grb2-SH2 domains in vitro; others (p175; p70-p80) only the Shc-SH2 domain and yet others (p140) only the Grb2-SH3 domains. These results indicate that Shc proteins are common substrates of constitutively...

The constitutional momentum of European contract law (II): The DCFR and the European constitutional order

OpenAIRE

Mak, C.

2009-01-01

This paper analyses the potential impact of the recently published Draft Common Frame of Reference for European contract law (DCFR) on the European constitutional process. Looking at the combination of characteristics of codification and aspects of constitutionalism reflected in the DCFR, it is submitted that the further harmonisation of European contract law may contribute to the definition of the European constitutional order both on the institutional level (regarding the forms in which Eur...

Licensing of nuclear power plants, immediate implementation, constitutional appeal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winters, K.P.

1980-01-01

The decision relates to part of the licensing procedure of the Muelheim-Kaerlich Nuclear Power Station. The subject of the complaint of unconstitutionality is the immediate execution of the 7th clearance within the framework of the 1st partial permit, which had been confined by the Rhineland-Palatinate Higher Administrative Court in a decision of May 2, 1977 (DVBl. 1977, p. 730). The Federal Constitutional Court regards the complaint of unconstitutionality as being unfounded. The court expresses itself especially on the assessment, under consnitutional aspects, of the material rules and rules of procedure pertaining to the licensing of nuclear power plants and of major changes in such plants. Moreover, the dissenting opinions of Justices Dr. Simon and Professor Heussner are quoted in excerpts. The comment by K.- P. Winters regards as the nucleus of the decision and of the dissenting vote the statements about the guarantee functions procedural rules have in ensuring effective protection of human rights. In his view, these statements of constitutional law are of fundamental significance for problems of atomic law and radiation protection law. (HSCH) [de

Constitutional relevance of atomic energy law

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lettow, S.

1980-01-01

In a decision publicized on December 20, 1979 the German Federal Constitutional Court rejected a claim of unconstitutionality in connection with the licensing procedure of the Muelheim-Kaerlich Nuclear Power Station currently under construction. This constitutes confirmation, by the 1st Department of the Court, of a decision in 1978 by the 2nd Department about the Kalkar fast breeder power plant, in which the peaceful utilization of nuclear energy had been found to be constitutional. However, the new decision by the Federal Constitutional Court particularly emphasizes the constitutional relevance of the rules of procedure under the Atomic Energy Act and their function with respect to the protection of civil rights. (orig.) [de

Constitutional aneuploidy and cancer predisposition.

Science.gov (United States)

Ganmore, Ithamar; Smooha, Gil; Izraeli, Shai

2009-04-15

Constitutional aneuploidies are rare syndromes associated with multiple developmental abnormalities and the alterations in the risk for specific cancers. Acquired somatic chromosomal aneuploidies are the most common genetic aberrations in sporadic cancers. Thus studies of these rare constitutional aneuploidy syndromes are important not only for patient counseling and clinical management, but also for deciphering the mechanisms by which chromosomal aneuploidy affect cancer initiation and progression. Here we review the major constitutional aneuploidy syndromes and suggest some general mechanisms for the associated cancer predisposition.

Constitutive Activation of Smoothened in the Renal Collecting Ducts Leads to Renal Hypoplasia, Hydronephrosis, and Hydroureter.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Deepak Prasad; Hwang, Jae-Won; Cho, Eui-Sic; Kim, Won; Song, Chang Ho; Chai, Ok Hee

2017-01-01

Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) signaling plays a major role in and is essential for regulation, patterning, and proliferation during renal development. Smoothened (Smo) plays a pivot role in transducing the Shh-glioma-associated oncogene Kruppel family member. However, the cellular and molecular mechanism underlying the role of sustained Smo activation in postnatal kidney development is still not clearly understood. Using a conditional knockin mouse model that expresses a constitutively activated form of Smo (SmoM2) upon Homeobox-B7-mediated recombination (Hoxb7-Cre), the effects of Shh signaling were determined in postnatal kidney development. SmoM2;Hoxb7-Cre mutant mice showed growth retardation with a reduction of body weight. Constitutive activation of Smo in the renal collecting ducts caused renal hypoplasia, hydronephrosis, and hydroureter. The parenchymal area and glomerular numbers were reduced, but the glomerular density was increased in SmoM2;Hoxb7-Cre mutant mice. The expression of Patched 1, the receptor of Shh and a downstream target gene of the Shh signaling pathway, was highly restricted and it was upregulated in the inner medullary collecting ducts of the kidney. The proliferative cells in the mesenchyme and collecting ducts were decreased in SmoM2;Hoxb7-Cre mutant mice. This study showed for the first time that sustained Smo inhibits postnatal kidney development by suppressing the proliferation of the mesenchyme and medullary collecting ducts in mice. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Selected Constitutive Models for Simulating the Hygromechanical Response of Wood

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frandsen, Henrik Lund

, the boundary conditions are discussed based on discrepancies found for similar research on moisture transport in paper stacks. Paper III: A new sorption hysteresis model suitable for implementation into a numerical method is developed. The prevailing so-called scanning curves are modeled by closed......-form expressions, which only depend on the current relative humidity of the air and current moisture content of the wood. Furthermore, the expressions for the scanning curves are formulated independent of the temperature and species-dependent boundary curves. Paper IV: The sorption hysteresis model developed...... are discussed. The constitutive moisture transport models are coupled with a heat transport model yielding terms that describe the so-called Dufour and Sorret effects, however, with multiple phases and hysteresis included. Paper VII: In this paper the modeling of transverse couplings in creep of wood...

Construction and characterization of stable, constitutively expressed, chromosomal green and red fluorescent transcriptional fusions in the select agents, Bacillus anthracis, Yersinia pestis, Burkholderia mallei, and Burkholderia pseudomallei.

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Shengchang; Bangar, Hansraj; Saldanha, Roland; Pemberton, Adin; Aronow, Bruce; Dean, Gary E; Lamkin, Thomas J; Hassett, Daniel J

2014-10-01

Here, we constructed stable, chromosomal, constitutively expressed, green and red fluorescent protein (GFP and RFP) as reporters in the select agents, Bacillus anthracis, Yersinia pestis, Burkholderia mallei, and Burkholderia pseudomallei. Using bioinformatic approaches and other experimental analyses, we identified P0253 and P1 as potent promoters that drive the optimal expression of fluorescent reporters in single copy in B. anthracis and Burkholderia spp. as well as their surrogate strains, respectively. In comparison, Y. pestis and its surrogate strain need two chromosomal copies of cysZK promoter (P2cysZK) for optimal fluorescence. The P0253-, P2cysZK-, and P1-driven GFP and RFP fusions were first cloned into the vectors pRP1028, pUC18R6KT-mini-Tn7T-Km, pmini-Tn7-gat, or their derivatives. The resultant constructs were delivered into the respective surrogates and subsequently into the select agent strains. The chromosomal GFP- and RFP-tagged strains exhibited bright fluorescence at an exposure time of less than 200 msec and displayed the same virulence traits as their wild-type parental strains. The utility of the tagged strains was proven by the macrophage infection assays and lactate dehydrogenase release analysis. Such strains will be extremely useful in high-throughput screens for novel compounds that could either kill these organisms, or interfere with critical virulence processes in these important bioweapon agents and during infection of alveolar macrophages. © 2014 The Authors. MicrobiologyOpen published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[Comparative research into the process of forming the theory of constitution in ancient western medicine and that of four trigrams constitution in Korean medicine and contents of two theories of constitution].

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Joo-Hong

2009-06-01

After conducting comparative research into the process of forming the Theory of Constitution in Ancient Western Medicine and that of Four Trigrams Constitution(Sasang Constitution) in Korean Medicine and contents of two Theories of Constitution in terms of medical history, both theories were found to be formed by an interaction between philosophy and medicine, followed by a combination of the two, on a philosophical basis. The Theory of Constitution in Ancient Western Medicine began with the Theory of Four Elements presented by Empedocles, followed by the Theory of Four Humors presented by Hippocrates and the Theory of Four Temperaments by Galenos, forming and developing the Theory of Constitution. After the Middle Ages, there was no significant advance in the Theory of Constitution by modern times ; however, it developed into the theory of constitution type of Kretschmer and others after the 19th century and into the scientific theory of constitution based on genetics presented by Garrod and others early in the 20th century. The Theory of Four Trigrams Constitution began with the Theory of Constitution in Huangdi Neijing, followed by developments and influences of existing medicine called beginning, restoration, and revival periods and DongeuisoosebowonSaSangChoBonGwon based on the original philosophy of Four Trigrams presented by Lee Je-ma, which is found in GyeokChiGo, DongMuYuGo and so on, ultimately forming and developing into the Theory of Four Trigrams Constitution in Dongeuisoosebowon. Recently, a lot of research is being conducted into making it objective in order to achieve reproducibility in diagnosis and so forth of Four Trigrams Constitution.

Constitutional aneuploidy and cancer predisposition†

Science.gov (United States)

Ganmore, Ithamar; Smooha, Gil; Izraeli, Shai

2009-01-01

Constitutional aneuploidies are rare syndromes associated with multiple developmental abnormalities and the alterations in the risk for specific cancers. Acquired somatic chromosomal aneuploidies are the most common genetic aberrations in sporadic cancers. Thus studies of these rare constitutional aneuploidy syndromes are important not only for patient counseling and clinical management, but also for deciphering the mechanisms by which chromosomal aneuploidy affect cancer initiation and progression. Here we review the major constitutional aneuploidy syndromes and suggest some general mechanisms for the associated cancer predisposition. PMID:19297405

Culture (and religion in constitutional adjudication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C Rautenbach

2003-10-01

Full Text Available The faculty of law of the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education in corroboration with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stifttung embarked on a study on Politics, Socio-Economic Issues and Culture in Constitutional Adjudication. The aim of the project is twofold. The first aim is to analyse the influence of political, socio-economic and cultural considerations on the constitutional court’s interpretation and application of the Bill of Rights. The second aim is to develop practical guidelines (based on the findings during the analysing process for South African courts confronted with issues of a political, socio-economic and cultural nature. This article is concerned with initiating discussions of the decisions of the constitutional court with regard to cultural and religious rights.Before we can explore the role of political, socio-economic and cultural (and religious rights in the decisions of the constitutional court it is important to discuss a few preliminary issues. In this article the meaning of culture and religion within the South African context receives some attention. Secondly, some preliminary comments regarding constitutional protection of culturally and religiously based rights will be made.We are well aware that this is a daunting task, not only in view of the seemingly abysmal gap between the applicable constitutional rights and values enshrined in the 1996 Constitution that, in some instances over centuries, brought about customs and practices within “traditional” communities which, seemingly, infringe on certain constitutional values and rights.

Common structural basis for constitutive activity of the ghrelin receptor family

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holst, Birgitte; Holliday, Nicholas D; Bach, Anders

2004-01-01

Three members of the ghrelin receptor family were characterized in parallel: the ghrelin receptor, the neurotensin receptor 2 and the orphan receptor GPR39. In transiently transfected COS-7 and human embryonic kidney 293 cells, all three receptors displayed a high degree of ligand......-independent signaling activity. The structurally homologous motilin receptor served as a constitutively silent control; upon agonist stimulation, however, it signaled with a similar efficacy to the three related receptors. The constitutive activity of the ghrelin receptor and of neurotensin receptor 2 through the G...... demonstrated that the epitope-tagged ghrelin receptor was constitutively internalized but could be trapped at the cell surface by an inverse agonist, whereas GPR39 remained at the cell surface. Mutational analysis showed that the constitutive activity of both the ghrelin receptor and GPR39 could systematically...

VALUATION IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL ERA

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Brimer

16 ..... stem from the pre-constitutional era, and the constitutional framework and its legitimate reform efforts. A decision on what is just ...... Carroll L Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Digital Scanning Scituate MA. 2007). Dagan 1999 Va L Rev.

Constitutive Investigation on Viscoelasticity of PolyVinyl Butyral: Experiments Based on Dynamic Mechanical Analysis Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bohan Liu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available PolyVinyl Butyral (PVB film is now widely used in automotive industry and architectures serving as the protective interlayer. The dynamic modulus of PVB is measured through systematic experiments based on Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA method at various temperatures, heating rates, and vibration frequencies. Further, viscoelasticity of PVB influenced by time and temperature is systematically studied. Fitted empirical formulas describing the relationship between glass transition temperature and frequency, as well as the heating rate of PVB, are established. The master curve of PVB at 293 K is suggested based on the experiment data as to express the dynamic modulus variation at various frequencies in a wider range. Constitutive behavior of PVB is then analyzed based on Generalized Maxwell (GM model and Fractional Derivative (FD model, respectively. It is shown that PVB has higher efficiency of energy dissipation in its high energy absorption state, while both fifth-order GM model and FD model can characterize the viscoelasticity of PVB at glassy transition area. Results may offer useful fundamental experimental data and important constitutive characteristics of PVB and shed lights on further studies on viscoelasticity behavior of PVB and energy mitigation ability of laminated glass.

A survey on constitutional justice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kheirollah Parvin

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The idea of supervising the conformity of statutory law with constitutional law, is due to necessities rooted in two essential principles: the supremacy of constitution and the hierarchy of the law. Constitution as the supreme law in the sense of status and legal value , is placed at the top of the legal pyramid of every political system and therefore requires a special organization and discipline that will act as the sanction of the principles and the main content incorporated in this legal instrument. this special organization and discipline known as Constitutional justice in legal Literature now and have studing in two main patterns. Firs pattern based on Supervision of courts on rules and other pattern is Apply by Emphasis on role of Political Institutions in Supervision on rules. This two patterns have common purpose but have different backgrounds and methods.

Conjugated Linoleic Acid Supplementation under a High-Fat Diet Modulates Stomach Protein Expression and Intestinal Microbiota in Adult Mice.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alice Chaplin

Full Text Available The gastrointestinal tract constitutes a physiological interface integrating nutrient and microbiota-host metabolism. Conjugated linoleic acids (CLA have been reported to contribute to decreased body weight and fat accretion. The modulation by dietary CLA of stomach proteins related to energy homeostasis or microbiota may be involved, although this has not been previously analysed. This is examined in the present study, which aims to underline the potential mechanisms of CLA which contribute to body weight regulation. Adult mice were fed either a normal fat (NF, 12% kJ content as fat or a high-fat (HF, 43% kJ content as fat diet. In the latter case, half of the animals received daily oral supplementation of CLA. Expression and content of stomach proteins and specific bacterial populations from caecum were analysed. CLA supplementation was associated with an increase in stomach protein expression, and exerted a prebiotic action on both Bacteroidetes/Prevotella and Akkermansia muciniphila. However, CLA supplementation was not able to override the negative effects of HF diet on Bifidobacterium spp., which was decreased in both HF and HF+CLA groups. Our data show that CLA are able to modulate stomach protein expression and exert a prebiotic effect on specific gut bacterial species.

Conjugated Linoleic Acid Supplementation under a High-Fat Diet Modulates Stomach Protein Expression and Intestinal Microbiota in Adult Mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaplin, Alice; Parra, Pilar; Serra, Francisca; Palou, Andreu

2015-01-01

The gastrointestinal tract constitutes a physiological interface integrating nutrient and microbiota-host metabolism. Conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) have been reported to contribute to decreased body weight and fat accretion. The modulation by dietary CLA of stomach proteins related to energy homeostasis or microbiota may be involved, although this has not been previously analysed. This is examined in the present study, which aims to underline the potential mechanisms of CLA which contribute to body weight regulation. Adult mice were fed either a normal fat (NF, 12% kJ content as fat) or a high-fat (HF, 43% kJ content as fat) diet. In the latter case, half of the animals received daily oral supplementation of CLA. Expression and content of stomach proteins and specific bacterial populations from caecum were analysed. CLA supplementation was associated with an increase in stomach protein expression, and exerted a prebiotic action on both Bacteroidetes/Prevotella and Akkermansia muciniphila. However, CLA supplementation was not able to override the negative effects of HF diet on Bifidobacterium spp., which was decreased in both HF and HF+CLA groups. Our data show that CLA are able to modulate stomach protein expression and exert a prebiotic effect on specific gut bacterial species.

Prevalence of MLH1 constitutional epimutations as a cause of Lynch syndrome in unselected versus selected consecutive series of patients with colorectal cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Castillejo, Adela; Hernández-Illán, Eva; Rodriguez-Soler, María; Pérez-Carbonell, Lucía; Egoavil, Cecilia; Barberá, Victor M; Castillejo, María-Isabel; Guarinos, Carla; Martínez-de-Dueñas, Eduardo; Juan, María-Jose; Sánchez-Heras, Ana-Beatriz; García-Casado, Zaida; Ruiz-Ponte, Clara; Brea-Fernández, Alejandro; Juárez, Miriam; Bujanda, Luis; Clofent, Juan; Llor, Xavier; Andreu, Montserrat; Castells, Antoni; Carracedo, Angel; Alenda, Cristina; Payá, Artemio; Jover, Rodrigo; Soto, José-Luis

2015-07-01

The prevalence of MLH1 constitutional epimutations in the general population is unknown. We sought to analyse the prevalence of MLH1 constitutional epimutations in unselected and selected series of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Patients with diagnoses of CRC (n=2123) were included in the unselected group. For comparison, a group of 847 selected patients with CRC who fulfilled the revised Bethesda guidelines (rBG) were also included. Somatic and constitutional MLH1 methylation was assayed via methylation-specific multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification of cases lacking MLH1 expression. Germline alterations in mismatch-repair (MMR) genes were assessed via Sanger sequencing and methylation-specific multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification. Loss of MLH1 expression occurred in 5.5% of the unselected series and 12.5% of the selected series (pMLH1 were detected in the unselected population (0/62); five cases from the selected series were positive for MLH1 epimutations (15.6%, 5/32; p=0.004). Our results suggest a negligible prevalence of MLH1 constitutional epimutations in unselected cases of CRC. Therefore, MLH1 constitutional epimutation analysis should be conducted only for patients who fulfil the rBG and who lack MLH1 expression with methylated MLH1. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

How do the Constitutional Courts decide?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pasquale Pasquino

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to explore the mode of production of judicial sentences drafted by constitutional courts in Europe. The natural object of study of the constitutional theory is the analysis of this final product of judicial creation of Law by Constitutional Courts. However, the doctrine has not given sufficient attention –from a comparative law perspective– to the mechanisms and procedures that lead to the decisions of these institutions. Thus, this document will classify the different types of decision-making processes in the courts, analyzing the stages that make up the «mode of production», from the study of the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States, the Constitutional Council of the French Republic, The Constitutional Court of Italy and the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany. At the end of the paper, some conclusions are made about the period of the magistrates, their party affiliation, the temporary restrictions of deliberation and institutional factors such as the number of attendees or the personalization of its members.

Constitutionalism and Development in Nigeria: The 1999 Constitution

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Fr. Ikenga

the 3 arms of government the Executive, Legislative, Judiciary, Public Service and Marketing .... Rotation principle of a presidency position in Nigeria which will cultivate a sense of ... the issues survived inclusion in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 13. S. 2 of Decree No. ..... Oxford, 5th Edition p.245.

La légitimité de la Constitution dans la doctrine constitutionnelle japonaise The Legality of the Constitution in the Japanese constitutional Doctrine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simon Serverin

2010-07-01

Full Text Available La Constitution japonaise, promulguée en novembre 1946 et entrée en vigueur en mai 1947, pose à la théorie constitutionnelle un certain nombre de problèmes qui ne sont toujours pas résolus. Adoptée sous occupation américaine, rédigée par les services du GHQ dirigés par le général MacArthur, la Constitution a en outre été promulguée comme une simple révision de la Charte impériale de 1889, dite Constitution de Meiji, alors que par les principes démocratiques nouveaux qu’elle instaurait, elle p...

Constitutive activation of the thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR by mutating Ile691 in the cytoplasmic tail segment.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zheng Liu

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Autosomal dominant non-autoimmune hyperthyroidism (ADNAH is a rare genetic disorder of the endocrine system. Molecular genetic studies in ADNAH have revealed heterozygous germline mutations in the TSHR. To data, mutations leading to an increase in the constitutive activation of the TSHR have been described in the transmembrane segments, exoloops and cytoplasmic loop of TSHR. These mutations result in constitutive activation of the G(αs/cAMP or G(αq/11/inositol phosphate (IP pathways, which stimulate thyroid hormone production and thyroid proliferation. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In a previous study, we reported a new TSHR mutation located in the C-terminal domain of TSHR, which results in a substitution of the conserved Ile(691 for Phe. In this study, to address the question of whether the I691F mutated receptor could be responsible for G(αs/cAMP or G(αq/11/IP constitutive activity, wild-type and TSHR mutants were expressed in COS-7 cells to determine cAMP constitutive activity and IP formation. Compared to the cell surface with expression of the A623V mutated receptor as positive control, the I691F mutated receptor showed a slight increase of cAMP accumulation. Furthermore, I691F resulted in constitutive activation of the G(αq/11/IP signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results indicate that Ile(691 not only contributes to keeping TSHR inactive in the G(αs/cAMP pathways but also in the G(αq/11/IP cascade.

5HT-1A receptors and anxiety-like behaviours: studies in rats with constitutionally upregulated/downregulated serotonin transporter.

Science.gov (United States)

Bordukalo-Niksic, Tatjana; Mokrovic, Gordana; Stefulj, Jasminka; Zivin, Marko; Jernej, Branimir; Cicin-Sain, Lipa

2010-12-01

Altered activity of brain serotonergic (5HT) system has been implicated in a wide range of behaviours and behavioural disorders, including anxiety. Functioning of 5HT-1A receptor has been suggested as a modulator of emotional balance in both, normal and pathological forms of anxiety. Here, we studied serotonergic modulation of anxiety-like behaviour using a genetic rat model with constitutional differences in 5HT homeostasis, named Wistar-Zagreb 5HT (WZ-5HT) rats. The model, consisting of high-5HT and low-5HT sublines, was developed by selective breeding of animals for extreme activities of peripheral (platelet) 5HT transporter, but selection process had affected also central 5HT homeostasis, as evidenced from neurochemical and behavioural studies. Anxiety-like behaviour in WZ-5HT rats was evaluated by two commonly used paradigms: open field and elevated-plus maze. The involvement of 5HT-1A receptors in behavioural response was assessed by measuring mRNA expression in cell bodies (raphe nuclei) and projection regions (frontal cortex, hippocampus) by use of RT-PCR and in situ hybridization, and by measuring functionality of cortical 5HT-1A receptors by use of [(3)H]8-OH-DPAT radioligand binding. Animals from the high-5HT subline exhibit increased anxiety-like behaviour and decreased exploratory activity when exposed to novel environment. No measurable differences in constitutional (baseline) functionality or expression of 5HT-1A receptors between sublines were found. The results support contribution of increased serotonergic functioning to the anxiety-like behaviour. They also validate the high-5HT subline of WZ-5HT rats as a potential model to study mechanisms of anxiety, especially of its nonpathological form, while the low-5HT subline may be useful to model sensation seeking phenotype. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Constitutive Modelling in Geomechanics Introduction

CERN Document Server

Puzrin, Alexander M

2012-01-01

The purpose of this book is to bridge the gap between the traditional Geomechanics and Numerical Geotechnical Modelling with applications in science and practice. Geomechanics is rarely taught within the rigorous context of Continuum Mechanics and Thermodynamics, while when it comes to Numerical Modelling, commercially available finite elements or finite differences software utilize constitutive relationships within the rigorous framework. As a result, young scientists and engineers have to learn the challenging subject of constitutive modelling from a program manual and often end up with using unrealistic models which violate the Laws of Thermodynamics.  The book is introductory, by no means does it claim any completeness and state of the art in such a dynamically developing field as numerical and constitutive modelling of soils. The author gives basic understanding of conventional continuum mechanics approaches to constitutive modelling, which can serve as a foundation for exploring more advanced theories....

In vivo characterization of high Basal signaling from the ghrelin receptor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Pia Steen; Woldbye, David P D; Madsen, Andreas Nygaard

2009-01-01

The receptor for the orexigenic peptide, ghrelin, is one of the most constitutively active 7TM receptors known, as demonstrated under in vitro conditions. Change in expression of a constitutively active receptor is associated with change in signaling independent of the endogenous ligand. In the f......The receptor for the orexigenic peptide, ghrelin, is one of the most constitutively active 7TM receptors known, as demonstrated under in vitro conditions. Change in expression of a constitutively active receptor is associated with change in signaling independent of the endogenous ligand....... In the following study, we found that the expression of the ghrelin receptor in the hypothalamus was up-regulated approximately 2-fold in rats both during 48-h fasting and by streptozotocin-induced hyperphagia. In a separate experiment, to probe for the effect of the high basal signaling of the ghrelin receptor...... in vivo, we used intracerebroventricular administration by osmotic pumps of a peptide [D-Arg(1), D-Phe(5), D-Trp(7,9), Leu(11)]-substance P. This peptide selectively displays inverse agonism at the ghrelin receptor as compared with an inactive control peptide with just a single amino acid substitution...

Post-Revolution Constitutionalism: The Impact of Drafting Processes on the Constitutional Documents in Tunisia and Egypt

OpenAIRE

El-Sayed, Ahmed

2014-01-01

This paper seeks to address the constitutional paths that followed the Arab awakening in both Tunisia and Egypt. The Tunisian constitutional process, despite some tensions, was largely peaceful and consensual. On the other hand, the process in Egypt of establishing a new constitutional arrangement had been tumultuous with repercussions that are likely to linger on for a protracted period of time. Therefore, despite apparent resemblance in socio-political actors in both countries, (political I...

Radioactive waste disposal and constitution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stober, R.

1983-01-01

The radioactive waste disposal has many dimensions with regard to the constitutional law. The central problem is the corret delimitation between adequate governmental precautions against risks and or the permitted risk which the state can impose on the citizen, and the illegal danger which nobody has to accept. The solution requires to consider all aspects which are relevant to the constitutional law. Therefore, the following analysis deals not only with the constitutional risks and the risks of the nuclear energy, but also with the liberal, overall-economic, social, legal, and democratic aspects of radioactive waste disposal. (HSCH) [de

RECONSTRUCTION THE AUTHORITY OF CONSTITUTIONAL COURT ON IMPEACHMENT PROCESS OF PRESIDENT AND/OR VICE PRESIDENT IN INDONESIAN CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hezron Sabar Rotua Tinambunan

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In the process of impeachment, Constitutional Court has the obligation to give its judgement to House of Representatives’s opinion regarding allegation of violation by the President and/or Vice President. Constitutional Court checks and judges House of Representatives’s opinion on whether or not the President and/or Vice President works fulfill Article 7A of Constitution of Republic Indonesia 1945 (UUD NRI 1945. The inspection done by Constitutional Court is the judicial process whose decision is in the form of justisil. The result of this impeachment process heavily depends on the judgement of People's Consultative Assembly in its plenary meeting which is also a politics forum, where President and/or Vice President could be dismissed or not. Constitutional Court’s judgement does not apply to People's Consultative Assembly, hence, the difference of Constitutional Court and People's Consultative Assembly’s judgement in plenary meeting that is very political by its nature is very likely to happen. Involvement of Constitutional Court in the procss of impeachment is, of course, different in each country. It depends on governance system in that particular country, it also relies on how much authority that is given by Constitution to Constitutional Court in the process of impeachment itself.

The constitutional momentum of European contract law (II): The DCFR and the European constitutional order

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mak, C.

2009-01-01

This paper analyses the potential impact of the recently published Draft Common Frame of Reference for European contract law (DCFR) on the European constitutional process. Looking at the combination of characteristics of codification and aspects of constitutionalism reflected in the DCFR, it is

The Constitutional Court in light of interpretive decisions in normative control proceedings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stojanović Dragan

2016-01-01

-deprivation' in cases where the Constitutional Court may have had to abandon its primary constitutional mission and even 'tolerate' unconstitutional activity. In particular, this refers to the constructs such as 'a matter of legislative policy ' and a highly dubious term 'political acts' which are eo ipso excluded from constitutional control. On the other hand, when it comes to interpretative decisions, which rest on the dogmatic principle of statutory interpretation aimed at establishing the compliance of laws with the Constitution, the interpretation results may 'save' the legal act from being declared unconstitutional and invalid. In that case, the main problem is that the Constitutional Court has a slightly different role of shaping the positive law; thus, the practice of resorting (too frequently to interpretative decisions does not lead to the optimal exercise of the Constitutional Court mission. Therefore, we can conclude that the constitutional jurisprudence (which includes only a few interpretative decisions does not seem to entail a 'dangerous' divergence of the Constitutional Court from its constitutional mission, nor does it significantly affect the principal Constitutional Court activities.

Expression of the human blood coagulation protein factor XIIIa in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: dependence of the expression levels from host-vector systems and medium conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Bröker, M; Bäuml, O; Göttig, A; Ochs, J; Bodenbenner, M; Amann, E

1991-03-01

The human blood coagulation protein Factor XIIIa (FXIIIa) was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae employing Escherichia coli-yeast shuttle vectors based on a 2-mu plasmid. Several factors affecting high production yield of recombinant FXIIIa were analysed. The use of the regulatable GAL-CYC1 hybrid promoter resulted in higher FXIIIa expression when compared with the constitutive ADCI promoter. Screening for suitable yeast strains for expression of FXIIIa under the transcriptional control of the GAL-CYC1 hybrid promoter revealed a broad spectrum of productivity. No obvious correlation between the expression rate and the genetic markers of the strains could be identified. The medium composition markedly influenced the FXIIIa expression rates. The expression of FXIIIa was strictly regulated by the carbon source. Glucose as the only sugar and energy source repressed the synthesis of FXIIIa, whereas addition of galactose induced FXIIIa expression. Special feeding schemes resulted in a productivity of up to 100 mg FXIIIa/l in shake flasks.

DAG expression: high-throughput gene expression analysis of real-time PCR data using standard curves for relative quantification.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Ballester

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR is still the gold-standard technique for gene-expression quantification. Recent technological advances of this method allow for the high-throughput gene-expression analysis, without the limitations of sample space and reagent used. However, non-commercial and user-friendly software for the management and analysis of these data is not available. RESULTS: The recently developed commercial microarrays allow for the drawing of standard curves of multiple assays using the same n-fold diluted samples. Data Analysis Gene (DAG Expression software has been developed to perform high-throughput gene-expression data analysis using standard curves for relative quantification and one or multiple reference genes for sample normalization. We discuss the application of DAG Expression in the analysis of data from an experiment performed with Fluidigm technology, in which 48 genes and 115 samples were measured. Furthermore, the quality of our analysis was tested and compared with other available methods. CONCLUSIONS: DAG Expression is a freely available software that permits the automated analysis and visualization of high-throughput qPCR. A detailed manual and a demo-experiment are provided within the DAG Expression software at http://www.dagexpression.com/dage.zip.

STAT5-mediated expression of oncogenic miR-155 in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kopp, Katharina L; Ralfkiaer, Ulrik; Gjerdrum, Lise Mette R

2013-01-01

show that malignant T cells constitutively express high levels of miR-155 and its host gene BIC (B cell integration cluster). Using ChIP-seq, we identify BIC as a target of transcription factor STAT5, which is aberrantly activated in malignant T cells and induced by IL-2/IL-15 in non-malignant T cells...... of BIC/miR-155 expression by STAT5 is highly specific. Malignant proliferation is significantly inhibited by an antisense-miR-155 as well as by knockdown of STAT5 and BIC.   In conclusion, we provide the first evidence that STAT5 drives expression of oncogenic BIC/miR-155 in cancer. Moreover, our data...

The constitutional view

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Horácio Sá Pereira

2016-05-01

Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/1808-1711.2016v20n2p165   This brief paper is devoted to criticizing the widespread reading of Kant’s first Critique, according to which reference to subject-independent objects is “constituted” by higherorder cognitive abilities (concepts. Let us call this the “constitutional view”. In this paper, I argue that the constitutional reading confuses the un-Kantian problem of how we come to represent objects (which I call the intentionality thesis, with the quite different problem of how we cognize (erkennen (which I call the “cognition thesis” that we do represent objects, that is, things that exist independently of the subject.

Essential Medicines in National Constitutions: Progress Since 2008.

Science.gov (United States)

Katrina Perehudoff, S; Toebes, Brigit; Hogerzeil, Hans

2016-06-01

A constitutional guarantee of access to essential medicines has been identified as an important indicator of government commitment to the progressive realization of the right to the highest attainable standard of health. The objective of this study was to evaluate provisions on access to essential medicines in national constitutions, to identify comprehensive examples of constitutional text on medicines that can be used as a model for other countries, and to evaluate the evolution of constitutional medicines-related rights since 2008. Relevant articles were selected from an inventory of constitutional texts from WHO member states. References to states' legal obligations under international human rights law were evaluated. Twenty-two constitutions worldwide now oblige governments to protect and/or to fulfill accessibility of, availability of, and/or quality of medicines. Since 2008, state responsibilities to fulfill access to essential medicines have expanded in five constitutions, been maintained in four constitutions, and have regressed in one constitution. Government commitments to essential medicines are an important foundation of health system equity and are included increasingly in state constitutions.

Loi constitutive chimioplastique pour le beton expose aux hautes temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Hammoud, Rabah

degradation of exothermic origin. This experimental program puts emphasis on the fragile nature of the preheated concrete and demonstrates the non-applicability of two failure criteria often used in engineering calculation. An alternative is proposed and well-tested. Indeed, exposing the concrete to high temperature results in irreversible loss of stiffness as well as a loss of decohesion strength. These losses are, typically, expressed through semi-empirical relationships of the mechanical properties with temperature. Unfortunately, these relationships are inadequate because the direct impact of this degradation, on the macroscopic scale, can result in a dependency relationship between the elastic properties and the hydrates mass. Therefore, unlike traditional methods using conventional elasto-plastic models and adjusting certain parameters with local temperature, the proposed constitutive law that incorporates a function of dehydration similar to the softening index in chemo-plastics gives good results. An Etse and Willam similar criterion is used and modified for the occasion. Hardening and softening mechanisms are then needed to expand and contract the loading surface for defining the strength of the concrete on a wide range of dehydration processes. The direction and magnitude of a permanent deformation, core of the inelastic domain, are defined through the development of non-associated chemoplastic potential and new curve of ductility. The influence of hydrostatic pressure (dilatancy) and dehydration on the concrete behavior are taken into account in our model. The model is implemented in the Matlab(c) code. Strains and stresses generated in the concrete are now accurately predicted. To illustrate the capabilities of the developed model to predict the complex behavior of concrete exposed to high temperature, simulations are performed through numerical loading paths scenarios. The model is able to accurately reproduce all the experimental data.

Unwinding after high salinity stress: Pea DNA helicase 45 over- expression in tobacco confers high salinity tolerance without affecting yield (abstract)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuteja, N.

2005-01-01

Soil salinity is an increasing threat for agriculture and is a major factor in reducing plant productivity; therefore, it is necessary to obtain salinity-tolerant varieties. A typical characteristic of soil salinity is the induction of multiple stress- inducible genes. Some of the genes encoding osmolytes, ion channels or enzymes are able to confer salinity-tolerant phenotypes when transferred to sensitive plants. As salinity stress affects the cellular gene-expression machinery, it is evident that molecules involved in nucleic acid processing including helicases, are likely to be affected as well. DNA helicases unwind duplex DNA and are involved in replication, repair, recombination and transcription while RNA helicases unfold the secondary structures in RNA and are involved in transcription, ribosome biogenesis and translation initiation. We have earlier reported the isolation of a pea DNA helicase 45 (PDH45) that exhibits striking homology with eIF-4A (Plant J. 24:219-230,2000). Here we report that PDH45 mRNA is induced in pea seedlings in response to high salt and its over- expression driven by a constitutive CAMV-355-promoter in tobacco plants confers salinity tolerance, thus suggesting a new pathway for manipulating stress tolerance in crop plants. The T0 transgenic plants showed high-levels of PDH45 protein in normal and stress conditions, as compared to wild type (WT) plants. The T0 transgenics also showed tolerance to high salinity as tested by a leaf disc senescence assay. The T1 transgenics were able to grow to maturity and set normal viable seeds under continuous salinity stress, without any reduction in plant yield, in terms of seed weight. Measurement of Na/sup +/ ions in different parts of the plant showed higher accumulation in the old leaves and negligible in seeds of T1 transgenic lines as compared with the WT plants. The possible mechanism of salinity tolerance will be discussed. Over-expression of PDH45 provides a possible example of the

Public Participation: What has the Constitutional Court given the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Public Participation: What has the Constitutional Court given the public? ... Linda Nyati explores the duty to facilitate public participation in legislative processes in terms of ... This issue, the article demonstrates, is highly pertinent to citizens in ...

Unanimous Constitutional Consent and the Immigration Problem

OpenAIRE

Josten, Stefan D.; Zimmermann, Klaus W.

2004-01-01

This paper utilizes the cross-cutting cleavages approach to evaluate the probability of a unanimous constitutional consent and, based on these results, discusses the implications of immigration on an existing constitutional consent. It is shown that previous conclusions of beneficial effects stemming from a multitude of political dimensions for a unanimous constitutional consent crucially depend on the assumption of an extreme mode of intrapersonal compensation of constitutional majority and ...

Analysis on constitution of American college republicans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minghua Su

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This paper, based on internet survey and comparative analysis, according to the firsthand materials, comprehensively and systematically probes the formation of the constitution form and structure, and analyzes its contents of Constitution of American College Republicans among 15 colleges respectively, which includes the illustration of constitution, membership, personnel, meeting, financial amendment, etc. Finally, this essay analyzes the characteristics of constitution of college republicans and its advantages.

THEORETICAL AND JURISPRUDENTIAL ASPECTS CONCERNING THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE COURT APPEAL ON POINTS OF LAW

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marius ANDREESCU

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The institution of the appeal on points of law has the role to ensure a unitary law interpretation and enforcing by the law courts. The legal nature of this procedure is determined not only by the civil and criminal normative dispositions that regulate it. In this study we bring arguments according to which this institution is of a constitutional nature, because according to the Constitution, the High Court of Cassation and Justice has the attribution to ensure the unitary interpretation of the law by the law courts. Thus are analyzed the constitutional nature consequences of this institution, the limits of compulsoriness of law interpretations given by the Supreme Court through the decisions ruled on this procedure, and also the relationship between the decisions of the Constitutional Court, respectively the decisions of the High Court of Cassation and Justice given for resolving the appeals on points of law. The recent jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court reveals new aspects regarding the possibility to verify the constitutionality of the decisions given in this matter.

Mechanical Behaviour of Materials Volume 1 Micro- and Macroscopic Constitutive Behaviour

CERN Document Server

François, Dominique; Zaoui, André

2012-01-01

Advances in technology are demanding ever-increasing mastery over the materials being used: the challenge is to gain a better understanding of their behaviour, and more particularly of the relations between their microstructure and their macroscopic properties.   This work, of which this is the first volume, aims to provide the means by which this challenge may be met. Starting from the mechanics of deformation, it develops the laws governing macroscopic behaviour – expressed as the constitutive equations – always taking account of the physical phenomena which underlie rheological behaviour. The most recent developments are presented, in particular those concerning heterogeneous materials such as metallic alloys, polymers and composites. Each chapter is devoted to one of the major classes of material behaviour.   As the subtitles indicate, Volume 1 deals with micro- and macroscopic constitutive behaviour and Volume 2 with damage and fracture mechanics. A third volume will be devoted to exercises and the...

Crushed Salt Constitutive Model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Callahan, G.D.

1999-01-01

The constitutive model used to describe the deformation of crushed salt is presented in this report. Two mechanisms -- dislocation creep and grain boundary diffusional pressure solution -- are combined to form the basis for the constitutive model governing the deformation of crushed salt. The constitutive model is generalized to represent three-dimensional states of stress. Upon complete consolidation, the crushed-salt model reproduces the Multimechanism Deformation (M-D) model typically used for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) host geological formation salt. New shear consolidation tests are combined with an existing database that includes hydrostatic consolidation and shear consolidation tests conducted on WIPP and southeastern New Mexico salt. Nonlinear least-squares model fitting to the database produced two sets of material parameter values for the model -- one for the shear consolidation tests and one for a combination of the shear and hydrostatic consolidation tests. Using the parameter values determined from the fitted database, the constitutive model is validated against constant strain-rate tests. Shaft seal problems are analyzed to demonstrate model-predicted consolidation of the shaft seal crushed-salt component. Based on the fitting statistics, the ability of the model to predict the test data, and the ability of the model to predict load paths and test data outside of the fitted database, the model appears to capture the creep consolidation behavior of crushed salt reasonably well

Different gene-expression profiles for the poorly differentiated carcinoma and the highly differentiated papillary adenocarcinoma in mammary glands support distinct metabolic pathways

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eilon, Tali; Barash, Itamar

2008-01-01

Deregulation of Stat5 in the mammary gland of transgenic mice causes tumorigenesis. Poorly differentiated carcinoma and highly differentiated papillary adenocarcinoma tumors evolve. To distinguish the genes and elucidate the cellular processes and metabolic pathways utilized to preserve these phenotypes, gene-expression profiles were analyzed. Mammary tumors were excised from transgenic mice carrying a constitutively active variant of Stat5, or a Stat5 variant lacking s transactivation domain. These tumors displayed either the carcinoma or the papillary adenocarcinoma phenotypes. cRNAs, prepared from each tumor were hybridized to an Affymetrix GeneChip ® Mouse Genome 430A 2.0 array. Gene-ontology analysis, hierarchical clustering and biological-pathway analysis were performed to distinct the two types of tumors. Histopathology and immunofluorescence staining complemented the comparison between the tumor phenotypes. The nucleus-cytoskeleton-plasma membrane axis is a major target for differential gene expression between phenotypes. In the carcinoma, stronger expression of genes coding for specific integrins, cytoskeletal proteins and calcium-binding proteins highlight cell-adhesion and motility features of the tumor cells. This is supported by the higher expression of genes involved in O-glycan synthesis, TGF-β, activin, their receptors and Smad3, as well as the Notch ligands and members of the γ-secretase complex that enable Notch nuclear localization. The Wnt pathway was also a target for differential gene expression. Higher expression of genes encoding the degradation complex of the canonical pathway and limited TCF expression in the papillary adenocarcinoma result in membranal accumulation of β-catenin, in contrast to its nuclear translocation in the carcinoma. Genes involved in cell-cycle arrest at G1 and response to DNA damage were more highly expressed in the papillary adenocarcinomas, as opposed to favored G2/M regulation in the carcinoma tumors. At least

Rice sHsp genes: genomic organization and expression profiling under stress and development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grover Anil

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Heat shock proteins (Hsps constitute an important component in the heat shock response of all living systems. Among the various plant Hsps (i.e. Hsp100, Hsp90, Hsp70 and Hsp20, Hsp20 or small Hsps (sHsps are expressed in maximal amounts under high temperature stress. The characteristic feature of the sHsps is the presence of α-crystallin domain (ACD at the C-terminus. sHsps cooperate with Hsp100/Hsp70 and co-chaperones in ATP-dependent manner in preventing aggregation of cellular proteins and in their subsequent refolding. Database search was performed to investigate the sHsp gene family across rice genome sequence followed by comprehensive expression analysis of these genes. Results We identified 40 α-crystallin domain containing genes in rice. Phylogenetic analysis showed that 23 out of these 40 genes constitute sHsps. The additional 17 genes containing ACD clustered with Acd proteins of Arabidopsis. Detailed scrutiny of 23 sHsp sequences enabled us to categorize these proteins in a revised scheme of classification constituting of 16 cytoplasmic/nuclear, 2 ER, 3 mitochondrial, 1 plastid and 1 peroxisomal genes. In the new classification proposed herein nucleo-cytoplasmic class of sHsps with 9 subfamilies is more complex in rice than in Arabidopsis. Strikingly, 17 of 23 rice sHsp genes were noted to be intronless. Expression analysis based on microarray and RT-PCR showed that 19 sHsp genes were upregulated by high temperature stress. Besides heat stress, expression of sHsp genes was up or downregulated by other abiotic and biotic stresses. In addition to stress regulation, various sHsp genes were differentially upregulated at different developmental stages of the rice plant. Majority of sHsp genes were expressed in seed. Conclusion We identified twenty three sHsp genes and seventeen Acd genes in rice. Three nucleocytoplasmic sHsp genes were found only in monocots. Analysis of expression profiling of sHsp genes revealed

A validated battery of vocal emotional expressions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pierre Maurage

2007-11-01

Full Text Available For a long time, the exploration of emotions focused on facial expression, and vocal expression of emotion has only recently received interest. However, no validated battery of emotional vocal expressions has been published and made available to the researchers’ community. This paper aims at validating and proposing such material. 20 actors (10 men recorded sounds (words and interjections expressing six basic emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, neutral and sadness. These stimuli were then submitted to a double validation phase: (1 preselection by experts; (2 quantitative and qualitative validation by 70 participants. 195 stimuli were selected for the final battery, each one depicting a precise emotion. The ratings provide a complete measure of intensity and specificity for each stimulus. This paper provides, to our knowledge, the first validated, freely available and highly standardized battery of emotional vocal expressions (words and intonations. This battery could constitute an interesting tool for the exploration of prosody processing among normal and pathological populations, in neuropsychology as well as psychiatry. Further works are nevertheless needed to complement the present material.

Enhanced constitutive invasion activity in human nontumorigenic keratinocytes exposed to a low level of barium for a long time.

Science.gov (United States)

Thang, Nguyen D; Yajima, Ichiro; Ohnuma, Shoko; Ohgami, Nobutaka; Kumasaka, Mayuko Y; Ichihara, Gaku; Kato, Masashi

2015-02-01

We have recently demonstrated that exposure to barium for a short time (≤4 days) and at a low level (5 µM = 687 µg/L) promotes invasion of human nontumorigenic HaCaT cells, which have characteristics similar to those of normal keratinocytes, suggesting that exposure to barium for a short time enhances malignant characteristics. Here we examined the effect of exposure to low level of barium for a long time, a condition mimicking the exposure to barium through well water, on malignant characteristics of HaCaT keratinocytes. Constitutive invasion activity, focal adhesion kinase (FAK) protein expression and activity, and matrix metalloproteinase 14 (MMP14) protein expression in primary cultured normal human epidermal keratinocytes, HaCaT keratinocytes, and HSC5 and A431 human squamous cell carcinoma cells were augmented following an increase in malignancy grade of the cells. Constitutive invasion activity, FAK phosphorylation, and MMP14 expression levels of HaCaT keratinocytes after treatment with 5 µM barium for 4 months were significantly higher than those of control untreated HaCaT keratinocytes. Taken together, our results suggest that exposure to a low level of barium for a long time enhances constitutive malignant characteristics of HaCaT keratinocytes via regulatory molecules (FAK and MMP14) for invasion. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Evaluation of high temperature mechanical properties and constitutive equation of austenitic stainless steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blanchard, P.; Tortel, J.

1986-07-01

A large amount of experimental data on 17-12 Mo SPH (316 L SPH) stainless steel have been obtained during the last years. The aim of this paper is to illustrate by a few examples the work done in the constitutive equations area using this powerful data base. Numerous semiempirical equations have been developed to represent tensile, cyclic, creep or relaxation tests on 17-12 Mo SPH (316 L SPH) stainless steel used for building the primary loop of the SUPER PHENIX 1 reactor. These equations are necessary tools for building elastic analysis's rules. Some examples are given with specific applications. The qualitative and semiquantitative comparisons of the stress-strain behaviour (both uniaxial and biaxial) predicted by the most common constitutive equations with the actual behaviour of 17-12 Mo SPH (316 L SPH) steel, shed some light on the strengths and weaknesses of these equations. This comparison is presented and discussed. The way to more realistic equations is shown. A detailed and quantitative comparison of the capabilities of two models, the CHABOCHE model and the multilayer unified model, is presented

Constitutive modeling of the rheological behavior of platelet suspensions

Science.gov (United States)

Sommer, Drew E.

Compression molding of chopped fiber composites is used to manufacture complex 3D geometries with high fiber volume fractions of 50-60% and long, discontinuous fibers and thermoplastic matrices. When prepreg, chopped into platelets, is used as a charge material, the individual platelets remain intact during the molding process and flow relative to one another, as experimental observations show. Heterogeneity of the platelet/resin suspension cannot be considered at the structural scale of molding simulation. Instead, the suspension should be idealized into the homogenized anisotropic and viscous system which obeys the prescribed anisotropic stress-strain rate constitutive relation. The viscosity tensor of the aforementioned constitutive law was analytically evaluated in this work through the representative volume element (RVE) based analysis. An idealized microstructure of platelets was developed to perform such an analysis. The platelets were aligned and arranged in a planar configuration with periodic boundary conditions. Analytic expressions for the effective, anisotropic viscosities were derived by micromechanical analysis for the idealized microstructure of rigid platelets. In this analysis, the load transfer mechanisms and their contribution to the viscosity of the platelet assembly were investigated. The kinematic assumption of linear velocity distributions consistent with the mechanism of shearing rate was adopted. While the platelets were assumed to be rigid, the resin was taken as an incompressible, isotropic fluid which provided for the platelet-to-platelet load transfer. Strain rate and temperature dependence were included by modeling the polymer matrix as a Carreau fluid. Shear strain in the resin was developed due to the relative motion of adjacent platelets. The resin shear strain rate was expressed in terms of the corresponding platelet velocities. Equilibrium of the platelet was used to relate the applied far-field stress to the average strain rate

The Constitution of the Republic of Estonia

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

2009-01-01

Sisaldab ka: The Constitution of the Republic of Estonia Amendment Act. The Constitution of the Republic of Estonia Implementation Act. Act to Amend the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia for Election of Local Government Councils for Term of Four Years

CHAPTER FOUR LİBERTY AND TURKISH CONSTITUTIONS:

OpenAIRE

FENDOĞLU, Doç.Dr.Hasan Tahsin

2002-01-01

CHAPTER FOUR LIBERTY AND TURKISH CONSTITUTIONS: Doç.Dr.Hasan Tahsin FENDOĞLU ABSTRACT: Turkish Constitution of 1982 is the first and only Turkish Constitution that has a main purpose on strengthening the political power not the liberty or democr...

Ultima Ratio as a Constitutional Principle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaarlo Tuori

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The paper argues the criminal law notion of ultima ratio is an instance of a broader constitutional law principle of proportionality. However, ultima ratio is not the only principle relevant in a constitutional assessment of criminalization. The role of ultima ratio is to impose limitations on criminalization. But constitutional doctrines also exist which call for criminalization and might even be seen as establishing a criminalization obligation. The paper examines three constitutional counter weights to ultima ratio. The first of these is discussed in the context of state constitutions. This is the cluster of the interrelated constitutional doctrines of the horizontal effect of fundamental rights and the protective duty of the state, as well as the understanding of collective security as a basic right. These doctrines are analysed in the light of the praxis of the German Constitutional Court and the Finnish Constitutional Law Committee. The two other constitutional counterweights are discussed at the level of the transnational, European constitution. These are the principles of precaution and effectiveness. Este artículo defiende que el concepto de ultima ratio es una instancia más amplia del principio de proporcionalidad dentro del derecho constitucional. Sin embargo, el ultima ratio no es el único principio relevante en la valoración constitucional de la criminalización. El papel del ultima ratio es imponer límites a la criminalización. Pero también existen doctrinas constitucionales que exigen la criminalización e incluso dan pie a entender que obligan a establecer una pena. El documento examina tres contrapesos constitucionales al ultima ratio. En primer lugar, se analiza en el contexto de las constituciones estatales. Este es el conjunto de las doctrinas constitucionales interrelacionadas entre el efecto horizontal de los derechos fundamentales y el deber de protección del Estado, así como la asunción de la seguridad colectiva

Increase of anthraquinone content in Rubia cordifolia cells transformed by native and constitutively active forms of the AtCPK1 gene.

Science.gov (United States)

Shkryl, Yury N; Veremeichik, G N; Makhazen, D S; Silantieva, S A; Mishchenko, N P; Vasileva, E A; Fedoreyev, S A; Bulgakov, V P

2016-09-01

Overexpression of both native and mutant forms of AtCPK1 in Rubia cordifolia cells increased anthraquinone production and transcript abundance of the RcIPPI, RcOSBL, RcOSBS , and RcICS genes to different extents. Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) are involved in various cell processes and are regulated by a calcium signal system. CDPKs also function in plant defense against stress factors such as pathogens, temperature, and salinity. In this study, we compared the effect of heterologous expression of two forms of the Arabidopsis AtCPK1 gene, native and constitutively active (Ca(2+)-independent), on anthraquinone production in transgenic Rubia cordifolia cells. Significant qualitative and quantitative differences were found in the content of anthraquinone derivatives in control and AtCPK1-transgenic calli. Expression of the AtCPK1 gene increased anthraquinone production by 3 and 12 times for native and constitutively active forms, respectively, compared with control cells. In addition, we identified and quantified the expression of genes encoding key enzymes of the anthraquinone biosynthesis pathway, including isochorismate synthase (ICS), o-succinylbenzoate synthase (OSBS), o-succinylbenzoate ligase (OSBL), and isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase (IPPi). In all AtCPK1-transgenic cell lines, expression of ICS, OSBS, OSBL, and IPPi increased considerably at 14-15 days of subculture and decreased at the end of cultivation (30 days). The results suggest that both native and constitutively active AtCPK1 forms induced anthraquinone accumulation at the logarithmic growth stage via enhancement of expression of genes involved in the metabolism of anthraquinones or their regulatory mechanisms.

Human Rights in Indonesian Constitutional Amendments

OpenAIRE

Kharlie, Ahmad Tholabi

2013-01-01

Human Rights in Indonesian Constitutional Amendments. Indonesian constitutional amendments incorporated human rights principles into the Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia 1945 (UUD NRI), especially in the second amendment in 2000. Under that amendment, the UUD NRI currently stipulates human rights principles as provided for in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). However, there are some important notes, which at its core is a lack of emphasis on the vision and mission of ...

The effect of high concentrations of glufosinate ammonium on the yield components of transgenic spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) constitutively expressing the bar gene.

Science.gov (United States)

Áy, Zoltán; Mihály, Róbert; Cserháti, Mátyás; Kótai, Éva; Pauk, János

2012-01-01

We present an experiment done on a bar(+) wheat line treated with 14 different concentrations of glufosinate ammonium-an effective component of nonselective herbicides-during seed germination in a closed experimental system. Yield components as number of spikes per plant, number of grains per spike, thousand kernel weight, and yield per plant were thoroughly analysed and statistically evaluated after harvesting. We found that a concentration of glufosinate ammonium 5000 times the lethal dose was not enough to inhibit the germination of transgenic plants expressing the bar gene. Extremely high concentrations of glufosinate ammonium caused a bushy phenotype, significantly lower numbers of grains per spike, and thousand kernel weights. Concerning the productivity, we observed that concentrations of glufosinate ammonium 64 times the lethal dose did not lead to yield depression. Our results draw attention to the possibilities implied in the transgenic approaches.

The Constitution of the Republic of Estonia

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

2005-01-01

Raamat sisaldab ka: The Constitution of the Republic of Estonia amendment act ; The Constitution of the Republic of Estonia implementation act ; Act to amend the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia for election of local government councils for term of four years

Urgensi Pengaturan Perkara Constitutional Complaint Dalam Kewenangan Mahkamah Konstitusi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rahmat Muhajir Nugroho

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to evaluate the mechanism for settling disputes in the Constitutional Court containing elements of constitutional complaint. In particular, this study focused on two things: first assessing the urgency/ importance of the idea of setting constitutional complaint in the Constitutional Court's authority. Secondly, to formulate recommendations on setting constitutional complaint in the Constitutional Court's authority. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative. This type of research is a doctrinal law. This research studied the concept and implementation of the judicial settlement of cases that contain elements of constitutional complaint (complaint constitution by the Constitutional Court. The conclusion of this study is an important constitutional complaint mechanism is contained within the competence of the Constitutional Court to solve problems of injustice experienced by citizens as a result of public policies undertaken by the government in a broad sense, namely the executive, legislature and judiciary. Setting constitutional complaint within the competence of the Constitutional Court does not have to be explicitly stipulated in the constitution, but enough in the explanation of the Constitutional Court Act. That is not to add direct authority of the Court, but expand the meaning of the authority of the Court in testing the law.

Childrens' Rights in the South African Constitution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

JA Robinson

2003-10-01

Full Text Available Children were in many respects defenceless victims of discriminatory practices in ‘apartheid South Africa’. In fact, discrimination on the basis of gender, race and other inequalities were inscribed in the social fabric of the previous constitutional dispensation. The constitutional dispensation that came into effect on the 27th April 1994 was therefore designed to innovate social, political and legal structures that would be radically different from those of the country’s past history.In this contribution the impact of the Constitution upon the rights of children are considered. In order to fathom the impact. a general overview of constitutional principles and provisions necessary for the comprehension of the rights of children is provided. Thereafter the rights of children expressly mentioned in the Constitution will be addressed. Attention is also paid to the equal protection and non-discrimination provisions of the Constitution, albeit only indirectly.

Tissue factor-expressing tumor cells can bind to immobilized recombinant tissue factor pathway inhibitor under static and shear conditions in vitro.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara P Y Che

Full Text Available Mammary tumors and malignant breast cancer cell lines over-express the coagulation factor, tissue factor (TF. High expression of TF is associated with a poor prognosis in breast cancer. Tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI, the endogenous inhibitor of TF, is constitutively expressed on the endothelium. We hypothesized that TF-expressing tumor cells can bind to immobilized recombinant TFPI, leading to arrest of the tumor cells under shear in vitro. We evaluated the adhesion of breast cancer cells to immobilized TFPI under static and shear conditions (0.35 - 1.3 dyn/cm2. We found that high-TF-expressing breast cancer cells, MDA-MB-231 (with a TF density of 460,000/cell, but not low TF-expressing MCF-7 (with a TF density of 1,400/cell, adhered to recombinant TFPI, under static and shear conditions. Adhesion of MDA-MB-231 cells to TFPI required activated factor VII (FVIIa, but not FX, and was inhibited by a factor VIIa-blocking anti-TF antibody. Under shear, adhesion to TFPI was dependent on the TFPI-coating concentration, FVIIa concentration and shear stress, with no observed adhesion at shear stresses greater than 1.0 dyn/cm2. This is the first study showing that TF-expressing tumor cells can be captured by immobilized TFPI, a ligand constitutively expressed on the endothelium, under low shear in vitro. Based on our results, we hypothesize that TFPI could be a novel ligand mediating the arrest of TF-expressing tumor cells in high TFPI-expressing vessels under conditions of low shear during metastasis.

Functional characterization of human RSK4, a new 90-kDa ribosomal S6 kinase, reveals constitutive activation in most cell types

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dümmler, Bettina A; Hauge, Camilla; Silber, Joachim

2005-01-01

characterization of a predicted new human RSK homologue, RSK4. We showed that RSK4 is a predominantly cytosolic protein with very low expression and several characteristics of the RSK family kinases, including the presence of two functional kinase domains and a C-terminal docking site for ERK. Surprisingly......, however, in all cell types analyzed, endogenous RSK4 was maximally (constitutively) activated under serum-starved conditions where other RSKs are inactive due to their requirement for growth factor stimulation. Constitutive activation appeared to result from constitutive phosphorylation of Ser232, Ser372...

Constitutional Conservatism

Science.gov (United States)

Berkowitz, Peter

2009-01-01

After their dismal performance in election 2008, conservatives are taking stock. As they examine the causes that have driven them into the political wilderness and as they explore paths out, they should also take heart. After all, election 2008 shows that America's constitutional order is working as designed. Indeed, while sorting out their errors…

Functional characterization of a strong bi-directional constitutive plant promoter isolated from cotton leaf curl Burewala virus.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zainul A Khan

Full Text Available Cotton leaf curl Burewala virus (CLCuBuV, belonging to the genus Begomovirus, possesses single-stranded monopartite DNA genome. The bidirectional promoters representing Rep and coat protein (CP genes of CLCuBuV were characterized and their efficacy was assayed. Rep and CP promoters of CLCuBuV and 35S promoter of Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV were fused with β-glucuronidase (GUS and green fluorescent protein (GFP reporter genes. GUS activity in individual plant cells driven by Rep, CP and 35S promoters was estimated using real-time PCR and fluorometric GUS assay. Histochemical staining of GUS in transformed tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Xanthi leaves showed highest expression driven by Rep promoter followed by 35S promoter and CP promoter. The expression level of GUS driven by Rep promoter in transformed tobacco plants was shown to be two to four-fold higher than that of 35S promoter, while the expression by CP promoter was slightly lower. Further, the expression of GFP was monitored in agroinfiltrated leaves of N. benthamiana, N. tabacum and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum plants using confocal laser scanning microscopy. Rep promoter showed strong consistent transient expression in tobacco and cotton leaves as compared to 35S promoter. The strong constitutive CLCuBuV Rep promoter developed in this study could be very useful for high level expression of transgenes in a wide variety of plant cells.

The constitutional control system in Colombia

OpenAIRE

Luis Javier Moreno Ortiz

2010-01-01

The system of constitutional control in Colombia designed in the Legislative Act n.º 3 of 1910 is a milestone in a long and fruitful political and constitutional tradition owes much to his Hispanic roots and its American developments. Both the public action of unconstitutionality as the plea of unconstitutionality have clear precedents in the constitutionalism of Spain and the Colony were prepared by a Constituent Assembly acted with knowledge and faithfulness to that tradition and have been ...

FAITH, INTOLERANCE, VIOLENCE AND BIGOTRY: Legal and Constitutional Issues of Freedom of Religion in Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam J. Fenton

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Religious intolerance and bigotry indeed is a contri­buting factor in social and political conflict including manifestations of terrorist violence. While freedom of religion is enshrined in Indonesia’s Constitution, social practices and governmental regulations fall short of constitutional and international law guarantees, allowing institutionalised bias in the treatment of religious minorities. Such bias inhibits Indonesia’s transition to a fully-functioning pluralistic democracy and sacrifices democratic ideals of personal liberty and freedom of expression for the stated goals of religious and social harmony. The Ahok case precisely confirms that. The paper examines the constitutional bases of freedom of religion, Indonesia’s Blasphemy Law and takes account of the history and tenets of Pancasila which dictate a belief in God as the first principle of state ideology. The paper argues that the Indonesian state’s failure to recognise the legitimacy of alternate theological positions is a major obstacle to Indonesia recognising the ultimate ideal, enshrined in the national motto, of unity in diversity.

Constitutive Effects of Performance Indicators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dahler-Larsen, Peter

2014-01-01

that are demonstrably problematic. Based on a distinction between trivial and advanced measure fixation, an argument is made for constitutive effects that are based on less problematic assumptions. Through this conceptual move, the political dimension of performance indicators is appreciated. The conceptual dimensions...... of constitutive effects are carved out, empirical illustrations of their applicability are offered and implications discussed....

High-Speed Video System for Micro-Expression Detection and Recognition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana Borza

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Micro-expressions play an essential part in understanding non-verbal communication and deceit detection. They are involuntary, brief facial movements that are shown when a person is trying to conceal something. Automatic analysis of micro-expression is challenging due to their low amplitude and to their short duration (they occur as fast as 1/15 to 1/25 of a second. We propose a fully micro-expression analysis system consisting of a high-speed image acquisition setup and a software framework which can detect the frames when the micro-expressions occurred as well as determine the type of the emerged expression. The detection and classification methods use fast and simple motion descriptors based on absolute image differences. The recognition module it only involves the computation of several 2D Gaussian probabilities. The software framework was tested on two publicly available high speed micro-expression databases and the whole system was used to acquire new data. The experiments we performed show that our solution outperforms state of the art works which use more complex and computationally intensive descriptors.

High Glucose Represses hERG K+ Channel Expression through Trafficking Inhibition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuan-Qi Shi

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Background/Aims: Abnormal QT prolongation is the most prominent cardiac electrical disturbance in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM. It is well known that the human ether-ago-go-related gene (hERG controls the rapid delayed rectifier K+ current (IKr in cardiac cells. The expression of the hERG channel is severely down-regulated in diabetic hearts, and this down-regulation is a critical contributor to the slowing of repolarization and QT prolongation. However, the intracellular mechanisms underlying the diabetes-induced hERG deficiency remain unknown. Methods: The expression of the hERG channel was assessed via western blot analysis, and the hERG current was detected with a patch-clamp technique. Results: The results of our study revealed that the expression of the hERG protein and the hERG current were substantially decreased in high-glucose-treated hERG-HEK cells. Moreover, we demonstrated that the high-glucose-mediated damage to the hERG channel depended on the down-regulation of protein levels but not the alteration of channel kinetics. These discoveries indicated that high glucose likely disrupted hERG channel trafficking. From the western blot and immunoprecipitation analyses, we found that high glucose induced trafficking inhibition through an effect on the expression of Hsp90 and its interaction with hERG. Furthermore, the high-glucose-induced inhibition of hERG channel trafficking could activate the unfolded protein response (UPR by up-regulating the expression levels of activating transcription factor-6 (ATF-6 and the ER chaperone protein calnexin. In addition, we demonstrated that 100 nM insulin up-regulated the expression of the hERG channel and rescued the hERG channel repression caused by high glucose. Conclusion: The results of our study provide the first evidence of a high-glucose-induced hERG channel deficiency resulting from the inhibition of channel trafficking. Furthermore, insulin promotes the expression of the hERG channel

Increased skin barrier disruption by sodium lauryl sulfate in mice expressing a constitutively active STAT6 in T cells.

Science.gov (United States)

DaSilva, Sonia C; Sahu, Ravi P; Konger, Raymond L; Perkins, Susan M; Kaplan, Mark H; Travers, Jeffrey B

2012-01-01

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a pruritic, chronic inflammatory skin disease that affects 10-20% of children and 1-3% of adults worldwide. Recent studies have indicated that the ability of Th2 cytokines, such as interleukin-4 (IL-4) to regulate skin barrier function may be a predisposing factor for AD development. The present studies examined the ability of increased Th2 activity to affect cutaneous barrier function in vivo and epidermal thickening. Mice that express a constitutively active Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 6 (STAT6VT) have increased Th2 cells and a predisposition to allergic inflammation were used in these studies, they demonstrate that topical treatment with the irritant sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) caused increased transepidermal water loss and epidermal thickening in STAT6VT mice over similarly treated wild-type mice. The proliferation marker Ki-67 was increased in the epidermis of STAT6VT compared to the wild-type mice. However, these differences do not appear to be linked to the addition of an irritant as control-treated STAT6VT skin also exhibited elevated Ki-67 levels, suggesting that the increased epidermal thickness in SLS-treated STAT6VT mice is primarily driven by epidermal cell hypertrophy rather than an increase in cellular proliferation. Our results suggest that an environment with increased Th2 cytokines results in abnormal responses to topical irritants.

Constitutive expression of nitrate reductase allows normal growth and development of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Vincentz, M; Caboche, M

1991-01-01

A nitrate reductase (NR) deficient mutant of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia totally impaired in the production of NR transcript and protein was restored for NR activity by transformation with a chimaeric NR gene. This gene was composed of a full-length tobacco NR cDNA fused to the CaMV 35S promoter and to termination signals from the tobacco NR gene. The transgenic plants we obtained were viable and fertile and expressed from one-fifth to three times the wild-type NR activity in their leaves. The analysis of chimeric NR gene expression in these plants showed, by comparison with wild-type plants, that the regulation of NR gene expression by light, nitrate and circadian rhythm takes place at the transcriptional level. However, unlike nitrate, light was required for the accumulation of NR protein in transgenic plants, suggesting that NR expression is also controlled at the translational and/or post-translational level. Images PMID:2022181

Constitutional compatibility of energy systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rossnagel, A.

1983-01-01

The paper starts from the results of the Enquiry Commission on 'Future Nuclear Energy Policy' of the 8th Federal German Parliament outlining technically feasible energy futures in four 'pathways'. For the purpose of the project, which was to establish the comparative advantages and disadvantages of different energy systems, these four scenarios were reduced to two alternatives: cases K (= nuclear energy) and S (= solar energy). The question to Ge put is: Which changes within our legal system will be ushered in by certain technological developments and how do these changes relate to the legal condition intended so far. Proceeding in this manner will not lead to the result of a nuclear energy system or a solar energy system being in conformity or in contradiction with the constitutional law, but will provide a catalogue of implications orientated to the aims of legal standards: a person deciding in favour of a nuclear energy system or a solar energy system supports this or that development of constitutional policy, and a person purishing this or that aim of legal policy should be consistent and decide in favour of this or that energy system. The investigation of constitutional compatibility leads to the question what effects different energy systems will have on the forms of political intercourse laid down in the constitutional law, which are orientated to models of a liberal constitutional tradition of citizens. (orig./HSCH) [de

Interleukin-7 Plasma Levels in Human Differentiate Anorexia Nervosa, Constitutional Thinness and Healthy Obesity.

Science.gov (United States)

Germain, Natacha; Viltart, Odile; Loyens, Anne; Bruchet, Céline; Nadin, Katia; Wolowczuk, Isabelle; Estour, Bruno; Galusca, Bogdan

2016-01-01

Interleukin-7 (IL-7) is a cytokine involved in energy homeostasis as demonstrated in rodents. Anorexia nervosa is characterized by restrained eating behavior despite adaptive orexigenic regulation profile including high ghrelin plasma levels. Constitutional thinness is a physiological condition of resistance to weight gain with physiological anorexigenic profile including high Peptide YY plasma level. Healthy obesity can be considered as a physiological state of resistance to weight loss with opposite appetite regulating profile to constitutional thinness including low Peptide YY plasma level. No studies in IL-7 are yet available in those populations. Therefore we evaluated circadian plasma levels of IL-7 in anorexia nervosa compared to constitutional thinness, healthy obese and control females. 10 restrictive-type anorexia nervosa women, 5 bingeing/purging anorexia nervosa woman, 5 recovered restrictive anorexia nervosa women, 4 bulimic females, 10 constitutional thinness women, 7 healthy obese females, and 10 normal weight women controls were enrolled in this cross-sectional study, performed in endocrinology unit and academic laboratory. Twelve-point circadian profiles of plasma IL-7 levels were measured in each subject. 24h mean IL-7 plasma levels (pg/ml, mean±SEM) were decreased in restrictive-type anorexia nervosa (123.4±14.4, panorexia nervosa (24.2±5.6, panorexia nervosa (64.2±16.1, p = 0.01) and healthy obese patients (51±3.2, panorexia nervosa, confirming its difference with constitutional thinness. Healthy obesity, with low IL-7, is once again in mirror image of constitutional thinness with normal high IL-7.

Homologous high-throughput expression and purification of highly conserved E coli proteins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duchmann Rainer

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Genetic factors and a dysregulated immune response towards commensal bacteria contribute to the pathogenesis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD. Animal models demonstrated that the normal intestinal flora is crucial for the development of intestinal inflammation. However, due to the complexity of the intestinal flora, it has been difficult to design experiments for detection of proinflammatory bacterial antigen(s involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. Several studies indicated a potential association of E. coli with IBD. In addition, T cell clones of IBD patients were shown to cross react towards antigens from different enteric bacterial species and thus likely responded to conserved bacterial antigens. We therefore chose highly conserved E. coli proteins as candidate antigens for abnormal T cell responses in IBD and used high-throughput techniques for cloning, expression and purification under native conditions of a set of 271 conserved E. coli proteins for downstream immunologic studies. Results As a standardized procedure, genes were PCR amplified and cloned into the expression vector pQTEV2 in order to express proteins N-terminally fused to a seven-histidine-tag. Initial small-scale expression and purification under native conditions by metal chelate affinity chromatography indicated that the vast majority of target proteins were purified in high yields. Targets that revealed low yields after purification probably due to weak solubility were shuttled into Gateway (Invitrogen destination vectors in order to enhance solubility by N-terminal fusion of maltose binding protein (MBP, N-utilizing substance A (NusA, or glutathione S-transferase (GST to the target protein. In addition, recombinant proteins were treated with polymyxin B coated magnetic beads in order to remove lipopolysaccharide (LPS. Thus, 73% of the targeted proteins could be expressed and purified in large-scale to give soluble proteins in the range of 500

Constitutionalism and good governance in Nigeria (1999-2014 ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

While the country, at present, has a written constitution which in reality, was derived from a military decree, there has been constant debate as to whether what the country has is really a constitution and whether the subsequent civilian regimes are constitutional governments. This paper attempts to analyse the constitutional ...

Analgesic tone conferred by constitutively active mu opioid receptors in mice lacking β-arrestin 2

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hales Tim G

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Hedonic reward, dependence and addiction are unwanted effects of opioid analgesics, linked to the phasic cycle of μ opioid receptor activation, tolerance and withdrawal. In vitro studies of recombinant G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs over expressed in cell lines reveal an alternative tonic signaling mechanism that is independent of agonist. Such studies demonstrate that constitutive GPCR signaling can be inhibited by inverse agonists but not by neutral antagonists. However, ligand-independent activity has been difficult to examine in vivo, at the systems level, due to relatively low levels of constitutive activity of most GPCRs including μ receptors, often necessitating mutagenesis or pharmacological manipulation to enhance basal signaling. We previously demonstrated that the absence of β-arrestin 2 (β-arr2 augments the constitutive coupling of μ receptors to voltage-activated Ca2+ channels in primary afferent dorsal root ganglion neurons from β-arr2-/- mice. We used this in vitro approach to characterize neutral competitive antagonists and inverse agonists of the constitutively active wild type μ receptors in neurons. We administered these agents to β-arr2-/- mice to explore the role of constitutive μ receptor activity in nociception and hedonic tone. This study demonstrates that the induction of constitutive μ receptor activity in vivo in β-arr2-/- mice prolongs tail withdrawal from noxious heat, a phenomenon that was reversed by inverse agonists, but not by antagonists that lack negative efficacy. By contrast, the aversive effects of inverse agonists were similar in β-arr2-/- and β-arr2+/+ mice, suggesting that hedonic tone was unaffected.

Dissecting specific and global transcriptional regulation of bacterial gene expression

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gerosa, Luca; Kochanowski, Karl; Heinemann, Matthias; Sauer, Uwe

Gene expression is regulated by specific transcriptional circuits but also by the global expression machinery as a function of growth. Simultaneous specific and global regulation thus constitutes an additional-but often neglected-layer of complexity in gene expression. Here, we develop an

Impact of High-Level Expression of Heterologous Protein on Lactococcus lactis Host.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Mina; Jin, Yerin; An, Hyun-Joo; Kim, Jaehan

2017-07-28

The impact of overproduction of a heterologous protein on the metabolic system of host Lactococcus lactis was investigated. The protein expression profiles of L. lactis IL1403 containing two near-identical plasmids that expressed high- and low-level of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) were examined via shotgun proteomics. Analysis of the two strains via high-throughput LC-MS/MS proteomics identified the expression of 294 proteins. The relative amount of each protein in the proteome of both strains was determined by label-free quantification using the spectral counting method. Although expression level of most proteins were similar, several significant alterations in metabolic network were identified in the high GFP-producing strain. These changes include alterations in the pyruvate fermentation pathway, oxidative pentose phosphate pathway, and de novo synthesis pathway for pyrimidine RNA. Expression of enzymes for the synthesis of dTDP-rhamnose and N -acetylglucosamine from glucose was suppressed in the high GFP strain. In addition, enzymes involved in the amino acid synthesis or interconversion pathway were downregulated. The most noticeable changes in the high GFP-producing strain were a 3.4-fold increase in the expression of stress response and chaperone proteins and increase of caseinolytic peptidase family proteins. Characterization of these host expression changes witnessed during overexpression of GFP was might suggested the metabolic requirements and networks that may limit protein expression, and will aid in the future development of lactococcal hosts to produce more heterologous protein.

The Effect of High Concentrations of Glufosinate Ammonium on the Yield Components of Transgenic Spring Wheat (Triticum aestivum L. Constitutively Expressing the bar Gene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zoltán Áy

2012-01-01

Full Text Available We present an experiment done on a bar+ wheat line treated with 14 different concentrations of glufosinate ammonium—an effective component of nonselective herbicides—during seed germination in a closed experimental system. Yield components as number of spikes per plant, number of grains per spike, thousand kernel weight, and yield per plant were thoroughly analysed and statistically evaluated after harvesting. We found that a concentration of glufosinate ammonium 5000 times the lethal dose was not enough to inhibit the germination of transgenic plants expressing the bar gene. Extremely high concentrations of glufosinate ammonium caused a bushy phenotype, significantly lower numbers of grains per spike, and thousand kernel weights. Concerning the productivity, we observed that concentrations of glufosinate ammonium 64 times the lethal dose did not lead to yield depression. Our results draw attention to the possibilities implied in the transgenic approaches.

Impairments in cognition and neural precursor cell proliferation in mice expressing constitutively active glycogen synthase kinase-3

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marta ePardo

2015-03-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACTBrain glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3 is hyperactive in several neurological conditions that involve impairments in both cognition and neurogenesis. This raises the hypotheses that hyperactive GSK3 may directly contribute to impaired cognition, and that this may be related to deficiencies in neural precursor cells (NPC. To study the effects of hyperactive GSK3 in the absence of disease influences, we compared adult hippocampal NPC proliferation and performance in three cognitive tasks in male and female wild-type mice and GSK3 knockin mice, which express constitutively active GSK3. NPC proliferation was ~40% deficient in both male and female GSK3 knockin mice compared with wild-type mice. Environmental enrichment (EE increased NPC proliferation in male, but not female, GSK3 knockin mice and wild-type mice. Male and female GSK3 knockin mice exhibited impairments in novel object recognition, temporal order memory, and coordinate spatial processing compared with gender-matched wild-type mice. EE restored impaired novel object recognition and temporal ordering in both sexes of GSK3 knockin mice, indicating that this repair was not dependent on NPC proliferation, which was not increased by EE in female GSK3 knockin mice. Acute 1 hr pretreatment with the GSK3 inhibitor TDZD-8 also improved novel object recognition and temporal ordering in male and female GSK3 knockin mice. These findings demonstrate that hyperactive GSK3 is sufficient to impair adult hippocampal NPC proliferation and to impair performance in three cognitive tasks in both male and female mice, but these changes in NPC proliferation do not directly regulate novel object recognition and temporal ordering tasks.

75 FR 57835 - Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, Constitution Week, 2010

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-22

... four short months, delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia established a... government, a protector of liberties, and a guarantee that we are all free to shape our own destiny. As we...

Rumex acetosa Y chromosomes: constitutive or facultative heterochromatin?

Science.gov (United States)

Mosiołek, Magdalena; Pasierbek, Paweł; Malarz, Janusz; Moś, Maria; Joachimiak, Andrzej J

2005-01-01

Condensed Y chromosomes in Rumex acetosa L. root-tip nuclei were studied using 5-azaC treatment and immunohistochemical detection of methylated histones. Although Y chromosomes were decondensed within root meristem in vivo, they became condensed and heteropycnotic in roots cultured in vitro. 5-azacytidine (5-azaC) treatment of cultured roots caused transitional dispersion of their Y chromosome bodies, but 7 days after removal of the drug from the culture medium, Y heterochromatin recondensed and again became visible. The response of Rumex sex chromatin to 5-azaC was compared with that of condensed segments of pericentromeric heterochromatin in Rhoeo spathacea (Sw.) Steam roots. It was shown that Rhoeo chromocentres, composed of AT-rich constitutive heterochromatin, did not undergo decondensation after 5-azaC treatment. The Y-bodies observed within male nuclei of R. acetosa were globally enriched with H3 histone, demethylated at lysine 4 and methylated at lysine 9. This is the first report of histone tail-modification in condensed sex chromatin in plants. Our results suggest that the interphase condensation of Y chromosomes in Rumex is facultative rather than constitutive. Furthermore, the observed response of Y-bodies to 5-azaC may result indirectly from demethylation and the subsequent altered expression of unknown genes controlling tissue-specific Y-inactivation as opposed to the global demethylation of Y-chromosome DNA.

Power: Constitutional Update. Bar/School Partnership Programs Series.

Science.gov (United States)

American Bar Association, Chicago, IL. Special Committee on Youth Education for Citizenship.

The fourth in a special series of handbooks dealing with constitutional themes, this document looks at power in the context of the U.S. Constitution. "The Constitution's Prescription for Freedom" (L. Peach) examines the separation of powers provided for in the Constitution. "The Concept of Power" (C. Roach) is a series of…

Implementation of thermo-viscoplastic constitutive equations into the finite element code ABAQUS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Youn, Sam Son; Lee, Soon Bok; Kim, Jong Bum; Lee, Hyeong Yeon; Yoo, Bong

1998-01-01

Sophisticated viscoplatic constitutive laws describing material behavior at high temperature have been implemented in the general-purpose finite element code ABAQUS to predict the viscoplastic response of structures to cyclic loading. Because of the complexity of viscoplastic constitutive equation, the general implementation methods are developed. The solution of the non-linear system of algebraic equations arising from time discretization is determined using line-search and back-tracking in combination with Newton method. The time integration method of the constitutive equations is based on semi-implicit method with efficient time step control. For numerical examples, the viscoplastic model proposed by Chaboche is implemented and several applications are illustrated

Experimental Investigation and FE Analysis on Constitutive Relationship of High Strength Aluminum Alloy under Cyclic Loading

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuanqing Wang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Experiments of 17 high strength aluminum alloy (7A04 specimens were conducted to investigate the constitutive relationship under cyclic loading. The monotonic behavior and hysteretic behavior were focused on and the fracture surface was observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM to investigate the microfailure modes. Based on Ramberg-Osgood model, stress-strain skeleton curves under cyclic loading were fitted. Parameters of combined hardening model including isotropic hardening and kinematic hardening were calibrated from test data according to Chaboche model. The cyclic tests were simulated in finite element software ABAQUS. The test results show that 7A04 aluminum alloy has obvious nonlinearity and ultra-high strength which is over 600 MPa, however, with relatively poor ductility. In the cyclic loading tests, 7A04 aluminum alloy showed cyclic hardening behavior and when the compressive strain was larger than 1%, the stiffness degradation and strength degradation occurred. The simulated curves derived by FE model fitted well with experimental curves which indicates that the parameters of this combined model can be used in accurate calculation of 7A04 high strength aluminum structures under cyclic loading.

The Transcriptional Repressor TupA in Aspergillus niger Is Involved in Controlling Gene Expression Related to Cell Wall Biosynthesis, Development, and Nitrogen Source Availability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schachtschabel, Doreen; Arentshorst, Mark; Nitsche, Benjamin M

2013-01-01

The Tup1-Cyc8 (Ssn6) complex is a well characterized and conserved general transcriptional repressor complex in eukaryotic cells. Here, we report the identification of the Tup1 (TupA) homolog in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger in a genetic screen for mutants with a constitutive expression...... of the agsA gene. The agsA gene encodes a putative alpha-glucan synthase, which is induced in response to cell wall stress in A. niger. Apart from the constitutive expression of agsA, the selected mutant was also found to produce an unknown pigment at high temperatures. Complementation analysis...

The Spanish Constitution, the Constitutional Court and the Catalan Referendum

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Abat Ninet, Antoni

2015-01-01

and politeia that Aristotle defined now clashes between two powerful symbolic and romantic phenomena. In the Spanish-Catalan binomial scenario, there are some elements that need to be analysed to obtain a complete picture of the constitutional possibilities to of accommodating a Catalan self...

Constitutive relationships for 22MnB5 boron steel deformed isothermally at high temperatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naderi, M.; Durrenberger, L.; Molinari, A.; Bleck, W.

2008-01-01

The strain, strain rate and temperature dependency of a boron steel, which was isothermally deformed under uniaxial compression tests, has been investigated at temperatures between 600 and 900 o C, and at strain rates of 0.1, 1.0 and 10.0 s -1 . Two constitutive models were used to correlate the plastic behavior: the Voce constitutive relation in combination with the kinetic model proposed by Kocks and the phenomenological model proposed by Molinari-Ravichandran. The Kocks model has been introduced in the Voce formulation to describe the temperature and the strain rate dependency of the saturation stress and of the yield stress. The Molinari-Ravichandran model is based on a single internal variable that can be viewed as being related to a characteristic length scale of the microstructure that develops during deformation. It has been shown that the plastic behavior of the boron steel can be well described using these two models

Separation of powers and constitutional loyalty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marieta SAFTA

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The complexity and dynamics of political life leads to developments and reconsiderations in terms of classical theories of constitutional law. Such a process occurs also in the case of separation of powers. Many factors have a bearing on how this theory is currently translated into practice, which requires additional perspectives of analysis in order to develop improved models of cooperation and balance of powers, according to new political realities. This study aims at examining the principle of separation and balance of powers in terms of mutual respect and loyal cooperation between institutions, or, in a broader sense, of constitutional loyalty, an intrinsic value-principle of all constitutions, without which no fundamental law, no matter of how democratic it might be, could function properly2. Based on examination of concrete cases drawn from the case-law of the Constitutional Court of Romania, the study demonstrates that, in lack of constitutional loyalty, the objective pursued by enshrining the principle of separation of powers cannot be achieved effectively, i.e. compliance of public authorities and political actors with constitutional provisions is purely formal and the alleged collaboration between them is a "dialogue of the deaf" at the expense of democracy. The seriousness of the consequences of this type of behaviour requires identification of remedies. What are the limits and what solutions can be identified in this regard are questions that also we aim to answer.

Nuclear energy and the constitutional state

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saladin, P.

1984-01-01

This article puts the main emphasis on the problems of the constitutional principles of democracy, federalism, peaceful living together of peoples and constitutional state, i.e. problems caused by the development of nuclear energy. The fact that these problems are explained by way of the example of Switzerland, does not reduce the validity of the findings also for the German constitutional system, since the problems are identical and comparable. A long-term goal is a state theory which helps to define the aims and tasks of the state under technical, social, economic and cultural conditions of the end of the 20th and perhaps of the 21st century. Nuclear technology challenges the modern Western state and puts to the test the firmness of its legitimacy basis and the efficiency of its principles. It was conceived in a time which is separated from the present by technological revolutions. Safeguarding of humanity is aim and obligation of the modern constitutional state; the constitutional state stipulates the rules of conduct and, if the state remains true to its claim, it sets the procedures and the organization which give due priority order to the development of modern technology. (orig./HSCH) [de

Loading method of core constituting elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kasai, Shigeo

1976-01-01

Purpose: To provide a remote-controlled replacing method for core constituting elements in a liquid-metal cooling fast breeder, wherein particularly, the core constituting elements are prevented from being loaded on the core position other than as designated. Constitution: The method comprises a first step which determines a position of a suitable neutron shielding body in order to measure a reference level of complete insertion of the core constituting elements, a second step which inserts a gripper for a fuel exchanger, a third step which decides stroke dimensions of the complete insertion, and a fourth step which discriminates the core constituting elements to begin handling of fuel rods. The method further comprises a fifth step which determines a loading position of fuel rod, and a sixth step which inserts and loads fuel rods into the core. The method still further comprises a seventh step which compares and judges the dimension of loading stroke and the dimension of complete inserting stroke so that when coincided, loading is completed, and when not coincided, loading is not completed and then the cycle of the fourth step is repeated. (Kawakami, Y.)

76 FR 58705 - Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, Constitution Week, 2011

Science.gov (United States)

2011-09-21

... vision, we resolve to stay true to their spirit of patriotism and unity. In remembrance of the signing of... citizenship, recognize the enduring strength of our Constitution, and reaffirm our commitment to the rights...

Implementation of constitutive equations for creep damage mechanics into the ABAQUS finite element code - some practical cases in high temperature component design and life assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Segle, P.; Samuelson, L.Aa.; Andersson, Peder; Moberg, F.

1996-01-01

Constitutive equations for creep damage mechanics are implemented into the finite element program ABAQUS using a user supplied subroutine, UMAT. A modified Kachanov-Rabotnov constitutive equation which accounts for inhomogeneity in creep damage is used. With a user defined material a number of bench mark tests are analyzed for verification. In the cases where analytical solutions exist, the numerical results agree very well. In other cases, the creep damage evolution response appear to be realistic in comparison with laboratory creep tests. The appropriateness of using the creep damage mechanics concept in design and life assessment of high temperature components is demonstrated. 18 refs

The constitutional control system in Colombia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis Javier Moreno Ortiz

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The system of constitutional control in Colombia designed in the Legislative Act n.º 3 of 1910 is a milestone in a long and fruitful political and constitutional tradition owes much to his Hispanic roots and its American developments. Both the public action of unconstitutionality as the plea of unconstitutionality have clear precedents in the constitutionalism of Spain and the Colony were prepared by a Constituent Assembly acted with knowledge and faithfulness to that tradition and have been and are institutions of our capital social and democratic state of law.

The negotiation of The Constitution of Romania of 1923 and The Constitution of Romania of 1991

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivona-Arina Raef

2012-12-01

Full Text Available In the present study the author is trying to find if there was a negotiation between main parties regarding The Constitution of Romania of 1923 and The Constitution Of Romania of 1991 or if there was a project imposed by one party to the others.

Molecular cloning, expression and characterization of a bovine serotonin transporter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mortensen, O V; Kristensen, A S; Rudnick, G

1999-01-01

The serotonin transporter (SERT) is a member of a highly homologous family of sodium/chloride dependent neurotransmitter transporters responsible for reuptake of biogenic amines from the extracellular fluid. SERT constitutes the pharmacological target of several clinically important antidepressan......-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) was mainly unchanged. RT-PCR amplification of RNA from different tissues demonstrated expression of SERT in placenta, brain stem, bone marrow, kidney, lung, heart, adrenal gland, liver, parathyroid gland, thyroid gland, small intestine and pancreas....

Constitutive β-catenin activation in osteoblasts impairs terminal osteoblast differentiation and bone quality

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bao, Quanwei; Chen, Sixu; Qin, Hao [State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burn and Combined injury, Department of Trauma Surgery, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, ChongQing 400042 (China); Feng, Jianquan [Department of Biomedical Sciences, Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas A& M Health Science Center, Dallas, TX 75246 (United States); Liu, Huayu; Liu, Daocheng; Li, Ang; Shen, Yue; Zhong, Xiaozheng; Li, Junfeng [State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burn and Combined injury, Department of Trauma Surgery, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, ChongQing 400042 (China); Zong, Zhaowen, E-mail: zongzhaowen@sina.cn [State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burn and Combined injury, Department of Trauma Surgery, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, ChongQing 400042 (China)

2017-01-01

Accumulating evidence suggests that Wnt/β-catenin signaling plays a central role in controlling bone mass. We previously reported that constitutive activation of β-catenin (CA-β-catenin) in osteoblasts potentially has side effects on the bone growth and bone remodeling process, although it could increase bone mass. The present study aimed to observe the effects of osteoblastic CA-β-catenin on bone quality and to investigate possible mechanisms of these effects. It was found that CA-β-catenin mice exhibited lower mineralization levels and disorganized collagen in long bones as confirmed by von Kossa staining and sirius red staining, respectively. Also, bone strength decreased significantly in CA-β-catenin mice. Then the effect of CA-β-catenin on biological functions of osteoblasts were investigated and it was found that the expression levels of osteocalcin, a marker for the late differentiation of osteoblasts, decreased in CA-β-catenin mice, while the expression levels of osterix and alkaline phosphatase, two markers for the early differentiation of osteoblasts, increased in CA-β-catenin mice. Furthermore, higher proliferation rate were revealed in osteoblasts that were isolated from CA-β-catenin mice. The Real-time PCR and western blot examination found that the expression level of c-myc and cyclin D1, two G1 progression-related molecules, increased in osteoblasts that were isolated from the CA-β-catenin mice, and the expression levels of CDK14 and cyclin Y, two mitotic-related molecules that can accelerate cells entering into S and G2/M phases, increased in osteoblasts that were isolated from the CA-β-catenin mice. In summary, osteoblastic CA-β-catenin kept osteoblasts in high proliferative state and impaired the terminal osteoblast differentiation, and this led to changed bone structure and decreased bone strength. - Highlights: • Wnt/β-catenin signaling plays a central role in controlling bone mass. • CA-β-catenin has side effects on the bone

Dehydrin from citrus, which confers in vitro dehydration and freezing protection activity, is constitutive and highly expressed in the flavedo of fruit but responsive to cold and water stress in leaves.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez-Ballesta, Maria Teresa; Rodrigo, Maria Jesus; Lafuente, Maria Teresa; Granell, Antonio; Zacarias, Lorenzo

2004-04-07

A cDNA encoding a dehydrin was isolated from the flavedo of the chilling-sensitive Fortune mandarin fruit (Citrus clementina Hort. Ex Tanaka x Citrus reticulata Blanco) and designed as Crcor15. The predicted CrCOR15 protein is a K2S member of a closely related dehydrin family from Citrus, since it contains two tandem repeats of the unusual Citrus K-segment and one S-segment (serine cluster) at an unusual C-terminal position. Crcor15 mRNA is consistently and highly expressed in the flavedo during fruit development and maturation. The relative abundance of Crcor15 mRNA in the flavedo was estimated to be higher than 1% of total RNA. The high mRNA level remained unchanged during fruit storage at chilling (2 degrees C) and nonchilling (12 degrees C) temperatures, and it was depressed by a conditioning treatment (3 days at 37 degrees C) that induced chilling tolerance. Therefore, the expression of Crcor15 appears not to be related to the acquisition of chilling tolerance in mandarin fruits. However, Crcor15, which was barely detected in unstressed mandarin leaves, was rapidly induced in response to both low temperature and water stress. COR15 protein was expressed in Escherichia coli, and the purified protein conferred in vitro protection against freezing and dehydration inactivation. The potential role of Citrus COR15 is discussed.

National simple: Constitutionality Analysis of Exclusions Sectorial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guilherme Adolfo dos Santos Mendes

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The Constitution defines the favored legal treatment for small businesses without making any explicit exception, including and especially for tax obligations. Nevertheless, all the laws, which have introduced tax benefits guided by this higher provision, have discriminated small companies due to the economic sector of activity. Known as “National Simple” and introduced by the Complementary Law No. 123/06, the current legislation did not extend its benefits to small production units of a number of industries, such as the automotive industry, the passenger transport industry, the energy industry and the industry of manufacture of weapons, beverages and tobacco products. By demonstrating the mistakes of the arguments in favor of such exclusions, the article holds up that none of these provisions meets constitutional standards. Furthermore, based on a critical analysis of the Positive Law, it is shown that the hidden desire behind the exclusions was to keep the economic sectors of high profitability under control of big corporations to the detriment of smaller initiatives.

The Na⁺/H⁺ exchanger NHE1, but not the Na⁺, HCO₃^- cotransporter NBCn1, regulates motility of MCF7 breast cancer cells expressing constitutively active ErbB2

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauritzen, Gitte; Stock, Christian-Martin; Lemaire, Justine

2012-01-01

We and others have shown central roles of the Na(+)/H(+) exchanger NHE1 in cell motility. The aim of this study was to determine the roles of NHE1 and of the Na(+), HCO(3)(-) cotransporter NBCn1 in motility of serum-starved MCF-7 breast cancer cells expressing constitutively active ErbB2 (¿NErbB2...

Endogenous IL-33 is highly expressed in mouse epithelial barrier tissues, lymphoid organs, brain, embryos, and inflamed tissues: in situ analysis using a novel Il-33-LacZ gene trap reporter strain.

Science.gov (United States)

Pichery, Mélanie; Mirey, Emilie; Mercier, Pascale; Lefrancais, Emma; Dujardin, Arnaud; Ortega, Nathalie; Girard, Jean-Philippe

2012-04-01

IL-33 (previously known as NF from high endothelial venules) is an IL-1 family cytokine that signals through the ST2 receptor and drives cytokine production in mast cells, basophils, eosinophils, invariant NKT and NK cells, Th2 lymphocytes, and type 2 innate immune cells (natural helper cells, nuocytes, and innate helper 2 cells). Little is known about endogenous IL-33; for instance, the cellular sources of IL-33 in mouse tissues have not yet been defined. In this study, we generated an Il-33-LacZ gene trap reporter strain (Il-33(Gt/Gt)) and used this novel tool to analyze expression of endogenous IL-33 in vivo. We found that the Il-33 promoter exhibits constitutive activity in mouse lymphoid organs, epithelial barrier tissues, brain, and embryos. Immunostaining with anti-IL-33 Abs, using Il-33(Gt/Gt) (Il-33-deficient) mice as control, revealed that endogenous IL-33 protein is highly expressed in mouse epithelial barrier tissues, including stratified squamous epithelia from vagina and skin, as well as cuboidal epithelium from lung, stomach, and salivary gland. Constitutive expression of IL-33 was not detected in blood vessels, revealing the existence of species-specific differences between humans and mice. Importantly, IL-33 protein was always localized in the nucleus of producing cells with no evidence for cytoplasmic localization. Finally, strong expression of the Il-33-LacZ reporter was also observed in inflamed tissues, in the liver during LPS-induced endotoxin shock, and in the lung alveoli during papain-induced allergic airway inflammation. Together, our findings support the possibility that IL-33 may function as a nuclear alarmin to alert the innate immune system after injury or infection in epithelial barrier tissues.

Viscoplastic Constitutive Theory Demonstrated for Monolithic Ceramic Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Janosik, Lesley A.

1999-01-01

Development of accurate three-dimensional (multiaxial) inelastic stress-strain models is critical in utilizing advanced ceramics for challenging 21st century high-temperature structural applications. The current state of the art uses elastic stress fields as a basis for both subcritical crack growth and creep life prediction efforts aimed at predicting the time dependent reliability response of ceramic components subjected to elevated service temperatures. However, to successfully design components that will meet tomorrow's challenging requirements, design engineers must recognize that elastic predictions are inaccurate for these materials when subjected to high-temperature service conditions such as those encountered in advanced heat engine components. Analytical life prediction methodologies developed for advanced ceramics and other brittle materials must employ accurate constitutive models that capture the inelastic response exhibited by these materials at elevated service temperatures. A constitutive model recently developed at the NASA Lewis Research Center helps address this issue by accounting for the time-dependent (inelastic) material deformation phenomena (e.g., creep, rate sensitivity, and stress relaxation) exhibited by monolithic ceramics exposed to high-temperature service conditions. In addition, the proposed formulation is based on a threshold function that is sensitive to hydrostatic stress and allows different behavior in tension and compression, reflecting experimental observations obtained for these material systems.

Constitutively internalized dopamine transporter is targeted to late endosomes and lysosomal degradation in heterologous cell lines and dopaminergic neurons

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eriksen, Jacob; Madsen, Kenneth; Vægter, Christian Bjerggaard

and amphetamine, a substrate of the DAT. In antibody feeding experiments we observed that Tac-DAT was constitutively internalized faster than Tac alone and using an ELISA based assay we could quantify time-dependent intracellular accumulation of the transporter. Incubation with inhibitors of lysosomal degradation...... (leupeptin, chloroquine, or ammonium chloride) increased the amount of transporter accumulated intracellularly over time, suggesting that constitutively endocytosed transporter was targeted to lysosomal degradation. This was further supported by expression of Tac-DAT in the immortalized dopaminergic cell...... dopaminergic neurons and visualized the DAT directly in the neurons using the fluorescent cocaine analog JHC 1-064. These data showed pronounced colocalization upon constitutive internalization with Lysotracker, a late endosomal/lysosomal marker; however only little co-lolization was observed with Alexa488...

The Spanish Constitutional Rights Court and its interpretation of the Term 'Feminism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alejandra Germán Doldán

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The Constitutional Tribunal, the highest judicial court involved in the interpretation of the Spanish Constitution, has issued numerous judgments of high technical value in order to advance gender equality. Its decisions had widely developed, as a guarantee, the prohibition of gender discrimination included in Article 14 of the Spanish Constitution. However, these decisions had not always employed theoretically accurate concepts or adequately refined conceptual models This article is a critical examination of the body of case law produced by the Constitutional Tribunal regarding the definition and interpretation of the terms feminism and feminist. The purpose is to determine whether the content given by the Tribunal to these terms matches the theoretical construct derived from the consolidated sociology of gender research or if, contrariwise, it reproduces the ideas and concepts of the patriarchal society that provides the context where these decisions were produced

Modulating ectopic gene expression levels by using retroviral vectors equipped with synthetic promoters.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferreira, Joshua P; Peacock, Ryan W S; Lawhorn, Ingrid E B; Wang, Clifford L

2011-12-01

The human cytomegalovirus and elongation factor 1α promoters are constitutive promoters commonly employed by mammalian expression vectors. These promoters generally produce high levels of expression in many types of cells and tissues. To generate a library of synthetic promoters capable of generating a range of low, intermediate, and high expression levels, the TATA and CAAT box elements of these promoters were mutated. Other promoter variants were also generated by random mutagenesis. Evaluation using plasmid vectors integrated at a single site in the genome revealed that these various synthetic promoters were capable of expression levels spanning a 40-fold range. Retroviral vectors were equipped with the synthetic promoters and evaluated for their ability to reproduce the graded expression demonstrated by plasmid integration. A vector with a self-inactivating long terminal repeat could neither reproduce the full range of expression levels nor produce stable expression. Using a second vector design, the different synthetic promoters enabled stable expression over a broad range of expression levels in different cell lines. The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11693-011-9089-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Construction of a high-EGFR expression cell line and its biological ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Targeted screening of EGFR compounds has become one of the medical research focuses for tumor therapy. A431, which naturally expresses high levels of EGFR, was compared with the stably high expressing EGFR cell line HEK293. Flow cytometry was used to analyze cell growth and Western blot was used to ...

Evidence of constitutional MLH1 epimutation associated to transgenerational inheritance of cancer susceptibility.

Science.gov (United States)

Crépin, Michel; Dieu, Marie-Claire; Lejeune, Sophie; Escande, Fabienne; Boidin, Denis; Porchet, Nicole; Morin, Gilles; Manouvrier, Sylvie; Mathieu, Michèle; Buisine, Marie-Pierre

2012-01-01

Constitutional epimutations of DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes have been recently reported as a possible cause of Lynch syndrome. However, little is known about their prevalence, the risk of transmission through the germline and the risk for carriers to develop cancers. In this study, we evaluated the contribution of constitutional epimutations of MMR genes in Lynch syndrome. A cohort of 134 unrelated Lynch syndrome-suspected patients without MMR germline mutation was screened for constitutional epimutations of MLH1 and MSH2 by quantitative bisulfite pyrosequencing. Patients were also screened for the presence of EPCAM deletions, a possible cause of MSH2 methylation. Tumors from patients with constitutional epimutations were extensively analyzed. We identified a constitutional MLH1 epimutation in two proband patients. For one of them, we report for the first time evidence of transmission to two children who also developed early colonic tumors, indicating that constitutional MLH1 epimutations are associated to a real risk of transgenerational inheritance of cancer susceptibility. Moreover, a somatic BRAF mutation was detected in one affected child, indicating that tumors from patients carrying constitutional MLH1 epimutation can mimic MSI-high sporadic tumors. These findings may have important implications for future diagnostic strategies and genetic counseling. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Constitutional Court and the Imperative of its Reform

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia Gilia

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Recent debates on the upcoming review of the Constitution have determined us to pay close attention to the basic institution in a democratic state, that is the Constitutional Court. Being caught in the crossfire between power and opposition, the Constitutional Court had a hard time lately, facing severe attacks. The aim of our study is to analyze the evolution of the Constitutional Court within the inland constitutional system, particularly bringing up the flaws describing the Court’s activity. We have also analyzed the proposals put forth by several bodies or experts regarding the constitutional contentious court. At the end of our study, following an analysis of different constitutional types of constitutional review, used by a number of states in Europe, we introduced several resolutions that may improve the role, the course and, last but not least, the activity of the Romanian Constitutional Court.

Prediction of highly expressed genes in microbes based on chromatin accessibility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Willenbrock, Hanni; Ussery, David

2007-01-01

BACKGROUND: It is well known that gene expression is dependent on chromatin structure in eukaryotes and it is likely that chromatin can play a role in bacterial gene expression as well. Here, we use a nucleosomal position preference measure of anisotropic DNA flexibility to predict highly expressed...

Atypical Rulings of the Indonesian Constitutional Court

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bisariyadi

2016-08-01

Full Text Available In deciding judicial review cases, the Court may issue rulings that is not in accordance to what is stipulated in the Constitutional Court Law (Law Number 8 Year 2011. Atypical rulings means that the court may reconstruct a provision, delay the legislation/rulings enactment or give instruction to lawmakers. In addition, the court also introduce the “conditionally (unconstitutional” concept. This essay attempts to identify and classify these atypical rulings, including conditionally (un constitutional rulings, by examined the constitutional court judicial review rulings from 2003 to 2015. This study will provide a ground work for advance research on typical rulings by the Indonesian constitutional court.

Autohydrolysis of plant xylans by apoplastic expression of thermophilic bacterial endo-xylanases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borkhardt, Bernhard; Harholt, Jesper; Ulvskov, Peter Bjarne

2010-01-01

The genes encoding the two endo-xylanases XynA and XynB from the thermophilic bacterium Dictyoglomus thermophilum were codon optimized for expression in plants. Both xylanases were designed to be constitutively expressed under the control of the CaMV 35S promoter and targeted to the apoplast....... Transient expression in tobacco and stable expression in transgenic Arabidopsis showed that both enzymes were expressed in an active form with temperature optima at 85 °C. Transgenic Arabidopsis accumulating heterologous endo-xylanases appeared phenotypically normal and were fully fertile. The highest...... xylanase activity in Arabidopsis was found in dry stems indicating that the enzymes were not degraded during stem senescence. High levels of enzyme activity were maintained in cell-free extracts from dry transgenic stems during incubation at 85 °C for 24 h. Analysis of cell wall polysaccharides after heat...

Multiple Cytochrome P450 genes: their constitutive overexpression and permethrin induction in insecticide resistant mosquitoes, Culex quinquefasciatus.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Nannan; Li, Ting; Reid, William R; Yang, Ting; Zhang, Lee

2011-01-01

Four cytochrome P450 cDNAs, CYP6AA7, CYP9J40, CYP9J34, and CYP9M10, were isolated from mosquitoes, Culex quinquefasciatus. The P450 gene expression and induction by permethrin were compared for three different mosquito populations bearing different resistance phenotypes, ranging from susceptible (S-Lab), through intermediate (HAmCq(G0), the field parental population) to highly resistant (HAmCq(G8), the 8(th) generation of permethrin selected offspring of HAmCq(G0)). A strong correlation was found for P450 gene expression with the levels of resistance and following permethrin selection at the larval stage of mosquitoes, with the highest expression levels identified in HAmCq(G8), suggesting the importance of CYP6AA7, CYP9J40, CYP9J34, and CYP9M10 in the permethrin resistance of larva mosquitoes. Only CYP6AA7 showed a significant overexpression in HAmCq(G8) adult mosquitoes. Other P450 genes had similar expression levels among the mosquito populations tested, suggesting different P450 genes may be involved in the response to insecticide pressure in different developmental stages. The expression of CYP6AA7, CYP9J34, and CYP9M10 was further induced by permethrin in resistant mosquitoes. Taken together, these results indicate that multiple P450 genes are up-regulated in insecticide resistant mosquitoes through both constitutive overexpression and induction mechanisms, thus increasing the overall expression levels of P450 genes.

Validation of constitutive equations for steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valentin, T.; Magain, P.; Quik, M.; Labibes, K.; Albertini, C.

1997-01-01

High strain rate mechanical properties are a major concern for each steel manufacturer, especially with respect to thin sheet steel used in the automotive branch. We began to study this topic by starting a project with the following goals: acquiring reliable experimental data, understanding in depth the energy absorption in thin sheet steel and finding the right constitutive material equation. The first part of the project has been presented in. In this paper we present data computation and comparison with the existing material model theories to exploit the experimental data. (orig.)

Constitutional orders in multinational firms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hull Kristensen, Peer; Morgan, Glenn

Multinationals are faced with the problem of how to coordinate different actors and stop `fiefdoms' emerging that inhibits the achievement of transnational cooperation? We identify this as a problem of `constitutional ordering' in the firm. Drawing on Varieties of Capitalism approaches, we explore...... how multinationals from different contexts seek to create constitutional orders. We argue that the models which exist appear to be destructive of coordination. We explore the implications for MNCs....

RNA-Seq Mouse Brain Regions Expression Data Analysis: Focus on ApoE Functional Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Babenko Vladimir N.

2017-09-01

Full Text Available ApoE expression status was proved to be a highly specific marker of energy metabolism rate in the brain. Along with its neighbor, Translocase of Outer Mitochondrial Membrane 40 kDa (TOMM40 which is involved in mitochondrial metabolism, the corresponding genomic region constitutes the neuroenergetic hotspot. Using RNA-Seq data from a murine model of chronic stress a significant positive expression coordination of seven neighboring genes in ApoE locus in five brain regions was observed. ApoE maintains one of the highest absolute expression values genome-wide, implying that ApoE can be the driver of the neighboring gene expression alteration observed under stressful loads. Notably, we revealed the highly statistically significant increase of ApoE expression in the hypothalamus of chronically aggressive (FDR < 0.007 and defeated (FDR < 0.001 mice compared to the control. Correlation analysis revealed a close association of ApoE and proopiomelanocortin (Pomc gene expression profiles implying the putative neuroendocrine stress response background of ApoE expression elevation therein.

A constitutive rheological model for agglomerating blood derived from nonequilibrium thermodynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Tsimouri, Ioanna Ch.; Stephanou, Pavlos S.; Mavrantzas, Vlasis G.

2018-03-01

Red blood cells tend to aggregate in the presence of plasma proteins, forming structures known as rouleaux. Here, we derive a constitutive rheological model for human blood which accounts for the formation and dissociation of rouleaux using the generalized bracket formulation of nonequilibrium thermodynamics. Similar to the model derived by Owens and co-workers ["A non-homogeneous constitutive model for human blood. Part 1. Model derivation and steady flow," J. Fluid Mech. 617, 327-354 (2008)] through polymer network theory, each rouleau in our model is represented as a dumbbell; the corresponding structural variable is the conformation tensor of the dumbbell. The kinetics of rouleau formation and dissociation is treated as in the work of Germann et al. ["Nonequilibrium thermodynamic modeling of the structure and rheology of concentrated wormlike micellar solutions," J. Non-Newton. Fluid Mech. 196, 51-57 (2013)] by assuming a set of reversible reactions, each characterized by a forward and a reverse rate constant. The final set of evolution equations for the microstructure of each rouleau and the expression for the stress tensor turn out to be very similar to those of Owens and co-workers. However, by explicitly considering a mechanism for the formation and breakage of rouleaux, our model further provides expressions for the aggregation and disaggregation rates appearing in the final transport equations, which in the kinetic theory-based network model of Owens were absent and had to be specified separately. Despite this, the two models are found to provide similar descriptions of experimental data on the size distribution of rouleaux.

Multiaxial probabilistic elastic-plastic constitutive simulations of soils

Science.gov (United States)

Sadrinezhad, Arezoo

Fokker-Planck-Kolmogorov (FPK) equation approach has recently been developed to simulate elastic-plastic constitutive behaviors of materials with uncertain material properties. The FPK equation approach transforms the stochastic constitutive rate equation, which is a stochastic, nonlinear, ordinary differential equation (ODE) in the stress-pseudo time space into a second-order accurate, deterministic, linear FPK partial differential equation (PDE) in the probability density of stress-pseudo time space. This approach does not suffer from the drawbacks of the traditional approaches such as the Monte Carlo approach and the perturbation approach for solving nonlinear ODEs with random coefficients. In this study, the existing one dimensional FPK framework for probabilistic constitutive modeling of soils is extended to multi--dimension. However, the multivariate FPK PDEs cannot be solved using the traditional mathematical techniques such as finite difference techniques due to their high computational cost. Therefore, computationally efficient algorithms based on the Fourier spectral approach are developed for solving a class of FPK PDEs that arises in probabilistic elasto-plasticity. This class includes linear FPK PDEs in (stress) space and (pseudo) time - having space-independent but time-dependent, and both space- and time-dependent coefficients - with impulse initial conditions and reflecting boundary conditions. The solution algorithms, rely on first mapping the stress space of the governing PDE between 0 and 2pi using the change of coordinates rule, followed by approximating the solution of the PDE in the 2pi-periodic domain by a finite Fourier series in the stress space and unknown time-dependent solution coefficients. Finally, the time-dependent solution coefficients are obtained from the initial condition. The accuracy and efficiency of the developed algorithms are tested. The developed algorithms are used to simulate uniaxial and multiaxial, monotonic and cyclic

Importance of the High-Expression of Proline Transporter PutP to the Adaptation of Escherichia coli to High Salinity.

Science.gov (United States)

Sasaki, Hideaki; Sato, Daichi; Oshima, Akinobu

2017-01-01

　The effect of the amount of the proline transporter PutP expression on the mechanism of adaptation of E. coli cells to high salinity was analyzed. The PutP gene derived from the E. coli expression plasmid was introduced into the E. coli cell, and a high PutP expression strain was developed. At 1.2 M NaCl culture condition, the growth of normal E. coli cells was inhibited, whereas high ProP expression cells showed growth under 2.5 M NaCl conditions. The uptake of proline by E. coli as a compatible solute and substrate for metabolization was in good accordance with those seen in cell growth. These data suggested that the amount of the proline transporter PutP expression played an important role in the adaptation of E. coli cells to high saline conditions.

Examination of constitutive model for evaluating long-term behavior of buffer. Document prepared by other institute, based on the trust contract

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shigeno, Yoshimasa; Namikawa, Tsutomu; Takaji, Kazuhiko

2002-02-01

On the R and D of the high-level radioactive waste repository, it is essential that Engineered Barrier System (EBS) is stable mechanically over a long period of time for maintaining ability required to EBS. After closing the repository, the external force is affected to buffer for a long period of time. So, it is necessary to make clear the mechanical deformation behavior of buffer to the external force, because of carrying out safety assessment of EBS accurately. In this report, the applicable constitutive model have been narrowed down from within many one for clay proposed up to the present, from the viewpoint of adoption possibility to the evaluation of the long-term mechanical behavior for buffer. To put it concretely, the investigation of constitutive models for clay, the applicability confirmation of the representative model by analysis using test data, and the proposal of experimental method available for simulation analysis is carried out. The results of the elemental test simulations using Adachi-Oka model and Sekiguchi-Ohta model as the representative model of ''Over stress model'' and Flow surface model'' are as follows. Both of the models are not make much difference. A limited part of the test results is expressed suitably according to the appropriate decision of viscous parameters, but the blanket behavior of each tests is not expressed suitably in either model. (author)

Numerical implementation of a transverse-isotropic inelastic, work-hardening constitutive model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baladi, G.Y.

1977-01-01

This paper documents the numerical implementation of a model, specifically a transverse-isotropic, inelastic, work-hardening constitutive model. A brief overview of the mathematical formulation of the model is presented to facilitate the understanding of its numerical implementation. The model is based on incremental flow theories for materials which have time- and temperature-independent properties and which are capable of undergoing small plastic as well as small elastic strain at each loading increment. In addition, the model is written in terms of 'pseudo' stress invariants so that the incremental anisotropic stress-strain relationship can be readily incorporated into existing finite-difference or finite-element computer codes. The isotropic version of the model is retrieved without any changes in the mathematical formulation or in the numerical implementation (algorithm) of the model. Various methods exist for incorporating inelastic constitutive models into computer programs. The method presented in this paper is appropriate for both finite-difference and finite-element codes, and is applicable for solving static as wall as dynamic problems. This method expresses the material constitutive properties as a matrix of coefficients, C (generalized tangent moduli), which relates incremental stresses to incremental strains. It possesses desirable convergence properties. In either finite-difference or finite-element applications the input quantities are the initial stress components, obtained at the end of the previous strain increment, and the new strain increments. The output quantities are the new values of the stress components

A stable computational scheme for stiff time-dependent constitutive equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shih, C.F.; Delorenzi, H.G.; Miller, A.K.

1977-01-01

Viscoplasticity and creep type constitutive equations are increasingly being employed in finite element codes for evaluating the deformation of high temperature structural members. These constitutive equations frequently exhibit stiff regimes which makes an analytical assessment of the structure very costly. A computational scheme for handling deformation in stiff regimes is proposed in this paper. By the finite element discretization, the governing partial differential equations in the spatial (x) and time (t) variables are reduced to a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations in the independent variable t. The constitutive equations are expanded in a Taylor's series about selected values of t. The resulting system of differential equations are then integrated by an implicit scheme which employs a predictor technique to initiate the Newton-Raphson procedure. To examine the stability and accuracy of the computational scheme, a series of calculations were carried out for uniaxial specimens and thick wall tubes subjected to mechanical and thermal loading. (Auth.)

Territory in the Constitutional Standards of Unitary States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marina V. Markhgeym

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The article is based on the analysis of the constitutions of seven European countries (Albania, Hungary, Greece, Spain, Malta, Poland, Sweden. The research allows to reveal general and specific approaches to consolidation of norms on territories in a state and give the characteristic of the corresponding constitutional norms. Given the authors ' comprehensive approach to the definition of the territory of the state declared constitutional norms were assessed from the perspective of the fundamental principles and constituent elements of the territory. Considering the specifics of the constitutional types of state territories authors suggest typical and variative models and determine the constitutions of unitary states, distinguished by their originality in the declared group of legal relations. The original constitutional language areas associated with the introduction at the state level, these types of areas that are not typical for other countries.

Expression of a Dianthus flavonoid glucosyltransferase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae for whole-cell biocatalysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Werner, Sean R; Morgan, John A

2009-07-15

Glycosyltransferases are promising biocatalysts for the synthesis of small molecule glycosides. In this study, Saccharomyces cerevisiae expressing a flavonoid glucosyltransferase (GT) from Dianthus caryophyllus (carnation) was investigated as a whole-cell biocatalyst. Two yeast expression systems were compared using the flavonoid naringenin as a model substrate. Under in vitro conditions, naringenin-7-O-glucoside was formed and a higher specific glucosyl transfer activity was found using a galactose inducible expression system compared to a constitutive expression system. However, S. cerevisiae expressing the GT constitutively was significantly more productive than the galactose inducible system under in vivo conditions. Interestingly, the glycosides were recovered directly from the culture broth and did not accumulate intracellularly. A previously uncharacterized naringenin glycoside formed using the D. caryophyllus GT was identified as naringenin-4'-O-glucoside. It was found that S. cerevisiae cells hydrolyze naringenin-7-O-glucoside during whole-cell biocatalysis, resulting in a low final glycoside titer. When phloretin was added as a substrate to the yeast strain expressing the GT constitutively, the natural product phlorizin was formed. This study demonstrates S. cerevisiae is a promising whole-cell biocatalyst host for the production of valuable glycosides.

Seismic fragility of RC shear walls in nuclear power plant Part 1: Characterization of uncertainty in concrete constitutive model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Syed, Sammiuddin; Gupta, Abhinav

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A framework is proposed for seismic fragility assessment of Reinforced Concrete structures. • Experimentally validated finite element models are used to conduct nonlinear simulations. • Critical parameters in concrete constitutive model are identified to conduct nonlinear simulations. • Uncertainties in model parameters of concrete damage plasticity model is characterized. • Closed form expressions are used to compute the damage variables and plasticity. - Abstract: This two part manuscript proposes a framework for seismic fragility assessment of reinforced concrete structures in nuclear energy facilities. The novelty of the proposed approach lies in the characterization of uncertainties in the parameters of the material constitutive model. Concrete constitutive models that comprehensively address different damage states such as tensile cracking, compression failure, stiffness degradation, and recovery of degraded stiffness due to closing of previously formed cracks under dynamic loading are generally defined in terms of a large number of variables to characterize the plasticity and damage at material level. Over the past several years, many different studies have been presented on evaluation of fragility for reinforced concrete structures using nonlinear time history simulations. However, almost all of these studies do not consider uncertainties in the parameters of a comprehensive constitutive model. Part-I of this two-part manuscript presents a study that is used to identify uncertainties associated with the critical parameters in nonlinear concrete damage plasticity model proposed by Lubliner et al. (1989. Int. J. Solids Struct., 25(3), 299) and later modified by Lee and Fenves (1998a. J. Eng. Mech., ASCE, 124(8), 892) and Lee and Fenves (1998b. Earthquake Eng. Struct. Dyn., 27(9), 937) for the purpose of seismic fragility assessment. The limitations in implementation of the damage plasticity model within a finite element framework and

Seismic fragility of RC shear walls in nuclear power plant Part 1: Characterization of uncertainty in concrete constitutive model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Syed, Sammiuddin [Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, 426 Mann Hall, Campus Box 7908, Raleigh, NC 27695-7908 (United States); Gupta, Abhinav, E-mail: agupta1@ncsu.edu [Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, 413 Mann Hall, Campus Box 7908, Raleigh, NC 27695-7908 (United States)

2015-12-15

Highlights: • A framework is proposed for seismic fragility assessment of Reinforced Concrete structures. • Experimentally validated finite element models are used to conduct nonlinear simulations. • Critical parameters in concrete constitutive model are identified to conduct nonlinear simulations. • Uncertainties in model parameters of concrete damage plasticity model is characterized. • Closed form expressions are used to compute the damage variables and plasticity. - Abstract: This two part manuscript proposes a framework for seismic fragility assessment of reinforced concrete structures in nuclear energy facilities. The novelty of the proposed approach lies in the characterization of uncertainties in the parameters of the material constitutive model. Concrete constitutive models that comprehensively address different damage states such as tensile cracking, compression failure, stiffness degradation, and recovery of degraded stiffness due to closing of previously formed cracks under dynamic loading are generally defined in terms of a large number of variables to characterize the plasticity and damage at material level. Over the past several years, many different studies have been presented on evaluation of fragility for reinforced concrete structures using nonlinear time history simulations. However, almost all of these studies do not consider uncertainties in the parameters of a comprehensive constitutive model. Part-I of this two-part manuscript presents a study that is used to identify uncertainties associated with the critical parameters in nonlinear concrete damage plasticity model proposed by Lubliner et al. (1989. Int. J. Solids Struct., 25(3), 299) and later modified by Lee and Fenves (1998a. J. Eng. Mech., ASCE, 124(8), 892) and Lee and Fenves (1998b. Earthquake Eng. Struct. Dyn., 27(9), 937) for the purpose of seismic fragility assessment. The limitations in implementation of the damage plasticity model within a finite element framework and

Constitutionalism and Democracy in Contemporary International Community

OpenAIRE

Padjen, Ivan

1992-01-01

Starting from the insight that jurisprudence of legal theory should be concerned primarily with,on the one hand, international law, and, on the other, constitutional developments, the paper; analyzes some prominent conceptions of constitutionalism and democracy in international community and municipal legal orders; formulates a new set of criteria for the analysis of constitutionalism and democracy in international law; and argues that Laswell and McDougal's policy oriented jurisprudence offe...

On the constitutionality of dose limiting values

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goetz, V.

1976-01-01

The fundamental right according to Art. 2 par. 2 sentence 1 of the German Constitution is relevant for the set-up and application of radiation protection law. Resulting from Art. 2 par. 2 sentence 1 of the Constitution it is a general obligation of the state to protect life (Federal Constitutional Court, judgment of 25th Feb., 1975, BVerfGE 39.1) and physical soundness. The subjective basic right of everybody to defend against official encroachments his personal integrity corresponds to the right of the individual within the framework of the official obligation for protection from the state (to ward off danger). The term of danger, as to the degree of its determination, corresponds to that of the encroachment. To speak of danger in a legal sense, the causal connection between a certain source of danger and certain damage must be ascertained and proved. Topical controversies as to the admissibility of activity discharges of low doses range in the field of risk reduction and thus in the field of the duty of the state to take precautionary steps against risks (Art. 2 par. 2 sentence 1 of the Constitution). The constitution, however, does not contain any basic right that every risk has to be avoided. On the other hand, the necessity of cautions valuation of radiation risks can be derived from the Constitution. The fixation of dose limits and their application in connection with general radiation protection principles (paragraph 28 E of the Radiation Protection Ordinance) do not contain any 'interference' with the basic right in the sense of Art. 2 par. 2 sentence 3 of the Constitution. Neither from aspects of the principle of the legal state nor from Art. 80 par. 1 of the Constitution can the use of the legal form of the Ordinance be doubted. (orig./HP) [de

Antioxidant Supplement Inhibits Skeletal Muscle Constitutive Autophagy rather than Fasting-Induced Autophagy in Mice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhengtang Qi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In this study, we tested the hypothesis that NAC administration leads to reduced oxidative stress and thus to decreased expression of autophagy markers in young mice. Our results reveal that NAC administration results in reduced muscle mRNA levels of several autophagy markers, including Beclin-1, Atg7, LC3, Atg9, and LAMP2. However, NAC supplement fails to block the activation of skeletal muscle autophagy in response to fasting, because fasting significantly increases the mRNA level of several autophagy markers and LC3 lipidation. We further examined the effects of NAC administration on mitochondrial antioxidant capacity in fed and 24-hour fasted mice. Our results clearly show that NAC administration depresses the expression of manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD and TP53-induced glycolysis and apoptosis regulator (TIGAR, both of which play a predominant antioxidant role in mitochondria by reducing ROS level. In addition, we found no beneficial effect of NAC supplement on muscle mass but it can protect from muscle loss in response to fasting. Collectively, our findings indicate that ROS is required for skeletal muscle constitutive autophagy, rather than starvation-induced autophagy, and that antioxidant NAC inhibits constitutive autophagy by the regulation of mitochondrial ROS production and antioxidant capacity.

Target Soil Impact Verification: Experimental Testing and Kayenta Constitutive Modeling.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Broome, Scott Thomas [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Flint, Gregory Mark [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Dewers, Thomas [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Newell, Pania [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2015-11-01

This report details experimental testing and constitutive modeling of sandy soil deformation under quasi - static conditions. This is driven by the need to understand constitutive response of soil to target/component behavior upon impact . An experimental and constitutive modeling program was followed to determine elastic - plastic properties and a compressional failure envelope of dry soil . One hydrostatic, one unconfined compressive stress (UCS), nine axisymmetric compression (ACS) , and one uniaxial strain (US) test were conducted at room temperature . Elastic moduli, assuming isotropy, are determined from unload/reload loops and final unloading for all tests pre - failure and increase monotonically with mean stress. Very little modulus degradation was discernable from elastic results even when exposed to mean stresses above 200 MPa . The failure envelope and initial yield surface were determined from peak stresses and observed onset of plastic yielding from all test results. Soil elasto - plastic behavior is described using the Brannon et al. (2009) Kayenta constitutive model. As a validation exercise, the ACS - parameterized Kayenta model is used to predict response of the soil material under uniaxial strain loading. The resulting parameterized and validated Kayenta model is of high quality and suitable for modeling sandy soil deformation under a range of conditions, including that for impact prediction.

Stable Plastid Transformation for High-Level Recombinant Protein Expression: Promises and Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meili Gao

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Plants are a promising expression system for the production of recombinant proteins. However, low protein productivity remains a major obstacle that limits extensive commercialization of whole plant and plant cell bioproduction platform. Plastid genetic engineering offers several advantages, including high levels of transgenic expression, transgenic containment via maternal inheritance, and multigene expression in a single transformation event. In recent years, the development of optimized expression strategies has given a huge boost to the exploitation of plastids in molecular farming. The driving forces behind the high expression level of plastid bioreactors include codon optimization, promoters and UTRs, genotypic modifications, endogenous enhancer and regulatory elements, posttranslational modification, and proteolysis. Exciting progress of the high expression level has been made with the plastid-based production of two particularly important classes of pharmaceuticals: vaccine antigens, therapeutic proteins, and antibiotics and enzymes. Approaches to overcome and solve the associated challenges of this culture system that include low transformation frequencies, the formation of inclusion bodies, and purification of recombinant proteins will also be discussed.

The review of constitutional norms concerning local public administration in the view of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission)

OpenAIRE

Apostolache, Mihai

2015-01-01

The proposals of the Commission to review the Constitution of Romania were subject to the analysis of experts from the European Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission), who expressed their opinion in a report adopted at the 98th plenary session of the European body. The article analyzes the recommendations of the Venice Commission regarding the proposed changes to the constitutional norms governing local public administration, comprising some general aspects concern...

A nonlinear magneto-thermo-elastic coupled hysteretic constitutive model for magnetostrictive alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jin Ke; Kou Yong; Zheng Xiaojing

2012-01-01

This paper presents a general hysteretic constitutive law of nonlinear magneto-thermo-elastic coupling for magnetostrictive alloys. The model considered here is thermodynamically motivated and based on the Gibbs free energy function. A nonlinear part of the elastic strain arising from magnetic domain rotation induced by the pre-stress is taken into account. Furthermore, the movement of the domain walls is incorporated to describe hysteresis based on Jiles–Atherton's model. Then a set of closed and analytical expressions of the constitutive law for the magnetostrictive rods and films are obtained, and the parameters appearing in the model can be determined by those measurable experiments in mechanics and physics. Comparing this model with other existing models in this field, the quantitative results show that the relationships obtained here are more effective to describe the effects of the pre-stress or in-plane residual stress and ambient temperature on the magnetization or the magnetostriction hysteresis loops. - Highlights: ► A general hysteretic constitutive law of nonlinear magneto-thermo-elastic coupling for magnetostrictive materials is proposed. ► Model is thermodynamically motivated and the reversible magnetic domain rotation and irreversible domain wall motion are taken. ► The predictions are in good accordance with the experimental data including both rods and films. ► Magnetostrictive alloys are sensitive to environment temperature and pre-stress or residual stress.

Time and constitution of sense

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro Gerardo Acosta

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This article proposes a reflection over our time-consciousness under the Phenomenology of Edmund Husserl. The idea is make a release the key role of the sense constitution like the fundament and development of the ongoing intentionality, a shape that make the possibility to catch sight of the sense of every life situation like conscience experience that displays itself over the time, and open the world of the Phenomenon World, constituted in the flux and flow of our live experience. The immanent time in which the things served in a lived-present inevitably displays to its own immediate-past of retentions, then of commemorations, constituting and enabling, not just the sense of ever present, but the sense of our own past like memory and our future like expectative. This reflection is based and supporter over the text “Phenomenology Lesson of the Internal Time-Consiusness” (Husserl, 2002.

Rumex acetosa Y chromosomes: constitutive or facultative heterochromatin?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrzej J. Joachimiak

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Condensed Y chromosomes in Rumex acetosa L. root-tip nuclei were studied using 5-azaC treatment and immunohistochemical detection of methylated histones. Although Y chromosomes were decondensed within root meristem in vivo, they became condensed and heteropycnotic in roots cultured in vitro. 5-azacytidine (5-azaC treatment of cultured roots caused transitional dispersion of their Y chromosome bodies, but 7 days after removal of the drug from the culture medium, Y heterochromatin recondensed and again became visible. The response of Rumex sex chromatin to 5-azaC was compared with that of condensed segments of pericentromeric heterochromatin in Rhoeo spathacea (Sw. Stearn roots. It was shown that Rhoeo chromocentres, composed of AT-rich constitutive heterochromatin, did not undergo decondensation after 5-azaC treatment. The Y-bodies observed within male nuclei of R. acetosa were globally enriched with H3 histone, demethylated at lysine 4 and methylated at lysine 9. This is the first report of histone tail-modification in condensed sex chromatin in plants. Our results suggest that the interphase condensation of Y chromosomes in Rumex is facultative rather than constitutive. Furthermore, the observed response of Y-bodies to 5-azaC may result indirectly from demethylation and the subsequent altered expression of unknown genes controlling tissue-specific Y-inactivation as opposed to the global demethylation of Y-chromosome DNA.

Cyclooxygenase-2 expression in the normal human eye and its expression pattern in selected eye tumours

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Jinmei; Wu, Yazhen; Heegaard, Steffen

2011-01-01

Purpose: Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is an enzyme involved in neoplastic processes. The purpose of the present study is to investigate COX-2 expression in the normal human eye and the expression pattern in selected eye tumours involving COX-2 expressing cells. Methods: Immunohistochemical staining...... using antibodies against COX-2 was performed on paraffin sections of normal human eyes and selected eye tumours arising from cells expressing COX-2. Results: Cyclooxygenase-2 expression was found in various structures of the normal eye. Abundant expression was seen in the cornea, iris, ciliary body...... and retina. The COX-2 expression was less in tumours deriving from the ciliary epithelium and also in retinoblastoma. Conclusion: Cyclooxygenase-2 is constitutively expressed in normal human eyes. The expression of COX-2 is much lower in selected eye tumours involving COX-2 expressing cells....

Stability of non-linear constitutive formulations for viscoelastic fluids

CERN Document Server

Siginer, Dennis A

2014-01-01

Stability of Non-linear Constitutive Formulations for Viscoelastic Fluids provides a complete and up-to-date view of the field of constitutive equations for flowing viscoelastic fluids, in particular on their non-linear behavior, the stability of these constitutive equations that is their predictive power, and the impact of these constitutive equations on the dynamics of viscoelastic fluid flow in tubes. This book gives an overall view of the theories and attendant methodologies developed independently of thermodynamic considerations as well as those set within a thermodynamic framework to derive non-linear rheological constitutive equations for viscoelastic fluids. Developments in formulating Maxwell-like constitutive differential equations as well as single integral constitutive formulations are discussed in the light of Hadamard and dissipative type of instabilities.

Cicero and the Mixed Constitution (res publica mixta

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mitja Sadek

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The story of the mixed constitution is the story of the most stable and just constitution. In theory, this is a combination of at least two of the three elementary forms of government (monarchy, aristocracy and democracy, with some advantages that elementary forms may lack. It originated with the deliberation of Greek philosophers, who wanted to draw up a constitution safeguarding against the permanent variation of elementary constitutional forms and against coups d’état. For both Plato and Aristotle, the mixed constitution was, above all, the reflection of a search for balance between the two extreme forms of government, direct (Athenian democracy on the one hand and the exclusion of the people from governing on the other. The Greek theory was applied by the historian Polybius to the traditional tripartite constitution of the Roman republic. In his view, the consuls were monarchic elements, the senate an aristocratic element, and the comitia a democratic one. Cicero’s introduction of the idea of the mixed constitution in De re publica can only be understood in the light of the author’s personal situation and contemporary political circumstances. His political engagement at a time when the republic was gradually transforming into a monarchy aimed at restoring the important role of the nobility, represented by the senate. For Cicero, the mixed constitution was mainly an instrument for restoring the lost balance between the consuls, the senate, and the comitia, a last chance to save the decaying republic. The concluding part of the article addresses Alois Riklin’s recent discussion of the modern reception of the mixed constitution idea, which advances the controversial thesis that the paradigm of power division, the foundation of modern representative democracy, originates directly from the mixed constitution.

Evaluation of potential crushed-salt constitutive models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Callahan, G.D.; Loken, M.C.; Sambeek, L.L. Van; Chen, R.; Pfeifle, T.W.; Nieland, J.D.; Hansen, F.D.

1995-12-01

Constitutive models describing the deformation of crushed salt are presented in this report. Ten constitutive models with potential to describe the phenomenological and micromechanical processes for crushed salt were selected from a literature search. Three of these ten constitutive models, termed Sjaardema-Krieg, Zeuch, and Spiers models, were adopted as candidate constitutive models. The candidate constitutive models were generalized in a consistent manner to three-dimensional states of stress and modified to include the effects of temperature, grain size, and moisture content. A database including hydrostatic consolidation and shear consolidation tests conducted on Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and southeastern New Mexico salt was used to determine material parameters for the candidate constitutive models. Nonlinear least-squares model fitting to data from the hydrostatic consolidation tests, the shear consolidation tests, and a combination of the shear and hydrostatic tests produces three sets of material parameter values for the candidate models. The change in material parameter values from test group to test group indicates the empirical nature of the models. To evaluate the predictive capability of the candidate models, each parameter value set was used to predict each of the tests in the database. Based on the fitting statistics and the ability of the models to predict the test data, the Spiers model appeared to perform slightly better than the other two candidate models. The work reported here is a first-of-its kind evaluation of constitutive models for reconsolidation of crushed salt. Questions remain to be answered. Deficiencies in models and databases are identified and recommendations for future work are made. 85 refs

Crushed-salt constitutive model update

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Callahan, G.D.; Loken, M.C.; Mellegard, K.D.; Hansen, F.D.

1998-01-01

Modifications to the constitutive model used to describe the deformation of crushed salt are presented in this report. Two mechanisms--dislocation creep and grain boundary diffusional pressure solutioning--defined previously but used separately are combined to form the basis for the constitutive model governing the deformation of crushed salt. The constitutive model is generalized to represent three-dimensional states of stress. New creep consolidation tests are combined with an existing database that includes hydrostatic consolidation and shear consolidation tests conducted on Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and southeastern New Mexico salt to determine material parameters for the constitutive model. Nonlinear least-squares model fitting to data from the shear consolidation tests and a combination of the shear and hydrostatic consolidation tests produced two sets of material parameter values for the model. The change in material parameter values from test group to test group indicates the empirical nature of the model but demonstrates improvement over earlier work with the previous models. Key improvements are the ability to capture lateral strain reversal and better resolve parameter values. To demonstrate the predictive capability of the model, each parameter value set was used to predict each of the tests in the database. Based on the fitting statistics and the ability of the model to predict the test data, the model appears to capture the creep consolidation behavior of crushed salt quite well

Crushed-salt constitutive model update

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Callahan, G.D.; Loken, M.C.; Mellegard, K.D. [RE/SPEC Inc., Rapid City, SD (United States); Hansen, F.D. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)

1998-01-01

Modifications to the constitutive model used to describe the deformation of crushed salt are presented in this report. Two mechanisms--dislocation creep and grain boundary diffusional pressure solutioning--defined previously but used separately are combined to form the basis for the constitutive model governing the deformation of crushed salt. The constitutive model is generalized to represent three-dimensional states of stress. New creep consolidation tests are combined with an existing database that includes hydrostatic consolidation and shear consolidation tests conducted on Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and southeastern New Mexico salt to determine material parameters for the constitutive model. Nonlinear least-squares model fitting to data from the shear consolidation tests and a combination of the shear and hydrostatic consolidation tests produced two sets of material parameter values for the model. The change in material parameter values from test group to test group indicates the empirical nature of the model but demonstrates improvement over earlier work with the previous models. Key improvements are the ability to capture lateral strain reversal and better resolve parameter values. To demonstrate the predictive capability of the model, each parameter value set was used to predict each of the tests in the database. Based on the fitting statistics and the ability of the model to predict the test data, the model appears to capture the creep consolidation behavior of crushed salt quite well.

Human Rights under the Ethiopian Constitution: A Descriptive ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This article summarizes human rights under the Ethiopian Constitution (mainly surrounding Chapter 3 of Constitution and related constitutional provisions on human and democratic rights), and forwards some insights. It, inter alia, covers various aspects of the application and interpretation of human rights provisions, ...

Gene expression

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hildebrand, C.E.; Crawford, B.D.; Walters, R.A.; Enger, M.D.

1983-01-01

We prepared probes for isolating functional pieces of the metallothionein locus. The probes enabled a variety of experiments, eventually revealing two mechanisms for metallothionein gene expression, the order of the DNA coding units at the locus, and the location of the gene site in its chromosome. Once the switch regulating metallothionein synthesis was located, it could be joined by recombinant DNA methods to other, unrelated genes, then reintroduced into cells by gene-transfer techniques. The expression of these recombinant genes could then be induced by exposing the cells to Zn 2+ or Cd 2+ . We would thus take advantage of the clearly defined switching properties of the metallothionein gene to manipulate the expression of other, perhaps normally constitutive, genes. Already, despite an incomplete understanding of how the regulatory switch of the metallothionein locus operates, such experiments have been performed successfully

Expression profiling of the VKORC1 and Calumenin gene in a Danish strain of bromadiolone-resistant Norway rats

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Markussen, Mette Drude; Heiberg, Ann-Charlotte; Fredholm, Merete

2008-01-01

in European strains of Norway rats while high hepatic levels of calumenin has been suggested responsible for resistance in an US strain of rats. To characterize the resistance mechanism in a Danish strain of bromadiolone-resistant Norway rats (with an Y139C-VKORC1 mutation), we compared VKORC1 and Calumenin......Anticoagulant resistance in Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) has been associated with two genes, VKORC1 and Calumenin, which encodes proteins essential to the vitamin K-dependent gamma-carboxylation system. Mutations in the VKORC1 gene are considered the genetic basis for anticoagulant resistance...... liver gene expression between resistant and anticoagulant-susceptible rats upon saline and bromadiolone-administration. The resistant male and female rats had significantly lower constitutive VKORC1 expression (57 % and 63 %) compared to the susceptible rats (100 %) while the constitutive Calumenin...

Work Towards a (New) Definition of Peace Constitution

OpenAIRE

Gilliam, Jay R.; Jay R., Gilliam

2011-01-01

Current research on peace constitutions generally centers on Japan’s post-World War II pacifist constitution, specifically Article 9 where Japan renounces war, dissolves its military, and vows to work towards peace in the world. In fact, researching peace constitution (or 平和憲法 in Japanese) in books, academic journals, or on the Internet routinely returns only results about Japan and its Article 9. While a substantial body of work exists about Japan’s peace constitution, too often that body of...

Selection for the compactness of highly expressed genes in Gallus gallus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhou Ming

2010-05-01

(n = 1105, and compared the first intron length and the average intron length between highly expressed genes (top 5% expressed genes and weakly expressed genes (bottom 5% expressed genes. We found that the first intron length and the average intron length in highly expressed genes are not different from that in weakly expressed genes. We also made a comparison between ubiquitously expressed genes and narrowly expressed somatic genes with similar expression levels. Our data demonstrated that ubiquitously expressed genes are less compact than narrowly expressed genes with the similar expression levels. Obviously, these observations can not be explained by mutational bias hypotheses either. We also found that the significant trend between genes' compactness and expression level could not be affected by local mutational biases. We argued that the selection of economy model is most likely one to explain the relationship between gene expression and gene characteristics in chicken genome. Conclusion Natural selection appears to favor the compactness of highly expressed genes in chicken genome. This observation can be explained by the selection of economy model. Reviewers This article was reviewed by Dr. Gavin Huttley, Dr. Liran Carmel (nominated by Dr. Eugene V. Koonin and Dr. Araxi Urrutia (nominated by Dr. Laurence D. Hurst.

Biotic and abiotic stress tolerance in transgenic tomatoes by constitutive expression of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase gene.

Science.gov (United States)

Hazarika, Pranjal; Rajam, Manchikatla Venkat

2011-04-01

Recent findings have implicated the role of polyamines (putrescine, spermidine and spermine) in stress tolerance. Therefore, the present work was carried out with the goal of generating transgenic tomato plants with human S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (samdc) gene, a key gene involved in biosynthesis of polyamines, viz. spermidine and spermine and evaluating the transgenic plants for tolerance to both biotic and abiotic stresses. Several putative transgenic tomato plants with normal phenotype were obtained, and the transgene integration and expression was validated by PCR, Southern blot analysis and RT-PCR analysis, respectively. The transgenic plants exhibited high levels of polyamines as compared to the untransformed control plants. They also showed increased resistance against two important fungal pathogens of tomato, the wilt causing Fusarium oxysporum and the early blight causing Alternaria solani and tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses such as salinity, drought, cold and high temperature. These results suggest that engineering polyamine accumulation can confer tolerance to both biotic and abiotic stresses in plants.

Morphine withdrawal enhances constitutive μ-opioid receptor activity in the ventral tegmental area.

Science.gov (United States)

Meye, Frank J; van Zessen, Ruud; Smidt, Marten P; Adan, Roger A H; Ramakers, Geert M J

2012-11-14

μ-Opioid receptors (MORs) in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) are pivotally involved in addictive behavior. While MORs are typically activated by opioids, they can also become constitutively active in the absence of any agonist. In the current study, we present evidence that MOR constitutive activity is highly relevant in the mouse VTA, as it regulates GABAergic input to dopamine neurons. Specifically, suppression of MOR constitutive activity with the inverse agonist KC-2-009 enhanced GABAergic neurotransmission onto VTA dopamine neurons. This inverse agonistic effect was fully blocked by the specific MOR neutral antagonist CTOP, which had no effect on GABAergic transmission itself. We next show that withdrawal from chronic morphine further increases the magnitude of inverse agonistic effects at the MOR, suggesting enhanced MOR constitutive activity. We demonstrate that this increase can be an adaptive response to the detrimental elevation in cAMP levels known to occur during morphine withdrawal. These findings offer important insights in the physiological occurrence and function of MOR constitutive activity, and have important implications for therapeutic strategies aimed at normalizing MOR signaling during addiction and opioid overdose.

The symbolic constitution of addiction: language, alienation, ambivalence.

Science.gov (United States)

Kemp, Ryan

2012-07-01

The author offers an articulation of addiction, via existential-phenomenology and Lacanian psychoanalysis, where it is argued that the addicted subject is constituted via a symbolic structuring evolving from societal practices, laws and the effects of language. Language carries a heritage, which bears on the knowledge and practices of designated subjects and practitioners of that discourse. Addiction, as one particular form of embodied existence and knowledgeable practice, finds expression through the speech and habits of the addict. Addiction, it is argued, is symbolically saturated with ambivalence and alienation. Also the addict is described as the complete modern technocratic subject, consumed by the ideology of consumption. The clinical implications are briefly explored where it is noted that two major approaches to addiction, namely 12-step fellowships and motivational interviewing, both attend to language as a critical component of their treatment approach.

Sonora Legislators and their Constitution, 1857-1861

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zulema Trejo

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the members of the Sonora constituent congress (1857-61, and analyzes the debates they held regarding the project for the state's Constitution, which would follow the lines estblished by the 1857 Federal Constitution. It also points out the relations between each legislator's trajectory and politicial affiliation (as far as available sources allow for this, and the proposals he presented during the legislative debates that gave place to the 1861 Constitution of Sonora.

Competition And Antitrust Law In Ecuadorian Constitution

OpenAIRE

Marcelo Marín Sevilla

2013-01-01

This work allows us to establish the Economic Constitution and the Competition Law (C.L) in the Constitution. Additionally, the paper analyzes whether the rules outlined in the C. L. and in doctrine are consistent and appropriate with the Constitution of Ecuador. The Competition and Antitrust Laws has rules for investigating and punishing the cartels, the abuses of power market (dominant position), the rules for merger control, the behaviors of Abuse of economic dependence, and unfair competi...

Complexities of Constitutional Change in the Philippines

OpenAIRE

Saunders, Cheryl; Yusingco, Michael Henry

2018-01-01

President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office in July 2016, His party, PDP-Laban, had campaigned under the slogan: “No to Drugs, Yes to Federalism”. Duterte thus is committed to shepherding the Philippines towards a federal form of government; an undertaking that would require an extensive overhaul of the country’s constitution. The future of constitutional change under Duterte in any event is uncertain for a series of constitutional and political reasons. Critically, some of the most pressing of ...

[Etiologic spectrum of solitary constitutional syndrome].

Science.gov (United States)

Hernández Hernández, J L; Matorras Galán, P; Riancho Moral, J A; González-Macías, J

2002-07-01

To know the spectrum of diseases responsible for the solitary constitutional syndrome in our setting. This syndrome was defined as a clinical picture characterized by the presence of asthenia, anorexia, and weight loss of at least 5% of body weight in the last six months, not associated with any other symptom or sign suggesting the diagnosis of an organ or system disease. All patients diagnosed of the solitary constitutional syndrome (328) in a tertiary-care level teaching hospital between January 1991 and December 1996. Fifty-two (170) percent of patients with solitary constitutional syndrome were males and 48% (158) females. The mean age was 65.4%, ranging from 15 to 97 years. The average of the monthly estimated weight loss was 3 to 4 kilograms. A total of 115 (35%) malignant neoplasms and 5 (1.5%) benign tumors were diagnosed. The most common malignant tumors corresponded to the digestive tract (51.3% of the total malignant tumors). The second cause in frequency of the solitary constitutional syndrome corresponded to psychiatric diseases, with a total of 80 patients (24.3%). A total of 116 non-neoplastic organic diseases were detected, with digestive tract diseases --mainly peptic disease-- being the most common cause in this group. After follow-up, only in twenty cases were we unable to detect the underlying disease responsible for the syndrome. In nine of these, the solitary constitutional syndrome was self-limited. Forty-four percent of patients had at least another concomitant disease and in 24% of patients more than one associated condition was found. The most common diseases responsible for the solitary constitutional syndrome were, by decreasing frequency, malignant tumors, psychiatric disorders, and non-malignant organic diseases located in the digestive tract. A better knowledge of the etiological spectrum of this syndrome might be useful for a more efficient management of these patients.

Constitutional provisions regarding juristic persons | Pienaar ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The interim Constitution of 1993 and the final Constitution of 1996 contain specific provisions applicable to juristic persons. Juristic persons are also entitled to the fundamental rights contained in the Bill of Rights to the extent that these rights are applicable to them. It must be kept in mind that juristic persons have peculiar ...

The Constitutional Debate: A One Man Show? Václav Klaus and the Constitutional Discourse in the Czech Republic

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Rakušanová, Petra

2007-01-01

Roč. 8, č. 8 (2007), s. 342-373 ISSN 1570-5854 Grant - others:VW Stiftung(DE) 218036 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z70280505 Keywords : European Constitutional Treaty * European constitutional ratification * Czech Republic Subject RIV: AO - Sociology, Demography

Exploring the determinants of the graded structure of vocal emotion expressions.

Science.gov (United States)

Laukka, Petri; Audibert, Nicolas; Aubergé, Véronique

2012-01-01

We examined what determines the typicality, or graded structure, of vocal emotion expressions. Separate groups of judges rated acted and spontaneous expressions of anger, fear, and joy with regard to their typicality and three main determinants of the graded structure of categories: category members' similarity to the central tendency of their category (CT); category members' frequency of instantiation, i.e., how often they are encountered as category members (FI); and category members' similarity to ideals associated with the goals served by its category, i.e., suitability to express particular emotions. Partial correlations and multiple regression analysis revealed that similarity to ideals, rather than CT or FI, explained most variance in judged typicality. Results thus suggest that vocal emotion expressions constitute ideal-based goal-derived categories, rather than taxonomic categories based on CT and FI. This could explain how prototypical expressions can be acoustically distinct and highly recognisable but occur relatively rarely in everyday speech.

Genesis of the constitutionality and statehood of the Republic of Srpska: Constitutional acts in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1990 and 1991

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nešković Radomir

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Constitutional (statehood or foundation acts are those on which the establishment of a state is founded. These acts determine its statehood entities (part-owners of the state in which the foundations of state organization are defined. All other authorities (legislative, executive and administrative, and judicial are extracted from constitutional acts which are synthesized in the Constitution as the highest political and legal act. Constitutional acts in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the abovementioned period influenced each other as the domino effect, since one act caused the adoption of another, thus, each state-building act had the cause and consequence feature. Constitutional act of representatives of a nation caused the adoption of a similar act among representatives of another nation, which resulted in the statehood authority losing its unique character and being 'torn apart' into three national state-building authorities. In this text we mention the basic constitutional acts preceding the establishment of the Assembly of the Serb People in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

James Madison's "Public" As Interpreter of the Constitution.

Science.gov (United States)

Dewey, Donald O.

James Madison's thoughts on various interpretations of the Constitution maintain that public opinion is the ultimate method of legitimizing the document. The Constitution must prevail against mere public opinion, but public opinion may be used to establish the meaning of the Constitution when conflicting interpretations exist. The public good and…

A Communicatively Constituted Online Crisis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Valentini, Chiara; Romenti, Stefania; Kruckeberg, Dean

2017-01-01

into specific public crisis perceptions. Drawing from a communicative constitution perspective, the authors argue that if crises are perceptions or experiences of difficult situations that exceed a person’s current resources and coping mechanisms, and if perceptions and experiences in social media are typically...... by offering suggestions on how to study online critical conversations through the lens of a communicative constitution perspective that could inform how critical issues eventually transform and become crises and how crisis perceptions evolve and are discursively shaped by communicative practices occurring...

Ectopic ERK Expression Induces Phenotypic Conversion of C10 Cells and Alters DNA Methyltransferase Expression

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sontag, Ryan L.; Weber, Thomas J.

2012-05-04

In some model systems constitutive extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) activation is sufficient to promote an oncogenic phenotype. Here we investigate whether constitutive ERK expression influences phenotypic conversion in murine C10 type II alveolar epithelial cells. C10 cells were stably transduced with an ERK1-green fluorescent protein (ERK1-GFP) chimera or empty vector and ectopic ERK expression was associated with the acquisition of soft agar focus-forming potential in late passage, but not early passage cells. Late passage ERK1-GFP cells exhibited a significant increase in the expression of DNA methyl transferases (DNMT1 and 3b) and a marked increase in sensitivity to 5-azacytidine (5-azaC)-mediated toxicity, relative to early passage ERK1-GFP cells and vector controls. The expression of xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group A (XPA) and DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) were significantly increased in late passage cells, suggesting enhanced DNA damage recognition and repair activity which we interpret as a reflection of genomic instability. Phospho-ERK levels were dramatically decreased in late passage ERK1-GFP cells, relative to early passage and vector controls, and phospho-ERK levels were restored by treatment with sodium orthovanadate, indicating a role for phosphatase activity in this response. Collectively these observations suggest that ectopic ERK expression promotes phenotypic conversion of C10 cells that is associated with latent effects on epigenetic programming and phosphatase activities.

Health care law versus constitutional law.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Mark A

2013-04-01

National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, the Supreme Court's ruling on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is a landmark decision - both for constitutional law and for health care law and policy. Others will study its implications for constitutional limits on a range of federal powers beyond health care. This article considers to what extent the decision is also about health care law, properly conceived. Under one view, health care law is the subdiscipline that inquires how courts and government actors take account of the special features of medicine that make legal or policy issues especially problematic - rather than regarding health care delivery and finance more generically, like most any other economic or social enterprise. Viewed this way, the opinions from the Court's conservative justices are mainly about general constitutional law principles. In contrast, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's dissenting opinion for the four more liberal justices is just as much about health care law as it is about constitutional law. Her opinion gives detailed attention to the unique features of health care finance and delivery in order to inform her analysis of constitutional precedents and principles. Thus, the Court's multiple opinions give a vivid depiction of the compelling contrasts between communal versus individualistic conceptions of caring for those in need, and between health care and health insurance as ordinary commodities versus ones that merit special economic, social, and legal status.

Possibilities for a constitutional embodiment of environment protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hattenberger, D.

1991-03-01

The main topic is the question of adequacy and desirability of a constitutional rule for the protection of the environment with regard to the specific Austrian situation and the extensive discussion about this topic in German. As variants are discussed a human right of environment, objective categories of constitutional rules (constitutional aims of state's policy) and procedural or organisational rules. It begins with an explanation of the general responsibility of states in the field of environment protection and a determination of the term 'environment '. In respect of a human right first already guaranteed rights are examined for their relevance in the field of conservation with regard to the change in the understanding of human rights. Then arguments pro and against a specific right to environment are mentioned and appraised. With regard to the counter-arguments a subjective right should not be incorporated. A revision of the present concept of human rights would be necessary. Similar arguments are mentioned against the constitution of an objective norm in respect of some judicial decisions of the Austrian Constitutional Court. The problem of the protection of the environment will not be solved with a constitutional rule. It would raise new problems, which would damage the constitution as a fundamental order of human living together. (author)

Constitutional Provisions on the Press: A World View.

Science.gov (United States)

Paraschos, Manny

A study examined the legal treatment of the press in constitutions or other basic legal institutional documents from around the world. Sixty-three constitutions or basic documents from the Western World, the Communist Bloc, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America were analyzed. Analysis revealed that most constitutions open with…

Theoretical (dis-) position and strategic leitmotivs in constitutional ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This essay takes a look at the historic restoration that bequeathed this country and its people a prototypical, justiciable Constitution. The advent of constitutional democracy in South Africa went hand in hand with an about-turn in the interpretation of enacted law-texts (including the Constitution) and a critical interrogation of ...

Unconstitutional constitutional amendments in Ethiopia: the practice ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Haramaya Law Review ... The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) under Article 104 and 105 sets ... that sets procedures to be observed in the process of constitutional amendments: both initiation and approval.

Correction of Flow Curves and Constitutive Modelling of a Ti-6Al-4V Alloy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ming Hu

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Isothermal uniaxial compressions of a Ti-6Al-4V alloy were carried out in the temperature range of 800–1050 °C and strain rate range of 0.001–1 s−1. The effects of friction between the specimen and anvils as well as the increase in temperature caused by the high strain rate deformation were considered, and flow curves were corrected as a result. Constitutive models were discussed based on the corrected flow curves. The correlation coefficient and average absolute relative error for the strain compensated Arrhenius-type constitutive model are 0.986 and 9.168%, respectively, while the values for a modified Johnson-Cook constitutive model are 0.924 and 22.673%, respectively. Therefore, the strain compensated Arrhenius-type constitutive model has a better prediction capability than a modified Johnson-Cook constitutive model.

Nested Expression Domains for Odorant Receptors in Zebrafish Olfactory Epithelium

Science.gov (United States)

Weth, Franco; Nadler, Walter; Korsching, Sigrun

1996-11-01

The mapping of high-dimensional olfactory stimuli onto the two-dimensional surface of the nasal sensory epithelium constitutes the first step in the neuronal encoding of olfactory input. We have used zebrafish as a model system to analyze the spatial distribution of odorant receptor molecules in the olfactory epithelium by quantitative in situ hybridization. To this end, we have cloned 10 very divergent zebrafish odorant receptor molecules by PCR. Individual genes are expressed in sparse olfactory receptor neurons. Analysis of the position of labeled cells in a simplified coordinate system revealed three concentric, albeit overlapping, expression domains for the four odorant receptors analyzed in detail. Such regionalized expression should result in a corresponding segregation of functional response properties. This might represent the first step of spatial encoding of olfactory input or be essential for the development of the olfactory system.

Examining the Reasons for the Non-Stipulation of the Constitution on the Condition of Gender in the Authority of High Ranking Political Officials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatemeh Faghihi

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This article seeks to analyze the principles of constitution review in the constitution stipulating gender leadership. Despite the prevailing view in the tradition Sex for leadership, as the highest political office, but none of the principles of the constitution refers to this. Silence constitution on the grounds that the conditions necessary for leadership means to be unnecessary of gender for this position. Although this issue is still in the fields of culture and society does not provide executive. Theoretically and legally, there is no limit to the enterprises led by women and constitution has enough capacity to fill all of the women's political authorities.

Spatio-temporal regulation of circular RNA expression during porcine embryonic brain development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Venø, Morten T; Hansen, Thomas B; Venø, Susanne T

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: Recently, thousands of circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been discovered in various tissues and cell types from human, mouse, fruit fly and nematodes. However, expression of circRNAs across mammalian brain development has never been examined. RESULTS: Here we profile the expression of circ......RNA in five brain tissues at up to six time-points during fetal porcine development, constituting the first report of circRNA in the brain development of a large animal. An unbiased analysis reveals a highly complex regulation pattern of thousands of circular RNAs, with a distinct spatio-temporal expression...... are functionally conserved between mouse and human. Furthermore, we observe that "hot-spot" genes produce multiple circRNA isoforms, which are often differentially expressed across porcine brain development. A global comparison of porcine circRNAs reveals that introns flanking circularized exons are longer than...

A constitutionalised perspective on freedom of artistic expression ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In terms of section 16(1)(c) of the South African Constitution, Act 108 of 1996, artistic creativity is regarded as a manifestation of freedom of expression. However, unbridled artistic expression can sometimes go to the extremes of repulsiveness. For example, art, which takes on the form of pornography, can for instance be an ...

Rights of Minors and Constitutional Politics in the German Länder. Legal Framework, Party Strategies, and Constitutional Amendments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lorenz Astrid

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The article analyses constitutional politics in the German Länder in the field of minors’ rights. Since this issue seems a purely legal matter dealt with at the federal, European and international level, we should expect similar, almost identically shaped policies at the Länder level. However, the analysis brings considerable variations of constitutional activities in this field to the fore: time, frequency, and contents of respective initiatives vary significantly in the period from 1999 to 2014. These variations were due to different party strategies, diverging party platforms and majority constellations in the Länder. The analysis also shows that the public arguments brought forward in favour of constitutional amendments refer only weakly and randomly to legal provisions and processes at other levels. The political debate supporting extended children's rights rather refers to general observations, to the specific regional context, and constitutional provisions in other Länder. At least with regard to this issue, the multi-level system did not systematically impact on constitutional politics in the Länder. It rather can be understood as an opportunity structure providing parties with multiple realms in which they can pursue their goals. Thus the study shows that federal and regional party strategies are key factors in explaining policy diffusion in multilevel systems.

Constitutional and acquired autosomal aneuploidy.

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson-Cook, Colleen

2011-12-01

Chromosomal imbalances can result from numerical or structural anomalies. Numerical chromosomal abnormalities are often referred to as aneuploid conditions. This article focuses on the occurrence of constitutional and acquired autosomal aneuploidy in humans. Topics covered include frequency, mosaicism, phenotypic findings, and etiology. The article concludes with a consideration of anticipated advances that might allow for the development of screening tests and/or lead to improvements in our understanding and management of the role that aneuploidy plays in the aging process and acquisition of age-related and constitutional conditions.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN ETHIOPIA: THE ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

eliasn

freedom of expression as provided under the FDRE Constitution. Then, some ... M (CEU); Addis Ababa University School of Law, Currently on .... The other line of reasoning that is adopted to justify the protection of speech is one that makes ...

From Opera to Real Democracy: Popular Constitutionalism and Web 2.0

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth Dale

2013-01-01

Full Text Available On March 17, 2011 the conductor Riccardo Muti stood in the orchestra pit at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and, in the presence of the Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, and the Italian President, Giorgio Napolitano, denounced the Italian government’s cuts to funding for the arts and culture. He then invited the entire audience to join the opera’s chorus in an encore of Va’ Pensiero, the hymn of the Hebrew slaves in Nabucco, to protest the cuts. Within two days of the sing-a-long, the Italian government reversed the course it set more than ten months before and agreed to a tax that would be used to restore funds to the arts and culture budget. This article traces how and why these acts of protest in Italy developed, succeeded, and then were appropriated by transnational activists interested in encouraging popular constitutionalism. Because the entire process made considerable use of Facebook, blogs, YouTube, and Twitter, this case study simultaneously explores how a popular protest became a successful expression of popular constitutionalism, and considers how the messages of that protest evolved across a transnational public sphere that encompassed Web 2.0.

Researches on the Constitutive Models of Artificial Frozen Silt in Underground Engineering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yugui Yang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The researches on the mechanical characteristic and constitutive models of frozen soil have important meanings in structural design of deep frozen soil wall. In the present study, the triaxial compression and creep tests have been carried out, and the mechanical characteristic of frozen silt is obtained. The experiment results show that the deformation characteristic of frozen silt is related to confining pressure under conventional triaxial compression condition. The frozen silt presents strain softening in shear process; with increase of confining pressure, the strain softening characteristic gradually decreases. The creep curves of frozen silt present the decaying and the stable creep stages under low stress level; however, under high stress level, once the strain increases to a critical value, the creep strain velocity gradually increases and the specimen quickly happens to destroy. To reproduce the deformation behavior, the disturbed state elastoplastic and new creep constitutive models of frozen silt are developed. The comparisons between experimental results and calculated results from constitutive models show that the proposed constitutive models could describe the conventional triaxial compression and creep deformation behaviors of frozen silt.

Urgency of Attorney Governed by the Constitution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rommy Patra

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Attorney existence in the Indonesian constitutional structure has a dilemma for this position. On one side is the Prosecutor’s law enforcement agencies to exercise power independently prosecution while on the other hand is part of a government institution under Law No. 16 of 2004 regarding the Attorney. The position of Attorney as an institution of government has been led to the independence of the Prosecutor is not optimal so that it appears stigma that the Prosecutor merely as a tool of the ruling power. In addition the terms of the arrangement just under the Act, the Attorney General has no legal standing as a constitutional organ that has the constitutional authority so that the current position does not reflect the urgency of its duties and functions. In an effort to organize the next Attorney institutions should be regulated directly by the Constitution. It is intended to make the Attorney as part of the main state organs have the same legal standing as other law enforcement agencies, the police and the courts (Supreme Court and Constitutional Court. As well as to strengthen and clarify the position as a state institution, prosecution authorities are focusing on the Attorney as central of authority, to fix the institutional relations between the members of law enforcement and related agencies and strengthen the independence of the Prosecutor in performing the function of prosecution in the constitutional structure of Indonesia.

The foundational tenets of Johannes Althusius' constitutionalism ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal/Potchefstroomse Elektroniese Regsblad ... sovereignty, in contrast to undivided (statist) sovereignty and his views on public office provided the framework for constitutionalism and limited government which could arguably improve on that of contemporary statist constitutionalism.

A constitutive theory of reacting electrolyte mixtures

Science.gov (United States)