Metal dealing at the origin of the Chordata phylum: The metallothionein system and metal overload response in Amphioxus.

Non-vertebrate chordates, specifically amphioxus, are considered of the utmost interest for gaining insight into the evolutionary trends, i.e. differentiation and specialization, of gene/protein systems. In this work, MTs (metallothioneins), the most important metal binding proteins, are characterized for the first time in the cephalochordate subphylum at both gene and protein level, together with the main features defining the amphioxus response to cadmium and copper overload. Two MT genes (BfMT1 and BfMT2) have been identified in a contiguous region of the genome, as well as several ARE (antioxidant response element) and MRE (metal response element) located upstream the transcribed region. Their corresponding cDNAs exhibit identical sequence in the two lancelet species (B. floridae and B. lanceolatum), BfMT2 cDNA resulting from an alternative splicing event. BfMT1 is a polyvalent metal binding peptide that coordinates any of the studied metal ions (Zn, Cd or Cu) rendering complexes stable enough to last in physiological environments, which is fully concordant with the constitutive expression of its gene, and therefore, with a metal homeostasis housekeeping role. On the contrary, BfMT2 exhibits a clear ability to coordinate Cd(II) ions, while it is absolutely unable to fold into stable Cu (I) complexes, even as mixed species. This identifies it as an essential detoxification agent, which is consequently only induced in emergency situations. The cephalochordate MTs are not directly related to vertebrate MTs, neither by gene structure, protein similarity nor metal-binding behavior of the encoded peptides. The closest relative is the echinoderm MT, which confirm proposed phylogenetic relationships between these two groups. The current findings support the existence in most organisms of two types of MTs as for their metal binding preferences, devoted to different biological functions: multivalent MTs for housekeeping roles, and specialized MTs that evolve either as Cd-thioneins or Cu-thioneins, according to the ecophysiological needs of each kind of organisms.

Enriching e-learning metadata through digital library usage analysis

Peer-reviewed

LibraryThing as a library service. Assessment report

This report was requested by the Innovation and Marketing department of the ETHBibliotek, for the purpose of assessing the social cataloguing tool LibraryThing and its potential uses in an academic library.

Total synthesis of lamellarin D and analogs library

Larnellarins are a group of marine natural products isolated from the prosobranch mollusc Lamellaria sp., the ascidian Didemnum sp., and the sponge Dendrilla Cactos. Several of them exhibit interesting biological activities. Natural as well as synthetic lamellarins should be excellent candidates for the development of new drugs due to their unique skeletal structure and their important biological activities especially as antitumor agents. Lamelarin O has been recently characterized as a topoisomerase 1-targeted anti tumor agent. A variety of synthetic approaches have been developed for this family of alkaloids. Herein we describe a new route to the synthesis of Lamellarin D, from a methyl 2-pyrrolecarboxylate. Transformation of the starting material into the scaffold, a substituted 5,6-dihydropyrrolo (2,l ­a)isoquinoline (5,6-DHPl), was afforded by N-alkylation followed by intramolecular Heck cyclization. From this scaffold the synthetic strategy is based on two sequential regioselective bromination!Suzuki cross-coupling reactions which permitted the introduction of differently substituted aryl groups on positions 1 and 2 followed by oxidation, deprotection, and lactonization.

Jornada Life2: British Library, 23 junio 2008

El pasado 23 de junio se celebró en Londres una jornada dedicada a los resultados del proyecto LIFE (Life Cycle Information for E-Literature) , centrado en los costes de la preservación digital. Este proyecto, financiado por JISC y llevado a cabo conjuntamente por la British Library (BL) y la University College London (UCL) se ha realizado en 2 fases: en la primera (2005-2006), se elaboró una metodología basada en ciclos vitales (life cycles) para calcular el coste de la preservación de recursos digitales durante 5, 10 y 100 años. Para ello, se identificaron seis procedimientos (o «etapas») considerados básicos para la gestión de material digital y luego se asignaron a cada uno los principales factores de coste. El modelo resultante se aplicó a varias colecciones de la BL y la UCL. ...

Creación de unidades de análisis forense en bibliotecas

Las técnicas de análisis forense digital, de aplicación en investigación criminal, también se pueden usar en las bibliotecas para acceder a información digital almacenada en soportes o formatos obsoletos. Se analizan distintos ejemplos de departamentos de análisis forense creados por bibliotecas y se describen los elementos de hardware y software mínimos con los que se podría montar una unidad de análisis forense en cualquier biblioteca. Con este fin se presentan dos posibles configuraciones de equipamiento y se dan recomendaciones sobre organización del flujo de trabajo para la recuperación de antiguos discos duros y disquetes. Forensic analysis techniques, usually applied in criminal research, could also be used in libraries to access digital information stored in obsolete formats or storage devices. This article analyses some examples of forensic research departments created by libraries, and describes the minimal hardware and software elements required to set up a library unit specialized in forensic analysis. Two possible equipment settings are introduced and recommendations are given on how to organize a workflow to recover information stored in floppy disks, diskettes and old hard drives.