A Suzaku view of IGR J16393-4643

The pulsar IGR J16393-4643 belongs to a class of highly absorbed supergiant high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs), characterized by a very high column density of absorbing matter. We present the results of simultaneous broad-band pulsation and spectrum analysis from a 44-ks Suzaku observation of the source. The orbital intensity profile created with the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (Swift-BAT) light curve shows an indication of IGR J16393-4643 being an eclipsing system with a short eclipse semi-angle theta(E) similar to 17 degrees. For a supergiant companion star with a 20-R-circle dot radius, this implies an inclination of the orbital plane in the range 39 degrees-57 degrees, whereas for a main-sequence B star as the companion with a 10-R-circle dot radius, the inclination of the orbital plane is in the range 60 degrees-77 degrees. Pulse profiles created for different energy bands have complex morphology, which shows some energy dependence and increases in pulse fraction with energy. We have also investigated broad-band spectral characteristics, phase-averaged spectra and resolving the pulse phase into peak and trough phases. The phase-averaged spectrum has a very high N-H(similar to 3 x 10(23) cm(-2)) and is described by a power law (Gamma similar to 0.9) with a high-energy cut-off above 20 keV. We find a change in the spectral index in the peak and trough phases, implying an underlying change in the source spectrum.

Worsening water quality conditions at Inner Puno Bay, Lake Titicaca, Peru, and their effect on Lemna spp. biomass

Although there have been a number of studies on aquatic conditions and the flora and fauna of Lake Titicaca over many decades, most of this work has been centred on the offshore regions of the main lake. Water quality there has been degrading and abundant growth of Lemna spp. has been developing. Lemna spp., commonly called floating duck-weed or ‘lenteja de agua’ in Puno, occurs perennially in most parts of the inner Puno Bay shore-line. In this article, the authors compare water quality changes over recent decades in shore-line regions of Inner Puno Bay and their possible effects on the distribution, abundance and biomass of Lemna spp..

Galveston Bay Migrates to the Web; DSpace Comes to Texas

This presentation describes how the Galveston Bay Bibliography and Galveston Bay Information Center projects transitioned from a paper world to electronic format. The mission of the Galveston Bay Information Center (GBIC) is to serve as a repository for information and a resource for research on Galveston Bay, its watershed, and the coastal region for all members of the Galveston Bay Community. GBIC was created in response to critical losses of data and information that were identified in the early stages of Galveston Bay National Estuary Program and includes a physical collection as well as a bibliography. With the loss of funding imminent, the administrators of GBIC recognized the need to preserve the collection and its digital bibliography in perpetuity. Enter Texas Digital Library. The University’s participation in TDL enabled GBIC to make the Galveston Bay Bibliography more robust and visible to the entire world.

Tipperary, by Frank Delaney: a reading of the rewriting of history of Ireland

O objetivo da presente pesquisa é o de discutir a reescrita da história da Irlanda, mais especificamente aspectos relacionados à construção da identidade nacional e de marcas da tradição, a partir da leitura do romance Tipperary, de Frank Delaney. Publicada em 2007, essa obra aborda de forma singular as querelas sobre identidade nacional, nacionalismo, passado, memória, e seus personagens principais e a trama estão significativamente ligados ao contexto político-social da história da Irlanda. Nessa reconstrução da história, o passado é revisitado através de diferentes pontos de vista. Nossa atenção estará voltada para a seleção de elementos/momentos da história do país que ganham foco na narrativa, e as possíveis repercussões deste processo. Além disso, nos concentraremos na questão das tênues fronteiras entre história e ficção, ou seja, as fronteiras pouco delimitadas entre o discurso histórico e o discurso ficcional. Na escrita da história em Tipperary, Delaney aborda questões relativas a mitos, lendas e tradições como importantes fatores de identidade nacional em uma Irlanda que emerge como uma nação independente. No romance em questão, podemos observar como história e memória se unem na jornada do protagonista, em sua empreitada de narrar a história de sua vida e de seu país

Thémis desnudada: a questão da justiça em Hans Kelsen

Embora Hans Kelsen tenha desenvolvido suas ideias sobre a justiça em diversos artigos e capítulos de livros, o jusfilósofo nunca edificou uma obra mais profunda, monográfica ou sistemática sobre a questão do justo. Suas considerações, o mais das vezes proferidas incidentalmente quando da análise e crítica das teorias do direito natural, se encontram, a bem dizer, dispersas por diversas produções. A leitura integral e conjunta de seus estudos, entretanto, permite a identificação da mesma e coerente concepção de filosofia moral que perpassa todos os seus escritos, concepção esta que sugere a relatividade, subjetividade e irracionalidade da questão do justo. Sem o propósito de ser uma biografia intelectual ou uma psicanálise do conhecimento das conclusões kelsenianas sobre o problema da justiça, o objetivo da presente dissertação, além da tentativa de realizar uma exposição sistemática da própria teoria da justiça de Kelsen  dispersa por uma multiplicidade de trabalhos, nem todos disponíveis ou publicados em língua portuguesa , consiste na análise dos pressupostos e justificativas teórico-filosóficos que, utilizados pelo jusfilósofo como embasamento de suas inferências sobre o tema, o conduzem a afirmar a incognoscibilidade de qualquer conceito absoluto, objetivo e universal de justiça, ou a viabilidade de uma razão prática. A meta maior desta dissertação, portanto, é o estabelecimento e elucidação das premissas extraídas por Kelsen do pensamento teórico-filosófico de Max Weber, Immanuel Kant (além dos neokantismos de Marburgo e Baden), Wittgenstein, e dos neopositivistas do Círculo de Viena, para rejeitar lógico-gnosiologicamente as concepções absolutistas do justo, bem como a possibilidade de discutir ou definir racionalmente a justiça e as normas morais dela decorrentes. A partir de elementos colhidos dessas diferentes correntes intelectuais, Kelsen desacredita, com base na distinção entre enunciados sobre fatos (racionais e verificáveis) e proposições relativas a valores (irracionais e não verificáveis), a capacidade humana de cognição dos valores em geral e, mais ainda, a existência e cognoscibilidade de valores absolutos  em sua ótica, requisitos imprescindíveis para a exequibilidade de qualquer sistema objetivo de moralidade ou para especulações racionais sobre a justiça.

The involvement of HSP22 from bay scallop Argopecten irradians in response to heavy metal stress

Heat shock protein 22 (HSP22) is an important member of small heat shock protein (sHSP) subfamily which plays a key role in the process of protecting cells, facilitating the folding of nascent peptides, and responding to stress. In the present study, the cDNA of HSP22 was cloned from Argopecten irradians (designated as AiHSP22) by rapid amplification cDNA end (RACE) based on the expressed sequence tags (ESTs). The full-length cDNA of AiHSP22 was of 1,112 bp, with an open reading frame of 588 bp encoding a polypeptide of 195 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence of AiHSP22 showed high similarity to previously identified HSP22s. The expression patterns of AiHSP22 mRNA in different tissues and in haemocytes of scallops exposed to Cd2+, Pb2+ or Cu2+ were investigated by real-time quantitative RT-PCR. The mRNA of AiHSP22 was constitutively expressed in all examined tissues, including haemocyte, muscle, kidney, gonad, gill and heart. The expression level in heart and muscle was higher than that in other tissues. The mRNA level of AiHSP22 in haemocytes was up-regulated after a 10 days exposure of scallops to Cu2+, Pb2+ and Cd2+. However, the expression of AiHSP22 did not increase linearly along with the rise of heavy metal concentration. Different concentrations of the same metal resulted in different effects on AiHSP22 expression. The sensitive response of AiHSP22 to Cu2+, Pb2+ and Cd2+ stress indicated that it could be developed as an indicator of exposure to heavy metals for the pollution monitoring programs in aquatic environment.

Alteration of metallothionein mRNA in bay scallop Argopecten irradians under cadmium exposure and bacteria challenge

Metallothionein (MT) is a superfamily of cysteine-rich proteins contributing to metal metabolism, detoxification of heavy metals, and immune response such as protecting against ionizing radiation and antioxidant defense. A metallothionein (designated AiMT2) gene was identified and cloned from bay scallop, Argopecten irradians. The full length cDNA of AiMT2 consisted of an open reading frame (ORF) of 333 bp encoding a protein of 110 amino acids. with nine characteristic Cys-X-Cys, five Cys-X-X-Cys, five Cys-X-X-X-Cys and two Cys-Cys motif arrangements and a conserved structural pattern Cys-x-Cys-x(3)-Cys-Tyr-x(3)Cys-x-Cys-x(3)-Cys-x-Cys-Arg at the C-terminus. The cloned ANT showed about 50% identity in the deduced amino acid sequence with previously published MT sequences of mussels and oysters. The conserved structural pattern and the close phylogenetic relationship of AiMT2 shared with MTs from other mollusc especially bivalves indicated that AiMT2 was a new member of molluscan MT family. The mRNA transcripts in hemolymph of AiMT2 under cadmium (Cd) exposure and bacteria challenge were examined by real-time RT-PCR. The mRNA expression of AiMT2 was up-regulated to 3.99-fold at 2 h after Listonella anguillarum challenge, and increased drastically to 66.12-fold and 126.96-fold at 16 and 32 h post-challenge respectively. Cadmium ion exposure could induce the expression of AiMT2, and the expression level increased 2.56-fold and 6.91-fold in hemolymph respectively after a 10-day exposure of 100 mu g L-1 and 200 mu g L-1 CdCl2. The sensitivity of AiMT2 to bacteria challenge and cadmium stress indicated it was a new Cd-dependent MT in bay scallop and also regulated by an immune challenge. The changes in the expression of AiMT2 could be used as an indicator of exposure to metals in pollution monitoring programs and oxidative stress, and bay scallop as a potential sentinel organism for the cadmium contamination in aquatic environment. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A fibrinogen-related protein from bay scallop Argopecten irradians involved in innate immunity as pattern recognition receptor

The family of fibrinogen-related proteins (FREPs) is a group of proteins with fibrinogen-like domains. Many members of this family play important roles as pattern recognition receptors in innate immune responses. The cDNA of bay scallop Argopecten irradians FREP (designated as AiFREP) was cloned by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) method based on the expressed sequence tag (EST). The full-length cDNA of AiFREP was of 990 bp. The open reading frame encoded a polypeptide of 251 amino acids, including a signal sequence and a 213 amino acids fibrinogen-like domain. The fibrinogen-like domain of AiFREP was highly similar to those of mammalian ficolins and other FREPs. The temporal expression of AiFREP mRNA in hemolymph was examined by fluorescent quantitative real-time PCR. The mRNA level of scallops challenged by Listonella anguillarum was significantly up-regulated, peaked to 9.39-fold at 9 h after stimulation, then dropped back to 4.37-fold at 12 h, while there was no significant change in the Micrococcus luteus challenged group in all periods of treatment. The function of AiFREP was investigated by recombination and expression of the cDNA fragment encoding its mature peptide in Escherichia coli Rosetta gami (DE3). The recombinant AiFREP (rAiFREP) agglutinated chicken erythrocytes and human A, B, O-type erythrocytes. The agglutinating activities were calcium-dependent and could be inhibited by acetyl group-containing carbohydrates. rAiFREP also agglutinated Gram-negative bacteria E. coli JM109, L anguillarum and Gram-positive bacteria M. luteus in the presence of calcium ions. These results collectively suggested that AiFREP functions as a pattern recognition receptor in the immune response of bay scallop and contributed to nonself recognition in invertebrates, which would also provide clues for elucidating the evolution of the lectin pathway of the complement system. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Molecular cloning, characterization and expression of heat shock protein 90 gene in the haemocytes of bay scallop Argopecten irradians

Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) is a highly conserved molecular chaperone that plays key roles in the folding, maintenance of structural integrity and regulation of a subset of cytosolic proteins. In the present study, the cDNA of Argopecten irradians HSP90 (designated AiHSP90) was cloned by the combination of homology cloning and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) approaches. The full-length cDNA of AiHSP90 was of 2669 bp, including an open reading frame (ORF) of 2175 bp encoding a polypeptide of 724 amino acids with predicted molecular weight of 83.08 kDa and theoretical isoelectric point of 4.81. BLAST analysis revealed that AiHSP90 shared high similarity with other known HSP90s, and the five conserved amino acid blocks defined as HSP90 protein family signatures were also identified in AiHSP90, which indicated that AiHSP90 should be a cytosolic member of the HSP90 family. Fluorescent real-time quantitative PCR was employed to examine the expression pattern of AiHSP90 mRNA in haemocytes of scallops challenged by Gram-negative bacteria Vibrio anguillarum and Gram-positive bacteria Micrococcus luteus. In both bacterial challenged groups, the relative expression level of AiHSP90 transcript was up-regulated and reached maximal. level at 9 h after injection, and then dropped progressively to the original level at about 48 h post challenge. The results indicated that AiHSP90 was potentially involved in the immune responses against bacteria challenge in scallop A. irradian. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Molecular cloning and mRNA expression of peptidoglycan recognition protein (PGRP) gene in bay scallop (Argopecten irradians, Lamarck 1819)

Peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs) are a type of pattern recognition molecules (PRM) that recognize the unique cell wall component peptidoglycan (PGN) of bacteria and are involved in innate immunity. The first bivalve PGRP cDNA sequence was cloned from bay scallop Argopecten irradians by expressed sequence tag (EST) and PCR technique. The full-length cDNA of bay scallop PGRP (designated AiPGRP) gene contained 10 18 bp with a 615-bp open reading frame that encoded a polypeptide of 205 amino acids. The predicted amino acid sequence of AiPGRP shared high identity with PGRP in other organisms, such as PGRP precursor in Trichoplusia ni and PGRP SC2 in Drosophila melanogaster. A quantitative reverse transcriptase Real-Time PCR (qRT-PCR) assay was developed to assess the mRNA expression of AiPGRP in different tissues and the temporal expression of AiPGRP in the mixed primary cultured hemocytes challenged by microbial components lipopolyssacharide (LPS) from Escherichia coli and PGN from Micrococcus luteus. Higher-level mRNA expression of AiPGRP was detected in the tissues of hemocytes, gonad and kidney. The expression of AiPGRP in the mixed primary cultured hemocytes was up regulated after stimulated by PGN, while LPS from E. coli did not induce AiPGRP expression. The results indicated that AiPGRP was a constitutive and inducible expressed protein that was mainly induced by PGN and could be involved in scallop immune response against Gram-positive bacteria infection. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Molecular cloning and responsive expression to injury stimulus of a defender against cell death 1 (DAD1) gene from bay scallops Argopecten irradians

Apoptosis is an active process of cell death, which is an integral part of growth and development in multicellular organisms. The defender against cell death 1 (DAD1), the regulatory protein to inhibit the apoptosis process, was first cloned from the bay scallop Argopecten irradians by randomly sequencing a whole tissue cDNA library and rapid amplification of cDNA end (RACE). The full-length cDNA of the A. irradians DAD1 was 607 bp, consist of a 5'-terminal untranslated region (UTR) of 63 bp, a 3'-terminal UTR of 205 bp with a canonical polyadenylation signal sequence AATAAA and a poly (A) tail, and an open reading frame of 339 bp. The deduced amino acid sequence of the A. irradians DAD1 showed 75.5% identity to Araneus ventricosus, 74.5% to Drosophila melanogaster, and 73.6% to Homo sapiens, Sus scrofa, Mesocricetus auratus, Rattus norvegicus and Mus musculus. Excluding the Saccharomyces cerevisiae DAD1 homologue, all animal DAD1 including A. irradians DAD1 homologue formed a subgroup and all plant DAD1 proteins formed another subgroup in the phylogenetic analysis. The A. irradians DAD1 was expressed in all examined tissues including adductor muscle, mantle, gills, digestive gland, gonad and hemolymph, suggesting that A. irradians DAD1 is expressed in most body tissues. Furthermore, the mRNA expression levels of A. irradians DAD1 gene of hemolymph were particularly high after injury, suggesting that the gene is responsive to injury stimuli.

The cDNA cloning and mRNA expression of heat shock protein 70 gene in the haemocytes of bay scallop (Argopecten irradians, Lamarck 1819) responding to bacteria challenge and naphthalin stress

Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) is an important member of the heat shock protein superfamily, and it plays a key role in the process of protecting cells, facilitating the folding of nascent peptides and responding to stress. The cDNA of bay scallop Argopecten irradians HSP70 (designated AIHSP70) was cloned by the techniques of homological cloning and rapid amplification of cDNA end (RACE). The full length of AIHSP70 cDNA was 2651 bp in length, having a 5' untranslated region (UTR) of 96 bp, a 3' UTR of 575 bp, and an open reading frame (ORF) of 1980 bp encoding a polypeptide of 659 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 71.80 kDa and an estimated isoelectric point of 5.26. BLAST analysis revealed that the AIHSP70 gene shared high identity with other known HSP70 genes. Three classical HSP signature motifs were detected in AIHSP70 by InterPro, analysis. 3-D structural prediction of AIHSP70 showed that its N terminal ATPase activity domain and,C terminal substrate-binding domain shared high similarity with that in human heat shock protein 70. The results indicated that the AIHSP70 was a member of the heat shock protein 70 family. A semi-quantitive RT-PCR method was used to analyse the expression of AIHSP70 gene after the treatment of naphthalin which is one kind of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and the challenge of bacteria. mRNA expression of AIHSP70 in scallop was up-regulated significantly after the stimulation of naphthalin and increased with increasing naphthalin concentration. A clearly time-dependent expression pattern of AIHSP70 was observed after the scallops were infected by Vibrio anguillarum, and the mRNA expression reached a maximum level at 8 h and lasted to 16 h, and then dropped progressively. The results indicated that AIHSP70 could play an important role in mediating the environmental stress and immune response in scallop. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Molecular cloning, characterization and expression of a novel serine proteinase inhibitor gene in bay scallops (Argopecten irradians, Lamarck 1819)

Serine protease inhibitors, critical regulators of endogenous proteases, are found in all multicellular organisms and play crucial roles in host physiological and immunological effector mechanisms. The first mollusk serine proteinase inhibitor (designated AISPI) cDNA was obtained from the bay scallop Argopecten irradians by randomly sequencing a whole tissue cDNA library and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The full-length cDNA of the scallop serine protease inhibitor was 1020 bp, consisting of a 5'-terminal untranslated region (UTR) of 39 bp, a 3'-terminal UTR of 147 bp with a canonical polyadenylation signal sequence AATAAA and a poly(A) tail, and an open reading frame of 834 bp. The AISPI cDNA encoded a polypeptide of 278 amino acids with a putative signal peptide of 22 amino acids and a mature protein of 256 amino acids. The deduced amino-acid sequence of AISPI contained six tandem and homologous domains similar to that of Kazal-type serine protease inhibitors, including the conserved sequence C-X(7)-C-X(6)-Y-X(3)-C-X(2,3)-C and six cysteine residues responsible for the formation of disulfide bridges, indicating that the AISPI protein from bay scallop should be a member of the Kazal-type serine protease inhibitor family. The temporal expression of AISPI was measured by semi-quantitative RT-PCR after injury or bacterial challenge. After the adductor muscle was wounded or injected with Vibrio anguillarum, the expression of AISPI mRNA in hemolymph was up-regulated and reached the maximum level at 8 and 16 h, respectively, and then progressively dropped back to the original level. The results indicated that AISPI could play an important role in injury healing and immune response in mollusks as it could be induced by injury and bacterial challenge. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cloning, characterization, and expression analysis of extracellular copper/zinc superoxide dismutase gene from bay scallop Argopecten irradians

Extracellular superoxide dismutase (ECSOD) is a major extracellular antioxidant enzyme that protects organs from damage by reactive oxygen species (ROS). We cloned a novel ECSOD from the bay scallop Argopecten irradians (AiECSOD) by 3' and 5' RACE. The full-length cDNA of AiECSOD was 893 bp with a 657 bp open reading frame encoding 218 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence contained a putative signal peptide of 20 amino acids, and sequence comparison showed that AiECSOD had low degree of homology to ECSODs of other organisms. The genomic length of the AiECSOD gene was about 5276 bp containing five exons and six introns. The promoter region contained many putative transcription factor binding sites such as c-Myb, Oct-1, Sp1, Kruppel-like, c-ETS, NF kappa B, GATA-1, AP-1, and Ubx binding sites. Furthermore, tissue-specific expressions of AiECSOD and temporal expressions of AiECSOD in haemocytes of bay scallops challenged with bacteria Vibrio anguillarum were quantified using qRT-PCR. High levels of expression were detected in haemocytes, but not in gonad and mantle. The expression of AiECSOD reached the highest level at 12 h post-injection with V. anguillarum and then returned to normal between 24 h and 48 h post-injection. These results indicated that AiECSOD was an inducible protein and that it may play an important role in the immune responses against V anguillarum. Crown Copyright (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intracellular copper/zinc superoxide dismutase from bay scallop Argopecten irradians: Its gene structure, mRNA expression and recombinant protein

Superoxide dismutases are an ubiquitous family of enzymes that function to efficiently catalyze the dismutation of superoxide anions. Two unique and highly compartmentalized bay scallop Argopecten irradians superoxide dismutases: MnSOD and ecCuZnSOD, have been molecularly characterized in our previous study. To complete characterize the SOD family in A. irradians, a novel intracellular copper/zinc SOD from the A. irradians (Ai-icCuZnSOD) was obtained and characterized. The full-length cDNA of Ai-icCuZnSOD was 1047 bp with a 459 bp open reading frame encoding 152 amino acids. The genomic length of the Ai-icCuZnSOD gene was about 4279 bp containing 4 exons and 3 introns. The promoter region containing many putative transcription factor binding sites were analyzed. Furthermore, quantitative reverse transcriptase real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis indicated that the highest expression of the Ai-icCuZnSOD was detected in gill and the expression profiles in hemocytes of bay scallops challenged with bacteria Vibrio anguillarum and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were different. The result presented an increased expression after injection with LPS whereas no significant changes were observed after V. anguillarum injection. A fusion protein containing Ai-icCuZnSOD was produced in vitro. The rAi-icCuZnSOD is a stable enzyme, retaining more than 80% of its activity between 10 and 60 degrees C and keeping above 88% of its activity at pH values between 5.8 and 9. Ai-icCuZnSOD is more stable under alkaline than acidic conditions. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.