Heat shock protein hsp90 regulates dioxin receptor function in vivo.

The dioxin (aryl hydrocarbon) receptor is a ligand-dependent basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) factor that binds to xenobiotic response elements of target promoters upon heterodimerization with the bHLH partner factor Arnt. Here we have replaced the bHLH motif of the dioxin receptor with a heterologous DNA-binding domain to create fusion proteins that mediate ligand-dependent transcriptional enhancement in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Previously, our experiments indicated that the ligand-free dioxin receptor is stably associated with the 90-kDa heat shock protein, hsp90. To investigate the role of hsp90 in dioxin signaling we have studied receptor function in a yeast strain where hsp90 expression can be down-regulated to about 5% relative to wild-type levels. At low levels of hsp90, ligand-dependent activation of the chimeric dioxin receptor construct was almost completely inhibited, whereas the activity of a similar chimeric construct containing the structurally related Arnt factor was not affected. Moreover, a chimeric dioxin receptor construct lacking the central ligand- and hsp90-binding region of the receptor showed constitutive transcriptional activity in yeast that was not impaired upon down-regulation of hsp90 expression levels. Thus, these data suggest that hsp90 is a critical determinant of conditional regulation of dioxin receptor function in vivo via the ligand-binding domain.

Colonial love lyrics : six songs /

With piano accompaniment.

The Postal record.

Mode of access: Internet.

Oscar Wilde : poems in prose and private letters ; including an intimate preface by his biographer, Frank Harris.

Includes facsimile of letter by Oscar Wilde in his handwriting.

Terraforming: Ecopolitical Transformations and Environmentalism in Science Fiction /

Terraforming is the process of making other worlds habitable for human life. This book asks how science fiction has imagined how we shape both our world and other planets and how stories of terraforming reflect on science, society and environmentalism.

Longitudinal associations between children's phonological processing abilities, ADHD-like behaviour ratings and early reading develpment

The current study examined the contribution of phonological processing abilities and ADHD-like behaviours to first-grade word reading ability. 136 children were tested at the beginning and end of first grade. At both times, teachers rated children on hyperactive, inattentive, and oppositional behaviour. Children were given tests of letter knowledge at T1 and tests of word reading, phonological sensitivity, phonological memory, rapid automatised naming, and vocabulary at T1 and T2. Regression analyses revealed that, of the behavioural measures, inattention made the strongest contribution to T2 reading, even after controlling for the effects of T1 reading, hyperactivity, and oppositional behaviour. Hyperactivity did not explain variance in T2 reading once the effect of inattention was controlled. Inattention predicted 4.7% independent variance in T2 word reading ability, even after the effects of T1 reading, vocabulary, and phonological processing were controlled. Although phonological processing predicted 9.3% independent variance in T2 word reading, even after the effects of reading, vocabulary, and inattention were controlled, the effects of phonological processing may have been partly mediated by inattention. This research indicates that inattention contributes to the prediction of early reading development in unselected populations, and that this influence is independent of other key cognitive predictors of reading ability.

Identities and oppressions: Jean-Claude Lauzon's Léolo (1992)

This article approaches the fragmentation of identities characteristic of contemporary Western societies through the 1992 film Léolo by Jean-Claude Lauzon. Although it does explore linguistic, social, religious and ethnic divisions, this major piece of the Quebec repertoire recasts the sociolinguistic conflict between vernacular and formal practices (Labov 1972; Blanche-Benveniste 2002), raising questions of status and choice. This conflict is subsumed by the dialectics between primary and secondary culture. The cultural and linguistic opposition finds a primary metaphor in the film's central motif of the duality of dream and reality. No more than the cultural and linguistic can this opposition find a synthesis. This impossible reconciliation defines the constitutive rupture of the human psyche itself.

Tethering a laminin peptide to a crosslinked collagen scaffold for biofunctionality

Cell adhesion peptide regulates various cellular functions like proliferation, attachment, and spreading. The cellular response to laminin peptide (PPFLMLLKGSTR), a motif of laminin-5 alpha3 chain, tethered to type I collagen, crosslinked using microbial transglutaminase (mTGase) was investigated. mTGase is an enzyme that initiates crosslinking by reacting with the glutamine and lysine residues on the collagen fibers stabilizing the molecular structure. In this study that tethering of the laminin peptide in a mTGase crosslinked collagen scaffold enhanced cell proliferation and attachment. Laminin peptide tethered crosslinked scaffold showed unaltered cell morphology of 3T3 fibroblasts when compared with collagen and crosslinked scaffold. The triple helical structure of collagen remained unaltered by the addition of laminin peptide. In addition a dose-dependent affinity of the laminin peptide towards collagen was seen. The degree of crosslinking was measured by amino acid analysis, differential scanning calorimeter and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Increased crosslinking was observed in mTGase crosslinked group. mTGase crosslinking showed higher shrinkage temperature. There was alteration in the fibrillar architecture due to the crosslinking activity of mTGase. Hence, the use of enzyme-mediated linking shows promise in tethering cell adhesive peptides through biodegradable scaffolds.

'Das Land das/man nur barfuss betreten darf':zu W.G. Sebalds Lyrik

This essay aims at an overview of W. G. Sebald's lyrical production, a hitherto neglected area of research. The article examines poetry's role in the works of Sebald and focuses in particular on texts published posthumously from his literary estate, as well as on pieces printed in various scattered sources from 1964 up to his death in 2001. The main thematic focus in this cross-section of Sebald's lyrical writings is a motif that likewise typified his fictional works: the topic of travel. In addition my survey of Sebald's poetry is complemented by a study of those texts revolving around the motif of insomnia. Death, a dominant theme in Sebald's lyrical works, as it was in his fiction, concludes my essay. © 2014 John Wiley and Sons Ltd.

Identifying key residues important for CGRP binding to its receptor

The calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) is a 37 amino acid neuropeptide. Its receptor is a heterodimeric complex of calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CLR) – a family B G-protein coupled receptor – and a single-pass transmembrane protein, receptoractivity modifying protein 1 (RAMP1). Here, we identify residues, within the N-terminal extracellular domain (ECD) of CLR, potentially involved in ligand binding.Certain residues presumed to be possible sites of contact for the CGRP were picked from the CLR/RAMP1 ECD crystal structure (PDB 3N7S). Residues were mutated to alanine (A) bysite-directed mutagenesis (QuikChangeTM, Stratagene). Mutants were analysed for their ability to stimulate cAMP and cell surface expression as previously described [1]. All mutants showed reduced potency, though to varying degrees as indicated by their pEC50 values. W69A and D70Ashowed significant reduction in cell surface expression.These findings suggest that these residues are important for the interaction of CGRP with its receptor. W69A and D70A, part of the WDG motif of family B GPCRs, are thought to rather play a role in receptor stability [2]. The data is consistent with CGRP binding in agroove between CLR and RAMP1. This project was supported byAston School of Life and Health Sciences.References1. Barwell J, Conner A & Poyner D (2011) Extracellular loops 1and 3 and their associated transmembrane regions of the calcitonin receptor-like receptor are needed for CGRP receptor function. Biochim Biophys Acta 1813, 1906–1916.2. Kumar S, Pioszak A, Zhang C et al. (2011) Crystal Structure of the PAC1R Extracellular Domain Unifies a Consensus Fold for Hormone Recognition by Class B G-Protein Cou-pled Receptors. PLoS One 6, e19682

Entre cartas e contos na sala de aula: diálogos e afetos em textos de Mário de Andrade e Câmara Cascudo

Specific educational material production for a group of level IV – 8th and 9th years of Youth and Adults Education, having as starting point the reading of a series of letter of correspondence between Câmara Cascudo and Mário de Andrade in the 1920s, and the verification of the way the dialog between the two authors reveals elements that transpire themselves in the tale entitled “Piá não sofre? Sofre”, from the book Os contos de Belazarte, de Mário de Andrade. The educational material production was preceded by the analysis of the selected tale, which will be studied along with some of the letters, in an analysis of the textual, discursive and semantic features of the text in representation of these both genres: letter and tale. The selected tale was written between 1923 and 1926, dates close to the years when the author came by Rio Grande do Norte state, in the years from 1927 to 1929, accompanied by Câmara Cascudo, being also this period that there are records of letters in the set of correspondence between them. To the reading of the selected material, it was used theoretical references from literature and literary historiography, especially the history of Brazilian modernist movement. To the production of the educational material, it was chosen as theoretical reference the accumulated knowledge in the area of literature teaching, literacy and the recommendations of the Brazilian National Curriculum Parameters. The methodology in this study was constructed from the theoretical references and had as basic support the study of didactic sequences from which a specific thematic unit got its shape from, required by the analyzed material and tested in a classroom.

Entre cartas e contos na sala de aula: diálogos e afetos em textos de Mário de Andrade e Câmara Cascudo

Specific educational material production for a group of level IV – 8th and 9th years of Youth and Adults Education, having as starting point the reading of a series of letter of correspondence between Câmara Cascudo and Mário de Andrade in the 1920s, and the verification of the way the dialog between the two authors reveals elements that transpire themselves in the tale entitled “Piá não sofre? Sofre”, from the book Os contos de Belazarte, de Mário de Andrade. The educational material production was preceded by the analysis of the selected tale, which will be studied along with some of the letters, in an analysis of the textual, discursive and semantic features of the text in representation of these both genres: letter and tale. The selected tale was written between 1923 and 1926, dates close to the years when the author came by Rio Grande do Norte state, in the years from 1927 to 1929, accompanied by Câmara Cascudo, being also this period that there are records of letters in the set of correspondence between them. To the reading of the selected material, it was used theoretical references from literature and literary historiography, especially the history of Brazilian modernist movement. To the production of the educational material, it was chosen as theoretical reference the accumulated knowledge in the area of literature teaching, literacy and the recommendations of the Brazilian National Curriculum Parameters. The methodology in this study was constructed from the theoretical references and had as basic support the study of didactic sequences from which a specific thematic unit got its shape from, required by the analyzed material and tested in a classroom.

Villes mortes, villes à l’agonie: Écriture du ravage dans Le quatrième mur de Sorj Chalandon

Dándole un nuevo significado al tópico de la ciudad muerta, especialmente productivo en la literatura de fin de siglo, Sorj Chalandon configura, en Le qua-trième mur, una poética del saqueo que hace de la ciudad devastada un espacio de creación, al mismo tiempo novelesco y trágico, donde reinventar el género de la tumba.

De lettre intime à lettre ouverte dans Lettres à l’Indigène de Joël Des Rosiers

Dans la première décennie du XXIe siècle, à l’ère des nouvelles technologies de communication électroniques, le courriel est devenu le moyen par excellence pour envoyer et recevoir du contenu privé, remplaçant dès lors l’envoi de lettres papier. Dans ce contexte, pour quelles raisons un individu souhaiterait-il partager ce contenu privé en le publiant ouvertement, publiquement, de plus, dans un format papier, le rendant désormais disponible à l’ensemble des lecteurs désirant en consulter le contenu? Pourtant, telle est la genèse du recueil Lettres à l’Indigène de Joël Des Rosiers dans lequel l’auteur fait don de lettres d’amour qui « deviennent alors des objets communs que partagent la destinataire et l’homme qui lui écrit, le livre et le lecteur » (LALI, p. 7). Ainsi, c’est par la réappropriation d’une pratique épistolaire ancienne que cet ouvrage rend compte d’une écriture intimiste dans laquelle lettres intimes et lettres ouvertes se côtoient. Les lettres intimes comportent plusieurs ressemblances avec les lettres conventionnelles, mais s’en distinguent sur certains points. Les lettres ouvertes, quant à elles, s’apparentent davantage aux publications libres que l’on retrouve dans les divers périodiques papier ou Web, ainsi que dans les divers blogues. Dans les deux types de lettres, nous voyons quelle est la place du destinateur et celle de l’Autre, nous présentons les différentes constructions de l’espace liées à chacune des formes de lettre et nous dévoilons les diverses stratégies formelles qui laissent voir un jeu entre les sphères publique et privée. Nous démontrons ainsi de quelles manières ce recueil questionne l’intimisme du XXIe siècle, ainsi que la pratique d’une écriture intimiste dans le cadre actuel.

La Bella Durmiente y el motivo del despertar de la juventud en el Walter Benjamin temprano

El objetivo de este artículo es analizar la imagen del despertar como 'despertar de la juventud' en La Bella Durmiente (1911), el primer texto teórico de Benjamin y mostrar que esta figura no está exenta de una profunda ambigüedad y de contradicciones propias de su 'metafísica de la juventud'. La juventud, como el sujeto capaz de llevar a cabo transformaciones sociales radicales debe ser, como la Bella Durmiente, despertada por otro. Esta paradójica pasividad marcaría el destino del Jugendbewegung.