A venom-derived neurotoxin, CsTx-1, from the spider Cupiennius salei exhibits cytolytic activities

CsTx-1, the main neurotoxic acting peptide in the venom of the spider Cupiennius salei, is composed of 74 amino acid residues, exhibits an inhibitory cysteine knot motif, and is further characterized by its highly cationic charged C terminus. Venom gland cDNA library analysis predicted a prepropeptide structure for CsTx-1 precursor. In the presence of trifluoroethanol, CsTx-1 and the long C-terminal part alone (CT1-long; Gly-45-Lys-74) exhibit an α-helical structure, as determined by CD measurements. CsTx-1 and CT1-long are insecticidal toward Drosophila flies and destroys Escherichia coli SBS 363 cells. CsTx-1 causes a stable and irreversible depolarization of insect larvae muscle cells and frog neuromuscular preparations, which seem to be receptor-independent. Furthermore, this membranolytic activity could be measured for Xenopus oocytes, in which CsTx-1 and CT1-long increase ion permeability non-specifically. These results support our assumption that the membranolytic activities of CsTx-1 are caused by its C-terminal tail, CT1-long. Together, CsTx-1 exhibits two different functions; as a neurotoxin it inhibits L-type Ca(2+) channels, and as a membranolytic peptide it destroys a variety of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell membranes. Such a dualism is discussed as an important new mechanism for the evolution of spider venomous peptides.

Exhibits

The Finnish American Heritage Center at Finlandia University recently installed three exhibits. They include a photographic exhibit titled “Rural Reflections: Finnish American Buildings and Landscapes in Michigan’s Copper Country”; a historic photography exhibit named “People, Place and Time: Michigan’s Copper Country Through the Lens of J.W. Nara”; and a pair of lithographs acquired by the National Park Service which were on either side of the Italian Hall stage the night of the infamous Christmas Eve tragedy 100 years ago. The “Rural Reflections” exhibit documents the built environment that Finnish immigrants and their descendants created in Michigan's Copper Country from the 1880s through the 1930s. Although much of this heritage has been lost with the passage of time, the district yet holds one of the largest concentrations of rural Finnish buildings and cultural landscapes in North America. The Nara exhibit, funded in part by descendants Robert and Ruth Nara of Bootjack Michigan, works from historical photographs held at the Michigan Tech Archives. Interpretive panels highlight the people, places, and times that J.W. Nara experienced during his lifetime and include material on urban life, farming, and the 1913 Michigan copper miners’ strike. The lithographs are a recent and unique acquisition for the Keweenaw National Historical Park, and will be on protected display at the FAHC. One of the panels shows the Italian royal family and was produced in 1908, while the other, produced in 1905, is of the five founders of the modern Italian state. For more information about the exhibits at the Finnish American Heritage Center, call (906) 487-7302.

Exhibits

The Finnish American Heritage Center at Finlandia University recently installed three exhibits. They include a photographic exhibit titled “Rural Reflections: Finnish American Buildings and Landscapes in Michigan’s Copper Country”; a historic photography exhibit named “People, Place and Time: Michigan’s Copper Country Through the Lens of J.W. Nara”; and a pair of lithographs acquired by the National Park Service which were on either side of the Italian Hall stage the night of the infamous Christmas Eve tragedy 100 years ago. The “Rural Reflections” exhibit documents the built environment that Finnish immigrants and their descendants created in Michigan's Copper Country from the 1880s through the 1930s. Although much of this heritage has been lost with the passage of time, the district yet holds one of the largest concentrations of rural Finnish buildings and cultural landscapes in North America. The Nara exhibit, funded in part by descendants Robert and Ruth Nara of Bootjack Michigan, works from historical photographs held at the Michigan Tech Archives. Interpretive panels highlight the people, places, and times that J.W. Nara experienced during his lifetime and include material on urban life, farming, and the 1913 Michigan copper miners’ strike. The lithographs are a recent and unique acquisition for the Keweenaw National Historical Park, and will be on protected display at the FAHC. One of the panels shows the Italian royal family and was produced in 1908, while the other, produced in 1905, is of the five founders of the modern Italian state. For more information about the exhibits at the Finnish American Heritage Center, call (906) 487-7302.

Exhibits

The Finnish American Heritage Center at Finlandia University recently installed three exhibits. They include a photographic exhibit titled “Rural Reflections: Finnish American Buildings and Landscapes in Michigan’s Copper Country”; a historic photography exhibit named “People, Place and Time: Michigan’s Copper Country Through the Lens of J.W. Nara”; and a pair of lithographs acquired by the National Park Service which were on either side of the Italian Hall stage the night of the infamous Christmas Eve tragedy 100 years ago. The “Rural Reflections” exhibit documents the built environment that Finnish immigrants and their descendants created in Michigan's Copper Country from the 1880s through the 1930s. Although much of this heritage has been lost with the passage of time, the district yet holds one of the largest concentrations of rural Finnish buildings and cultural landscapes in North America. The Nara exhibit, funded in part by descendants Robert and Ruth Nara of Bootjack Michigan, works from historical photographs held at the Michigan Tech Archives. Interpretive panels highlight the people, places, and times that J.W. Nara experienced during his lifetime and include material on urban life, farming, and the 1913 Michigan copper miners’ strike. The lithographs are a recent and unique acquisition for the Keweenaw National Historical Park, and will be on protected display at the FAHC. One of the panels shows the Italian royal family and was produced in 1908, while the other, produced in 1905, is of the five founders of the modern Italian state. For more information about the exhibits at the Finnish American Heritage Center, call (906) 487-7302.

Exhibits

The Carnegie Museum in downtown Houghton has a pair of Finnish-connected exhibits on display. A photographic exhibit titled “The Last Days of Italian Hall” by local photographer Eric Munch will be open to the public, as well as “Family Ties: Memorials to Those Lost in the 1913 Italian Hall Tragedy” by the Houghton-Keweenaw Genealogical Society. Munch’s photographs were taken in the early and mid 1980s, shortly after he moved to the Copper Country, and consist of both interior and exterior shots of the Hall, including some taken at the time of its demolition. The “Family Ties” exhibit is the result of a project through which HKGS members researched the genealogy of every Italian Hall tragedy victim. Also on exhibit is "From the Old School: Memories from the Old Houghton High School 1923-1989". Exhibit includes oral histories by former students and faculty recorded as a community project by students from the Class of 2013. Winning projects from the Western UP Science Fair (grades 4-8) are also being displayed. Carnegie Museum exhibit information can be obtained by calling (906) 482-7140.

Exhibits

The Carnegie Museum in downtown Houghton has a pair of Finnish-connected exhibits on display. A photographic exhibit titled “The Last Days of Italian Hall” by local photographer Eric Munch will be open to the public, as well as “Family Ties: Memorials to Those Lost in the 1913 Italian Hall Tragedy” by the Houghton-Keweenaw Genealogical Society. Munch’s photographs were taken in the early and mid 1980s, shortly after he moved to the Copper Country, and consist of both interior and exterior shots of the Hall, including some taken at the time of its demolition. The “Family Ties” exhibit is the result of a project through which HKGS members researched the genealogy of every Italian Hall tragedy victim. Also on exhibit is "From the Old School: Memories from the Old Houghton High School 1923-1989". Exhibit includes oral histories by former students and faculty recorded as a community project by students from the Class of 2013. Winning projects from the Western UP Science Fair (grades 4-8) are also being displayed. Carnegie Museum exhibit information can be obtained by calling (906) 482-7140.

Educational and Anthropological Perspectives: An Italian View on Migration in Multi-cultural Urban Spaces

In contemporary societies there are different ways to perceive the relation between identity and alterity and to describe the difference between “us” and “them”, residents and foreigners. Anthropologist Sandra Wallman sustains that in multi-cultural urban spaces the frontiers of diversity are not only burdensome markers of identity, but rather they could also represent new chances to define “identity” and “alterity”. These frontiers, in fact, can work like interfaces through which to build time after time, in a creative way, a relationship with the other. From this point of view, the concept of boundary can offer many opportunities to creatively define the relation with the other and to sign new options for cognitive and physical movement. On the other side, in many cases we have a plenty of mechanisms of exclusion that transforms a purely empirical distinction between “us” and “them” in an ontological contrast, as in the case when the immigrant undergoes hostilities through discriminatory language. Even though these forms of racism are undoubtedly objectionable from a theoretical point of view, they are anyway socially “real”, in the sense that they are perpetually reaffirmed and strengthened in public opinion. They are in fact implicit “truths”, realities that are considered objective, common opinions that are part of day-to-day existence. That is the reason why an anthropological prospective including the study of “common sense” should be adopted in our present day studies on migration, as pointed out by American anthropologist Michael Herzfeld. My primary goal is to analyze with such a critical approach same pre-conditions of racism and exclusion in contemporary multi-cultural urban spaces. On the other hand, this essay would also investigate positive strategies of comparing, interchanging, and negotiating alterity in social work. I suggest that this approach can offer positive solutions in coping with “diversity” and in working out policies for recognizing a common identity which, at the same time, do not throw away the relevance of political and economic power.