Fluorescence Enhancement of a Microbial Rhodopsin via Electronic Reprogramming

Marí,n, Marí,a del Carmen,Agathangelou, Damianos,Orozco-Gonzalez, Yoelvis,Valentini, Alessio,Kato, Yoshitaka,Abe-Yoshizumi, Rei,Kandori, Hideki,Choi, Ahreum,Jung, Kwang-Hwan,Haacke, Stefan American Chemical Society 2019 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY - Vol.141 No.1

<P>The engineering of microbial rhodopsins with enhanced fluorescence is of great importance in the expanding field of optogenetics. Here we report the discovery of two mutants (W76S/Y179F and L83Q) of a sensory rhodopsin from the cyanobacterium <I>Anabaena</I> PCC7120 with opposite fluorescence behavior. In fact, while W76S/Y179F displays, with respect to the wild-type protein, a nearly 10-fold increase in red-light emission, the second is not emissive. Thus, the W76S/Y179F, L83Q pair offers an unprecedented opportunity for the investigation of fluorescence enhancement in microbial rhodopsins, which is pursued by combining transient absorption spectroscopy and multiconfigurational quantum chemistry. The results of such an investigation point to an isomerization-blocking electronic effect as the direct cause of instantaneous (subpicosecond) fluorescence enhancement.</P> [FIG OMISSION]</BR>

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Jose‘ Mari‘a Areta Ayuso 한국스페인어문학회 2004 스페인어문학 Vol.0 No.33

Estudiamos en este trabajo la sintaxix del verbo haber como existencial. Para ello, nos basamos tanto en los ejemplos en los que este verbo concuerda con su complemento nominal como en los que no existe tal concordanci´a (los normativos). Discutimos la hipo´tesis de que este verbo sea un verbo inacusativo y la rechazamos segu´n criterios sinta´cticos como la posicio´n del argumento. Planteamos despune´s la hipo´tesis de que este verbo impersonal existencial en realidad proyecta dos argumentos, uno LOCATIVO y otro nominal. Aunque ha habido autores que han defendido el CASO PARTITIVO para este complemento, nosotros creemos que es ACUSATIVO, incluso en las ocasiones en que se produce su concordancia con el verbo, ya que se producen en espan~ol casos simiares, como con el verbo ser en oraciones como son las dos. Por u´ltimo, intentamos extender nuestra hipo´tesis a todos los verbos impersonales del espan~ol, y en esta clase incluimos dos subcategori´as, los impersonales le´xicos, como haber, estar, ser, existir, etc, y los impersinales sinta´cticos estructuras que se convierten en impersonales so´lo si aparece un argumento espacio-temporal. Aunque parece que no es necesario en todos los casos que el sintagma espacio-temporal este´ en una posicio´n argumental, si´ es necesario que estev presinte o, al menos, sea interpretable contextualmente.

Implementation of Fair Trade Practices in Peruvian Artisanal Organizations: Analysis through Case Studies

Alicia del Carmen Mariñas Tapia 한국라틴아메리카학회 2013 라틴아메리카연구 Vol.26 No.4

In Peru handicraft production is an activity complementary to agriculture which transmits cultural traditions across the generations. This article presents an analysis of the Fair Trade practices inside two organizations which support the production and marketing of Peruvian artisanal handicrafts. First, basic information is presented concerning the Fair Trade, its definition,practices, and products. Next, information regarding Peruvian artisanal products is presented as along with Fair Trade handcrafts export data. Two handicrafts producer organizations are then analyzed as case studies of Fair Trade practices carried out for producer communities in the Peruvian Andes where conditions of extreme poverty predominate. Through these case studies the article provides a detailed description of how the implementation of Fair Trade practices in the selected Peruvian handicrafts producer organizations has helped them enhance their markets.

Electromyographic and Strength Analyses of Activation Patterns of the Wrist Flexor Muscles after Acupuncture

Marı ´lia Silva Zanin,Juliana Morales Ronchi,Tainan de Castro Silva,Amanda Cunha Fuzaro,Joa˜o Eduardo de Araujo 사단법인약침학회 2014 Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies Vol.7 No.5

This study analyzed the electromyographic and strength responses of the flexor muscles of the wrist following stimulation of acupuncture points. A total of 52 participants were randomly divided into four groups: local (heart 3, HT3), distant (heart 4, HT4), control (bladder 60, BL60), and naı ¨ve control groups. To obtain the root mean square electromyo- graphic activity, we placed surface electrodes over the wrist flexors. To obtain kilogram force (kgf) values, we attached a force transducer to the floor and to the hands of par- ticipants. Both values were recorded over three repetitions of maximal isometric wrist flexion contractions. Data were analyzed using one-way analyses of variance, followed by Dunnett’s post-hoc tests. We found reductions in electromyographic activity contralat- eral to the stimulated point in the distant group 10 minutes after removal of the needles (F 3,48 = 3.25; p < 0.05). Regarding muscle strength, ipsilateral and contralateral stimu- lation in the distant group produced kgf levels prior to and 10 minute and 20 minutes after withdrawal of the acupuncture needle that were lower than that obtained prior to inser- tion of the needle (F 3,48= 5.82; p < 0.05). Thus, stimulation of the acupuncture points distant from the wrist flexors reduced ipsilateral and contralateral muscle strength and decreased the root mean square values contralateral to the site of stimulation.

Cytotoxic Activity of the Methanolic Extract of Turnera diffusa Willd on Breast Cancer Cells

Marı´a del Carmen Avelino-Flores,Marı´a del Carmen Cruz-Lo´pez,Fabiola E. Jime´nez-Montejo,Julio Reyes-Leyva 한국식품영양과학회 2015 Journal of medicinal food Vol.18 No.3

Turnera diffusa Willd, commonly known as Damiana, is employed in traditional medicine as a stimulant, aphrodisiac, and diuretic. Its leaves and stems are used for flavoring and infusion. Damiana is considered to be safe for medicinal use by the FDA. Pharmacological studies have established the hypoglycemic, antiaromatase, prosexual, estrogenic, antibacterial, and antioxidant activity of T. diffusa. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the possible cytotoxic effect of extracts and organic fractions of this plant on five tumor cell lines (SiHa, C-33, Hep G2, MDA-MB-231, and T-47D) and normal human fibroblasts. The results show that the methanolic extract (TdM) displayed greater activity on MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells (with an IC50 of 30.67 μg/mL) than on the other cancer cell lines. Four organic fractions of this extract exhibited activity on this cancer cell line. In the most active fraction (F4), two active compounds were isolated, arbutin (1) and apigenin (2). This is the first report of a cytotoxic effect by T. diffusa on cancer cells. The IC50 values suggest that the methanolic extract of T. diffusa has potential as an anticancer therapy

Agave Fructans: Their Effect on Mineral Absorption and Bone Mineral Content

Marı´a Isabel Garcı´a-Vieyra,Alicia Del Real,Mercedes G. Lo´pez 한국식품영양과학회 2014 Journal of medicinal food Vol.17 No.11

In this study we investigate the effect that Agave fructans as new prebiotics have on mineral absorption improvement. Forty-eight 12-week-old C57BL/6J mice were used in this study. Forty mice were ovariectomized and eight were sham-operated controls. Mice were fed standard diets or diets supplemented with 10% Agave fructans or 10% inulin fructans. Calcium and magnesium were evaluated as well as their excretion in feces. Osteocalcin levels were also measured; femur structure was studied by scanning electron microscopy. Other parameters, such as food intake, body weight, glucose, and short-chain fatty acid content, were recorded. Calcium in plasma and bone increased in Agave fructan groups (from 53.1 to 56 and 85 mg/L and from 0.402 to 0.474 and 0.478 g/g, respectively) and osteocalcin increased in all fructan groups (> 50%). Scanning electron microscopy showed that fructans were able to mitigate bone loss. In conclusion, we demonstrated that supplementation with Agave fructans prevents bone loss and improves bone formation.

Shear Strength of Copper Joints Prepared by Low Temperature Sintering of Silver Nanoparticles

Zbyněk Pešina,Vít Vykoukal,Marián Palcut,Jiří Sopoušek 대한금속·재료학회 2014 ELECTRONIC MATERIALS LETTERS Vol.10 No.1

In this work, mechanical properties of Cu-to-Cu joint samples prepared by low temperature sintering of Ag nanoparticle paste have been investigated. The silver nanopaste was prepared by a controlled thermal decomposition of an organometallic precursor. The as-synthesized Ag particles were spherical, with an average diameter of 8.5 nm. The Cu-to-Cu joint samples were made by placing a small amount of Ag nanopaste between two polished Cu plates and sintering at 150°C, 200°C, 220°C and 350°C in air. A normal load was applied to aid sintering. Mechanical properties were measured by imposing a uniform stress across the sample bond area and measuring the corresponding strain. The application of external load was found to have a positive effect on the material’s mechanical properties. Furthermore, interestingly high values of shear strength were observed.

Cost-Efficient Virtual Optical Network Embedding for Manageable Inter-Data-Center Connectivity

Jordi Perelló,Pablo Pavón-Mariño,Salvatore Spadaro 한국전자통신연구원 2013 ETRI Journal Vol.35 No.1

Network virtualization opens the door to novel infrastructure services offering connectivity and node manageability. In this letter, we focus on the cost-efficient embedding of on-demand virtual optical network requests for interconnecting geographically distributed data centers. We present a mixed integer linear programming formulation that introduces flexibility in the virtual-physical node mapping to optimize the usage of the underlying physical resources. Illustrative results show that flexibility in the node mapping can reduce the number of add-drop ports required to serve the offered demands by 40%.

PERCEIVED SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES: RETAIL MANAGERS’ INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC MOTIVES

Jos Bartels,Machiel J. Reinders,Mariët A. van Haaster-de Winter 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2014 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2014 No.8

In the past few decades, much attention has been focused on corporate social responsibility (CSR) (Dahlrud, 2008; McWilliams & Siegel, 2001; Maignan & Ralston, 2002; Montiel, 2008), consumer responses to CSR initiatives (Brown & Dacin, 1997; Sen & Bhattacharya, 2001) and more recently, employee attitudes towards CSR (Kim et al., 2010; Michailides & Lipsett, 2012; Rupp et al., 2006; Zhu et al., 2012). Although awareness of environmental sustainability has increased over the past few decades, the current market share of sustainable products remains low. Because of their market position, large-scale and high- volume customer interactions (Vella et al., 2009), supermarkets appear to be appropriate venues for investigating perceived sustainability initiatives (Hampl & Loock, 2013). Our study examined the extent to which supermarkets are perceived to have embedded sustainability initiatives in their marketing strategies and to have taken sustainable tactical measures on the store floor. In addition, the study considered the roles played by social identification (as an indicator for intrinsic motives) and by perceived external prestige (as an indicator for extrinsic motives). Based on a literature review and semi-structured qualitative interviews with the chief executive officers (CEOs) of Dutch supermarkets (n = 8), we conducted an online panel survey among the managers of these supermarkets (n = 99). The results of the qualitative study show that although CEOs’ opinions differed regarding the relevance of sustainability, the majority of CEOs indicated that the implementation of a sustainability strategy is strongly dependent on the intrinsic motivation of board members, the family business in general or local entrepreneurs (supermarket managers). Specifically, the role of the supermarket manager was recognized as important concerning sustainability initiatives on the shop floor. The results of the quantitative study show the positive impacts of managers’ social identification with a sustainable consumer group and managers’ perceived external prestige on the perceived environmental sustainability initiatives of Dutch supermarkets. The study finds that managers’ social identifications are powerful ways to engender employee loyalty. Moreover, organizations that are perceived to have more external prestige are perceived as being more capable of developing sustainability policies.

Poly(styrene-alt-maleic anhydride)-block-Poly(methacrylate-ran-styrene) Block Copolymers with Tunable Mechanical Properties by Nitroxide Mediated Controlled Radical Polymerization

Benoît H. Lessard,Sarah Mackay,Adrien Métafiot,Milan Marić 한국고분자학회 2016 Macromolecular Research Vol.24 No.8

Poly(styrene-alt-maleic anhydride)-block-poly(methacrylate-ran-styrene) block copolymers were synthesized from low dispersity (Mw/Mn=1.24) and perfectly alternating poly(styrene-alt-maleic anhydride) macroinitiators, by nitroxide mediated controlled radical polymerization (NMP), using various methacrylate-rich mixtures: methyl methacrylate/styrene (MMA/S), ethyl methacrylate/styrene (EMMA/S), n-butyl methacrylate/styrene (BMA/S) and benzyl methacrylate/styrene (BzMA/S). Some irreversible termination was present during the chain extension from the macroinitiator, resulting in some bimodality in the molecular weight distribution of the final block copolymer (≈2% to ≈25% dead chains) which is common for methacrylate/styrene copolymerizations by NMP. The resulting final block copolymers were determined to be methacrylate-rich (molar ratio XMA/S ≈3.3 to 5.5) by 1H NMR and the resulting glass transition temperature (Tg) of the chain-extended segments were found to be similar to the coresponding pure poly(methacrylate)s. NMP allows the controlled placement of functional maleic anhydride containing segments within a block copolymer with tunable mechanical properties by simple substitution of methacrylate monomer used in synthesis.