Suchergebnisse

Semaphorin 3A (Sema3A) is a cell-secreted protein that participates in the axonal guidance pathways. Sema3A acts as a canonical repulsive axon guidance molecule, inhibiting CNS regenerative axonal growth and propagation. Therefore, interfering with Sema3A signaling is proposed as a therapeutic target for achieving functional recovery after CNS injuries. It has been shown that Sema3A adheres to the proteoglycan component of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and selectively binds to heparin and chondroitin sulfate-E (CS-E) glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). We hypothesize that the biologically relevant interaction between Sema3A and GAGs takes place at Sema3A C-terminal polybasic region (SCT). The aims of this study were to characterize the interaction of the whole Sema3A C-terminal polybasic region (Sema3A 725–771) with GAGs and to investigate the disruption of this interaction by small molecules. Recombinant Sema3A basic domain was produced and we used a combination of biophysical techniques (NMR, SPR, and heparin affinity chromatography) to gain insight into the interaction of the Sema3A C-terminal domain with GAGs. The results demonstrate that SCT is an intrinsically disordered region, which confirms that SCT binds to GAGs and helps to identify the specific residues involved in the interaction. NMR studies, supported by molecular dynamics simulations, show that a new peptoid molecule (CSIC02) may disrupt the interaction between SCT and heparin. Our structural study paves the way toward the design of new molecules targeting these protein–GAG interactions with potential therapeutic applications. ; This work was funded by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under Project VISION, grant No. 304884, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation/Spanish Research Agency (MCI/AEI/FEDER, RTI2018–096182-B-I00) and AGAUR (2017 SGR 208). ; Peer reviewed

10 páginas.- 4 figuras.- referencias.-Data Availability Statement: All data underlying this article are available in the main publication and in its Supplementary Materials online. ; Unspecific peroxygenases (UPOs), the extracellular enzymes capable of oxygenating a potpourri of aliphatic and aromatic substrates with a peroxide as co-substrate, come out with a new reaction: carbon-chain shortening during the conversion of fatty acids with the well-known UPOs from Coprinopsis cinerea (rCciUPO) and Cyclocybe (Agrocybe) aegerita (AaeUPO). Although a pathway (Cα-oxidation) for shortening the hydrocarbon chain of saturated fatty acids has already been reported for the UPO from Marasmius rotula (MroUPO), it turned out that rCciUPO and AaeUPO shorten the chain length of both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in a different way. Thus, the reaction sequence does not necessarily start at the Cα-carbon (adjacent to the carboxyl group), as in the case of MroUPO, but proceeds through the subterminal (ω-1 and ω-2) carbons of the chain via several oxygenations. This new type of shortening leads to the formation of a dicarboxylic fatty acid reduced in size by two carbon atoms in the first step, which can subsequently be further shortened, carbon by carbon, by the UPO Cα-oxidation mechanism. View Full-Text ; This research was funded by BioBased Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, grant number 792063 (SusBind project; https://susbind.eu; to A.G., Á.T.M. and M.H.), the PID2020-118968RB-100 project by the Spanish MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 to A.G., and the CSIC projects PIE-202040E185 (to A.G.) and PIE-202120E019 (to Á.T.M.). ; Peer reviewed

The writings of the Indian Diaspora have received a great deal of attention and critical acclaim throughout the world. Rohinton Mistry is a well renowned author in the contemporary commonwealth literature and occupies a significant place among the writers of Indian Diaspora. Even though he is settled in Canada; it is his upbringing in Mumbai that reflects in all his writings. The distinct Mumbai culture, particularly the Parsee way of life, the people of the city and even the politics of India are major themes in his novels. Rohinton Mistry as a writer of Diaspora has carved a niche for himself. His works such as: "Tales from Firozsha Baag", "Such A Long Journey", "A Fine Balance" and "Family Matters"; mark a new kind of writing, resulting from a fragmented, splintered world. As a Diasporic Parsi writer, very sensitively he has recalled his community's journey through time and history with a sense of loss and nostalgia. His books portray diverse facets of Indian socioeconomic life; as well as Parsi Zoroastrian life, customs, and religion. Many of his writings are markedly "Indo-nostalgic". Rohinton Mistry through his Diasporic discourse has well depicted his ancestral background, his community's engaged situation in a metropolis like Bombay and his deep attachment with and nostalgia for a world gone by. In this paper an attempt has been made to delineate diasporic discourse in the works of Rohinton Mistry. Although he is obsessed with the colonial and postcolonial experiences in India, we can find some traces of Canada in his literature. His characters dream of being integrated into, and accepted by, Canadian society on the one hand and on the other hand, these same characters are torn by an insatiable desire to be true to their native culture; to honor and cherish their own, distinct cultural identity.Keywords: Diaspora, Cultural identity, Contemporary Canadian literature, Parsi.

[Para. 1 of Introduction]: Migration is shaping societies around the world. It has long defined settler countries, such as Canada; it is affecting communities of departure and return, ranging from the Azores to Zimbabwe; and it is increasingly impacting countries that have traditionally not considered themselves as major immigrant destinations, like many European countries. Meanwhile, individual migrants and their families experience departure, migration, and arrival differently than the communities shaped by them. From both societal and individual perspectives, we can ask whether migration accomplishes what it promises to achieve. Does migration contribute to the economic, social, and cultural well-being of societies? Do migrants and their families find a pathway to security, achieve social and economic upward mobility, and gain opportunities to participate in the political and cultural life of their arrival communities? The Promise of Migration addresses these questions through a critical lens. ; Bauder, H. (Ed.). (2019). The promise of migration : a companion to the International Metropolis Conference 2019, Ottawa, Canada. Toronto: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada; Graduate Program in Immigration and Settlement Studies, Ryerson University.

With new proposals and development initiatives, the government aims to maintain the momentum of economic growth. There is emphasis on keeping poverty and job losses to a minimum with no new taxes, expansion of social protection schemes, and increase in salaries. Initiatives to protect both formal and informal Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been announced in view of the stresses faced by private enterprises amid COVID-19.

This chapter, being halfway between abstract economic theory and policy analysis, addresses one of the most contested issues in comparative economic studies, namely the role of human deliberation versus spontaneity at the macroeconomic level. To arrive at new insights. It adopts a cross-regional perspective and speculates, if the counter-intuitive practices of China, based on pragmatism and experimentation, trial and error, has indeed been superior to social engineering, as practiced in various forms across Europe. It also highlights the limitations to theoretical generalizations, i.e., making claims that remain valid at any time and any place, as mainstream economics suggests of its own insights.

Western democratic nation-states are governing (im)migrations through systemic indifference (a new form of systemic xenophobia and systemic racism). Majority self-aware ethnic groups (led by elites, i.e., the nation, the executive, the government) apply formal social control with total indifference to (and in contradiction with) social order and the rule of law. Social order and the rule of law are not honored (refusal of entry in humanitarian crisis, border outsourcing, and permanent state of exception in borders) or, in other cases, they are (dubiously) honored (approval of deportations) but not enforced. This systemic indifference has led to a Catch-22 in which immigrants are trapped (necropolitics, permanent state of exception in EU and US outside borders, border outsourcing, and hopeless free wandering in which immigrants may challenge, unintentionally and inadvertently, the internal social order). Western democratic nation-states show their deep internal contradictions in times of mass migrations, aged (and fast-aging) societies, populisms, authoritarianism, extremism and the reinforcement of whiteness. In XXI century, Western democratic nation-states´ weakness is an important challenge in front of other political systems (China with its Chinese Marxism, authoritarian regimes like Russia, Turkey…) which are gaining momentum. The EU and the US confront a catharsis of their traditional social and political paradigms: from national to post-national and multicultural societies. Majority self-aware ethnic groups oppose this paradigm change with systemic indifference, systemic xenophobia and systemic racism. ; Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech.

This study evaluates the consolidated financial condition and performance of local water districts (LWDs) in the Philippines. Water districts are government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs) tasked to construct, operate, maintain, and expand water and sanitation systems in the countryside. They are instrumental in the Philippines' objective to attain 100-percent water supply and sanitation access by 2036. National data show that the consolidated financial performance of LWDs has improved from 2009 to 2018, as reflected in their high and stable cash flows, high debt service coverage ratios, and lower debt ratios. With the aggressive spending program of the government on water infrastructure, lower debt ratios are needed to prepare LWDs to achieve the 2023 and the 2030 goals of universal access to water supply and sanitation. However, the government's spending plans are so ambitious that the current balance sheets of LWDs cannot sustain the planned investments financed through debt. The national government needs to bolster the balance sheets of LWDs by infusing fresh equity of PHP 22 billion to PHP 56 billion to achieve the Philippines' 2030 water supply and sanitation targets. The study likewise shows a significant disparity in water investments across the country's different regions, which impacts the uneven water service coverage throughout the Philippines.