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Background: Castilian-Spanish, Catalan, Galician, and European Portuguese are the most widely spoken languages of the Ibero-Romance group. An increasing number of authors have addressed the impact of aphasia on the morphosyntax of these varieties. However, accurate linguistic characterisations are scarce and the different sources of data have not been yet compiled.Aims: To stimulate state-of-the-art research, we provided a comprehensive summary of morphosyntactic aspects of Ibero-Romance and a review of how these are affected in non-fluent aphasia. The topics we dealt with are the use of verb argument structure and morphology, sentential negation and word order, definite articles, personal and reflexive pronouns, passives, topicalised constructions, questions, and relative clauses.Methods & Procedures: An exhaustive fieldwork and search of PubMed, Web of Science, and Medline records were performed to retrieve studies focused on morphosyntactic issues concerning the Ibero-Romance varieties. A total of 27 studies produced by 46 authors of varying background emerged. We did not review studies of category-specific deficits and aspects related to bilingual aphasia, although we assume that most speakers of Galician and Catalan are bilingual. Studies of spontaneous speech were included when no controlled experimental tasks were available.Outcomes & Results: The morphosyntactic commonalities of Ibero-Romance have been tackled from different theoretical perspectives. There exist asymmetries in findings which we explain with the use of different tasks (and task complexity) and individual differences between participants.Conclusions: Discourse-linking factors as well as deviations from the canonical pattern are recurrent answers to these asymmetries. A comprehensive theory of impairments in non-fluent aphasia integrating relevant aspects of both structural and processing accounts seems necessary.
Framing Citizen Participation: Participatory Budgeting in France, Germany and the United Kingdom
(2015)
The biosynthesis of the molybdenum cofactor (Moco) has been intensively studied, in addition to its insertion into molybdoenzymes. In particular, a link between the assembly of molybdoenzymes and the biosynthesis of FeS clusters has been identified in the recent years: 1) the synthesis of the first intermediate in Moco biosynthesis requires an FeS-cluster containing protein, 2) the sulfurtransferase for the dithiolene group in Moco is also involved in the synthesis of FeS clusters, thiamin and thiolated tRNAs, 3) the addition of a sulfido-ligand to the molybdenum atom in the active site additionally involves a sulfurtransferase, and 4) most molybdoenzymes in bacteria require FeS clusters as redox active cofactors. In this review we will focus on the biosynthesis of the molybdenum cofactor in bacteria, its modification and insertion into molybdoenzymes, with an emphasis to its link to FeS cluster biosynthesis and sulfur transfer. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
The role of serum amyloid A and sphingosine-1-phosphate on high-density lipoprotein functionality
(2015)
The high-density lipoprotein (HDL) is one of the most important endogenous cardiovascular protective markers. HDL is an attractive target in the search for new pharmaceutical therapies and in the prevention of cardiovascular events. Some of HDL's anti-atherogenic properties are related to the signaling molecule sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), which plays an important role in vascular homeostasis. However, for different patient populations it seems more complicated. Significant changes in HDL's protective potency are reduced under pathologic conditions and HDL might even serve as a proatherogenic particle. Under uremic conditions especially there is a change in the compounds associated with HDL. S1P is reduced and acute phase proteins such as serum amyloid A (SAA) are found to be elevated in HDL. The conversion of HDL in inflammation changes the functional properties of HDL. High amounts of SAA are associated with the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis. SAA has potent pro-atherogenic properties, which may have impact on HDL's biological functions, including cholesterol efflux capacity, antioxidative and anti-inflammatory activities. This review focuses on two molecules that affect the functionality of HDL. The balance between functional and dysfunctional HDL is disturbed after the loss of the protective sphingolipid molecule S1P and the accumulation of the acute-phase protein SAA. This review also summarizes the biological activities of lipid-free and lipid-bound SAA and its impact on HDL function.
Though Peter Gordon mentioned philosophical anthropology in his book Continental Divide, he has not yet realized how it works independently from Cassirer's and Heidegger's prejudices. The whole argument between them before, in and after Davos (1929) raged around the status of philosophical anthropology: How do the spiritualisation of life and the enlivening of the spirit come about? This was not just the central question for philosophical anthropology founded by Max Scheler, but also in Wilhelm Dilthey's life philosophy, which was systematized by Georg Misch. Cassirer and Heidegger shared three shortcomings with respect to the Life-philosophical Anthropology. Neither had a philosophy of nature or a philosophy of sociaty or a philosophy of history. The insight into the unfathomability of humans (Misch) is given a political edge in Helmuth Plessner's book Power and Human Nature (1931). Elevating it to the principle of democratic equality with respect to the worth of all cultures one opens up the potential for a form of civil competition that might supersede ethnocentric wars.
Assembly and catalysis of molybdenum or tungsten-containing formate dehydrogenases from bacteria
(2015)
The global carbon cycle depends on the biological transformations of C-1 compounds, which include the reductive incorporation of CO2 into organic molecules (e.g. in photosynthesis and other autotrophic pathways), in addition to the production of CO2 from formate, a reaction that is catalyzed by formate dehydrogenases (FDHs). FDHs catalyze, in general, the oxidation of formate to CO2 and H+. However, selected enzymes were identified to act as CO2 reductases, which are able to reduce CO2 to formate under physiological conditions. This reaction is of interest for the generation of formate as a convenient storage form of H-2 for future applications. Cofactor-containing FDHs are found in anaerobic bacteria and archaea, in addition to facultative anaerobic or aerobic bacteria. These enzymes are highly diverse and employ different cofactors such as the molybdenum cofactor (Moco), FeS clusters and flavins, or cytochromes. Some enzymes include tungsten (W) in place of molybdenum (Mo) at the active site. For catalytic activity, a selenocysteine (SeCys) or cysteine (Cys) ligand at the Mo atom in the active site is essential for the reaction. This review will focus on the characterization of Mo- and W-containing FDHs from bacteria, their active site structure, subunit compositions and its proposed catalytic mechanism. We will give an overview on the different mechanisms of substrate conversion available so far, in addition to providing an outlook on bio-applications of FDHs. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Cofactor-dependent proteins: evolution, chemical diversity and bio-applications. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Anatomical changes in extinct mammalian lineages over evolutionary time, such as the loss of fingers and teeth and the rapid increase in body size that accompanied the late Miocene dispersal of the progenitors of Steller's sea cows (Hydrodamalis gigas (Zimmermann, 1780)) into North Pacific waters and the convergent development of a thick pelage and accompanying reductions in ear and tail surface area of woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius (Blumenbach, 1799)) and woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis (Blumenbach, 1799)), are prime examples of adaptive evolution underlying the exploitation of new habitats. It is likely, however, that biochemical specializations adopted during these evolutionary transitions were of similar or even greater biological importance. As these "living" processes do not fossilize, direct information regarding the physiological attributes of extinct species has largely remained beyond the range of scientific inquiry. However, the ability to retrieve genomic sequences from ancient DNA samples, combined with ectopic expression systems, now permit the evolutionary origins and structural and functional properties of authentic prehistoric proteins to be examined in great detail. Exponential technical advances in ancient DNA retrieval, enrichment, and sequencing will soon permit targeted generation of complete genomes from hundreds of extinct species across the last one million years that, in combination with emerging in vitro expression, genome engineering, and cell differentiation techniques, promises to herald an exciting new trajectory of evolutionary research at the interface of biochemistry, genomics, palaeontology, and cell biology.