Concomitant Processes Research Articles

Mitochondrial Physiology of Cellular Redox Regulations.

Mitochondria (mt) represent the vital hub of the molecular physiology of the cell, being decision-makers in cell life/death and information signaling, including major redox regulations and redox signaling. Now we review recent advances in understanding mitochondrial redox homeostasis, including superoxide sources and H2O2 consumers, i.e., antioxidant mechanisms, as well as exemplar situations of physiological redox signaling, including the intramitochondrial one and mt-to-cytosol redox signals, which may be classified as acute and long-term signals. This review exemplifies the acute redox signals in hypoxic cell adaptation and upon insulin secretion in pancreatic beta-cells. We also show how metabolic changes under these circumstances are linked to mitochondrial cristae narrowing at higher intensity of ATP synthesis. Also, we will discuss major redox buffers, namely the peroxiredoxin system, which may also promote redox signaling. We will point out that pathological thresholds exist, specific for each cell type, above which the superoxide sources exceed regular antioxidant capacity and the concomitant harmful processes of oxidative stress subsequently initiate etiology of numerous diseases. The redox signaling may be impaired when sunk in such excessive pro-oxidative state.

Blood-based cardiometabolic phenotypes in atrial fibrillation and their associated risk: EAST-AFNET 4 biomolecule study.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) and concomitant cardiometabolic disease processes interact and combine to lead to adverse events, such as stroke, heart failure, myocardial infarction, and cardiovascular death. Circulating biomolecules provide quantifiable proxies for cardiometabolic disease processes. The aim of this study was to test whether biomolecule combinations can define phenotypes in patients with AF. This pre-specified analysis of the EAST-AFNET 4 biomolecule study assigned patients to clusters using polytomous variable latent-class analysis based on baseline concentrations of 13 precisely quantified biomolecules potentially reflecting ageing, cardiac fibrosis, metabolic dysfunction, oxidative stress, cardiac load, endothelial dysfunction, and inflammation. In each cluster, rates of cardiovascular death, stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure or acute coronary syndrome, the primary outcome of EAST-AFNET 4, were calculated and compared between clusters over median 5.1 years follow-up. Findings were independently validated in a prospective cohort of 748 patients with AF (BBC-AF; median follow-up 2.9 years).Unsupervised biomolecule analysis assigned 1586 patients (71 years old, 46% women) into four clusters. The highest risk cluster was dominated by elevated bone morphogenetic protein 10, insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, angiopoietin 2, and growth differentiation factor 15. Patients in the lowest risk cluster showed low concentrations of these biomolecules. Two intermediate-risk clusters differed by high or low concentrations of C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and D-dimer. Patients in the highest risk cluster had a five-fold higher cardiovascular event rate than patients in the low-risk cluster. Early rhythm control was effective across clusters (Pinteraction = 0.63). Sensitivity analyses and external validation in BBC-AF replicated clusters and risk gradients. Biomolecule concentrations identify cardiometabolic subphenotypes in patients with AF at high and low cardiovascular risk.

Prognostic Value of PCSK9 Levels in Premenopausal Women at Risk of Breast Cancer-Evidence from a 17-Year Follow-Up Study.

The involvement of cholesterol in cancer development remains a topic of debate, and its association with breast cancer has yet to be consistently demonstrated. Considering that circulating cholesterol levels depend on several concomitant processes, we tested the liability of plasma levels of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), one of the key regulators of cholesterol levels, as a prognostic biomarker in the context of breast neoplastic events. Within a prospective randomized breast cancer prevention trial we measured baseline plasma levels of PCSK9. A total of 235 at-risk premenopausal women were randomized and followed up for 17 years. Participants enrolled in this placebo-controlled, phase II, double-blind trial were randomly assigned to receive either tamoxifen 5 mg/d or fenretinide 200 mg/d, both agents, or placebo for 2 years. The associations with breast cancer events were evaluated through competing risk and Cox regression survival models, adjusted for randomization strata (5-year Gail risk ≥ 1.3% vs. intraepithelial neoplasia or small invasive breast cancer of favorable prognosis), age, and treatment allocation. PCSK9 associations with biomarkers linked to breast cancer risk were assessed on blood samples collected at baseline. The plasmatic PCSK9 median and interquartile range were 207 ng/mL and 170-252 ng/mL, respectively. Over a median follow-up period of 17 years and 89 breast neoplastic events, disease-free survival curves showed a hazard ratio of 1.002 (95% CI: 0.999-1.005, p = 0.22) for women with PCSK9 plasma levels ≥ 207 ng/mL compared to women with levels below 207 ng/mL. No differences between randomization strata were observed. We found a negative correlation between PCSK9 and estradiol (r = -0.305), maintained even after partial adjustment for BMI and age (r = -0.287). Cholesterol (r = 0.266), LDL-C (r = 0.207), non-HDL-C (r = 0.246), remnant cholesterol (r = 0.233), and triglycerides (r = 0.233) also correlated with PCSK9. In premenopausal women at risk of early-stage breast cancer, PCSK9 did not appear to have a role as a prognostic biomarker of breast neoplastic events. Larger studies are warranted investigating patients in different settings.

Endodontic-periodontal continuum of tooth: Systematic literature review

INTRODUCTION. The pathogenetic relationship between periodontal and pulp diseases was first described by Simring and Goldberg in 1964. Since then, the term “endodontic-periodontal” lesion (or “endo-perio”) has been used to describe lesions caused by inflammatory products found to varying degrees in both the periodontal and dental pulp tissues. The pulp and periodontium have embryonic, anatomical and functional relationships. The simultaneous presence of changes in pulp tissue and inflammatory periodontal diseases can complicate diagnosis and treatment planning. The etiology, pathogenesis and treatment methods of endodontic-periodontal lesions can vary from quite simple to relatively complex aspects. Knowledge of the basis of concomitant inflammatory processes in the pulp and periodontium is important for making the correct diagnosis.AIM. Carry out a systematic analysis of the literature and summarize the available data on etiopatogenetic relations, diagnostic features and clinical history of endodontic periodontal dental lesions. MATERIAL AND METHODS. A systematic literature analysis was carried out, as well as a manual search in the databases PubMed, Google Search, eLibrary, disserCat, Cyberleninka. Among national and foreign publications corresponding to the topic of this review, 28 publications were selected for systematic analysis, the results of literature review are presented in this article.CONCLUSION. This systematic review found that dental anatomy and the etiology of endodontic periodontal lesions are the basis for difficulties in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with endo-periodontal lesions. Determining the prevalence of infection and the individual characteristics of EPP pathogenesis in patients in this group remains a challenge. In the future, it is necessary to develop new methods of diagnosis, prophylaxis and complex treatment of combined periodontal tissue and tooth pulp, which will improve the prognosis of treatment of injured teeth in the long term.

Hasta la Raiz: Cultivating racial‐ethnic socialization in Latine families

AbstractFamilial racial‐ethnic socialization (RES) helps youth build tools of cultural resilience by providing messages regarding race and ethnicity that enable them to negotiate and survive the demands of a racialized society. Thus, RES is an important caregiving task for historically minoritized families, including Latine families in the United States. In this article, we review research on RES in Latine families, which has focused primarily on RES processes in middle childhood to adolescence, to provide an evidence‐informed conceptual model delineating the youth, parental, dyadic/familial, and sociohistorical factors that shape how Latine families engage in RES. We argue that it is important to focus on which RES messages are provided, how families provide these messages, and the concomitant family processes that support RES efforts that result in culturally adaptive outcomes. We also review research on this topic to identify where evidence supports the role of these factors in the delivery of RES and to identify new directions for research and intervention.

Pathways to discontinuous transitions in interacting contagion dynamics

Yet often neglected, dynamical interdependencies between concomitant contagion processes can alter their intrinsic equilibria and bifurcations. A particular case of interest for disease control is the emergence of discontinuous transitions in epidemic dynamics coming from their interactions with other simultaneous processes. To address this problem, here we propose a framework coupling a standard epidemic dynamics with another contagion process, presenting a tunable parameter shaping the nature of its transitions. Our model retrieves well-known results in the literature, such as the existence of first-order transitions arising from the mutual cooperation of epidemics or the onset of abrupt transitions when social contagions unidirectionally drive epidemics. We also reveal that negative feedback loops between simultaneous dynamical processes might suppress abrupt phenomena, thus increasing systems robustness against external perturbations. Our results render a general perspective toward finding different pathways to abrupt phenomena from the interaction of contagion processes.

Concomitant spinal and non-spinal osteoarticular infections

Abstract Background: Treatment of pyogenic spondylodiscitis or septic arthritis can be complicated with a variety of concomitant infectious processes. No study has focused on concomitant osteoarticular infections. Materials and Methods: Between 2015 and 2019, patients over 18 years old, who were diagnosed and treated for spinal infections (SIs) or non-spinal osteoarticular infections, were included. There were six patients with concomitant spinal and non-spinal osteoarticular infections (concomitant infection [CI] group), 30 patients with SI alone (SI group), and 18 patients with articular infection (AI) alone (AI group). The data gained from the patients in the CI group were compared those in the SI group and the AI group. Results: Factors contributing to statistical significance included past or present history of cancer (100% in the CI group, 27% in the SI group, and 33% in the AI group), C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (27.4 mg/dL in the CI group, 13.4 mg/dL in the SI group, and 13.8 mg/dL in the AI Group), albumin levels (2.4 g/dL in the CI group and 2.9 in both the SI group and the AI group), detection of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) (50% in the CI group, 3.3% in the SI group and 5.6% in the AI group), and duration of intravenous antibiotic therapy (131 days in the CI group, 67 days in the SI group and 29 days in the AI group). Conclusions: Patients with concomitant spinal and non-spinal osteoarticular infections were more likely to present with a past and present history of cancer, severe hypoalbuminemia, higher levels of CRP and GBS bacteremia.

Dynamics of individual inkjet printed picoliter droplet elucidated by high speed laser speckle imaging.

Inkjet printing is a ubiquitous consumer and industrial process that involves concomitant processes of droplet impact, wetting, evaporation, and imbibement into a substrate as well as consequential substrate rearrangements and remodeling. In this work, we perform a study on the interaction between ink dispersions of different composition on substrates of increasing complexity to disentangle the motion of the liquid from the dynamic response of the substrate. We print three variations of pigmented inks and follow the ensuing dynamics at millisecond and micron time and length scales until complete drying using a multiple scattering technique, laser speckle imaging (LSI). Measurements of the photon transport mean free path, l*, for the printed inks and substrates show that the spatial region of information capture is the entire droplet volume and a depth within the substrate of a few μm beneath the droplet. Within this spatial confinement, LSI is an ideal approach for studying the solid-liquid transition at these small length and time scales by obtaining valid g2 and d2 autocorrelation functions and interpreting these dynamic changes under through kymographs. Our in situ LSI results show that droplets undergo delamination and cracking processes arising during droplet drying, which are confirmed by post mortem SEM imaging.

A Photochemical Strategy for the Conversion of Nitroarenes into Rigidified Pyrrolidine Analogues.

Bicyclic amines are important motifs for the preparation of bioactive materials. These species have well-defined exit vectors that enable accurate disposition of substituents toward specific areas of chemical space. Of all possible skeletons, the 2-azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptane framework is virtually absent from MedChem libraries due to a paucity of synthetic methods for its preparation. Here, we report a modular synthetic strategy that utilizes nitroarenes as flat and easy-to-functionalize feedstocks for the assembly of these sp3-rich materials. Mechanistically, this approach exploits two concomitant photochemical processes that sequentially ring-expand the nitroarene into an azepine and then fold it into a rigid bicycle pyrroline by means of singlet nitrene-mediated nitrogen insertion and excited-state-4π electrocyclization. A following hydrogenolysis provides, with full diastereocontrol, the desired bicyclic amine derivatives whereby the aromatic substitution pattern has been translated into the one of the three-dimensional heterocycle. These molecules can be considered rigid pyrrolidine analogues with a well-defined orientation of their substituents. Furthermore, unsupervised clustering of an expansive virtual database of saturated N-heterocycles revealed these derivatives as effective isosteres of rigidified piperidines. Overall, this platform enables the conversion of nitroarene feedstocks into complex sp3-rich heterocycles of potential interest to drug development.

Enhanced hydrogen sorption properties of uniformly dispersed Pd-decorated three-dimensional (3D) Mg@Pd architecture

This study demonstrates the hydrogen sorption improvement of Mg through the three-dimensional decoration of a noble catalyst. An Mg@Pd composite was synthesized by decorating Pd nanoparticles onto the Mg matrix via a facile solid-gas reduction method. Electron tomography analysis confirms the formation of a three-dimensional (3D) architecture of the Mg@Pd particulate composite. The Mg@Pd composite shows excellent hydrogenation/dehydrogenation kinetics even at low temperatures as compared to a catalyst-free Mg sample. Moreover, the hydrogenated Mg@Pd composite can desorb hydrogen at as low as 246 °C that is 87 °C lower than that of the pure MgH2. Hydrogenation of the Mg@Pd composite leads to the development of a multiphase system consisted of PdH0.706, MgPd and MgH2 whereas dehydrogenation occurred via two simultaneous desorption reactions results in Mg6Pd and Mg phases. The uniform dispersion of Pd nanoparticles on the surface of the 3D Mg matrix has provided with fast catalytic interfaces via the hydrogen “spillover” mechanism while the concomitant hydrogen diffusion processes are enhanced by the “hydrogen pump” effect of PdH0.706/MgPd interfaces. Furthermore, the low temperature hydrogen sorption performances of the Mg@Pd composite can be attributed to the interphase reversibility between MgPd and Mg6Pd leading to the thermodynamic destabilization of MgH2. This study suggests that strategically new approaches can govern significant improvements in hydrogen storage properties of Mg-based systems.

MODELS FOR ASSESSING AND PREDICTING THE SUBSURFACE TRANSPORT OF CONTAMINANTS FROM THE WASTEWATER IN THE EFFLUENT CHANNEL OF KCM AD - PLOVDIV, SOUTHERN BULGARIA

Until the end of the 20th century, the uncontrolled discharge of highly polluted emissions from the non-ferrous metals companies in Bulgaria was the cause of heavy contamination in vast areas around these industrial sites. In the last two decades, after the introduction of good environmental practices and the closure of polluting industries, a deceleration of the negative processes and a gradual cleaning of the already polluted waters and soils are observed. In order to evaluate and predict these processes, numerical 2D models of the conditions for the subsurface transport of contaminants from the wastewater in the effluent channel of KCM AD-Plovdiv are developed using the VS2DI computer programme. The scheme of convection-diffusion mass-transport is applied, taking into account the concomitant processes of reversible elimination, mechanical dispersion and mixing. Employing the developed models, the fate and transport of pollutants typical for this type of industrial sites – sulphate ions and cadmium (SO4 and Cd) are studied, taking into account their concentration in the wastewater before and after the application of modern technologies and equipment for remediation of contaminated water. The computer simulation encompasses the period from the construction of the effluent channel till 2035.

Deep learning on independent spatial EEG activity patterns delineates time windows relevant for response inhibition.

Inhibitory control processes are an important aspect of executive functions and goal-directed behavior. However, the mostly correlative nature of neurophysiological studies was not able to provide insights which aspects of neural dynamics can best predict whether an individual is confronted with a situation requiring the inhibition of a response. This is particularly the case when considering the complex spatio-temporal nature of neural processes captured by EEG data. In the current study, we ask whether independent spatial activity profiles in the EEG data are useful to predict whether an individual is confronted with a situation requiring response inhibition. We combine independent component analysis (ICA) with explainable artificial intelligence approaches (EEG-based deep learning) using data from a Go/Nogo task (N = 255 participants). We show that there are four dissociable spatial activity profiles important to classify Go and Nogo trials as revealed by deep learning. Of note, for all of these four independent activity profiles, neural activity in the time period between 300 and 550 ms after stimulus presentation was most informative. Source localization analyses further revealed regions in the pre-central gyrus (BA6), the middle frontal gyrus (BA10), the inferior frontal gyrus (BA46), and the insular cortex (BA13) were associated with the isolated spatial activity profiles. The data suggest concomitant processes being reflected in the identified time window. This has implications for the ongoing debate on the functional significance of event-related potential correlates of inhibitory control.

Subciliary Rotating Sutures Combined With Modified Hotz Procedure for Correction of Congenital Lower Eyelid Entropion.

Standard techniques for the treatment of congenital lower eyelid entropion may not yield suitable outcomes or may result in overcorrection if disinsertion of the lower eyelid retractors is not the primary cause. Herein, we propose and evaluate a technique using subciliary rotating sutures combined with a modified Hotz procedure for repair of lower eyelid congenital entropion that addresses these concerns. A retrospective chart review was conducted of all patients who underwent lower eyelid congenital entropion repair by a single surgeon using subciliary rotating sutures combined with a modified Hotz procedure between 2016 and 2020. Study variables included patient demographics, follow-up period, postoperative complications, operative success, and recurrence. Twelve patients (19 eyelids) met the study inclusion criteria. The mean patient age was 7.1 ± 6.1 years (range, 0.2-22 years). Nine of the patients were female (75%) and 3 were male (25%). The distribution of eyelids was 8 right (42%) and 11 left (58%). The mean follow-up time was 19.5 ± 15 (range 2.5-45) months. There were two eyelids (11%) that had entropion recurrence after initial repair in patients with concomitant compound disease processes. Repeated repair resulted in success with no recurrence at last follow-up. Overall, the described entropion repair technique was successful and without recurrence in 17 eyelids (89%). There were no cases of ectropion, lid retraction, or other complications. Subciliary rotating sutures combined with a modified Hotz procedure are effective for correction of congenital lower eyelid entropion. As the technique does not manipulate the posterior layer of the lower eyelid retractors, it may be useful for when retractor reinsertion does not yield adequate improvement and may also reduce the risk of eyelid retraction and overcorrection in particular cases.

Falling into history: a case for the restitution of Mbali tombstones and the revival of the realms of memory of the enslaved

ABSTRACT Building on Valentin Mudimbe’s claim that as soon as African mnemonic devices are removed from their societies of origin, they are inhibited from performing their social functions, this article argues that countless memorials to the enslaved are failing to perform the role they were built for simply because they are now included in collections where they are misclassified as ethnographic objects or African art. This article takes Mbali tombstones from the Kimbari of southwest Angola as an example of such a misclassification. It demonstrates that the writing of settler-colonial monumental histories and concomitant processes of ethnologization have resulted in these tombstones being made to represent a single ethnic group instead of being considered as memorials to the enslaved. It engages with the work of Carolyn Hamilton, Nessa Liebhammer and Dan Hicks to propose a way to remedy their misclassification and thus prompt a reparative rewriting of Portuguese and Kimbari histories. Taking inspiration from the Afro-futurist visions of Angolan movie director Fradique and Portuguese assemblywoman and activist Beatriz Dias, this article concludes by proposing three historical vignettes that reorder Portuguese archival sources and arguing for the restoration of some of the normative agency of the Kimbari.

Alien plant colonisation and community homogenisation: cause or consequence? A test in coastal dunes

Evidence of the effects of alien plant colonisation on plant communities is often hindered by the fact that similar patterns in community composition can arise through a variety of processes. The objective of this study is to determine whether changes in species composition in coastal dune communities depend on the colonisation of a neophyte plant, Oenothera stucchii, or on concurrent processes that favour its colonisation. We hypothesised two scenarios: 1) a direct impact of O. stucchii on colonised communities, leading to displacement of native species; or 2) no direct impact of O. stucchii, i.e. the species colonises plant communities by exploiting disturbances that lead to the rearrangement of plant communities. We used the species-habitat network approach to identify potential drivers of changes in species composition, assuming that changes in the structure of the species-habitat network depend on the nature of the driving process. We demonstrated that changes in species composition in plant communities were due to species rearrangement, with colonised communities characterised by more homogeneous composition of species. We suggest that changes in plant communities may not depend on colonisation by O. stucchii per se, but on concomitant processes that affect coastal dune communities while promoting colonisation by O. stucchii.

“Many of us are rare”: the right to health and the moral economy of rare diseases activism in Brazil (1990-2020)

This article discusses the different meanings attributed to the right to health in the mobilizations to guarantee care for rare disease patients in Brazil. Since the early 1990s, rare disease patient family associations have been putting agendas to the public authorities, with demands ranging from the recognition of diseases to the development of research and diagnostic tests. The trajectory of the mobilizations to guarantee care for rare disease patients is part of a broader process of social articulation around the possibilities and limits of the Brazilian National Health System. The right to health is at the center of this process, being the Subject of varied debates and interpretations in the political, health, and legal arenas, involving arguments guided by scientific evidence, legal principles, and moral values. We argue that these variations in the directions of the right to health have involved concomitant processes of strengthening networks of rare disease actors and institutions, and of maturing the healthcare system, both converging towards the establishment of a “moral economy of rare disease patients”. This moral economy is centered on the idea that the public health relevance of these diseases cannot be identified by epidemiological evidence, but rather by individual and family experience. We used a wide scope of documentation: texts from newspapers and magazines widely circulated in the country, legislative material, publications in specialized journals, and website materials from rare disease patient organizations in Brazil.

Investigation of plasmon relaxation mechanisms using nonadiabatic molecular dynamics.

Hot carriers generated from the decay of plasmon excitation can be harvested to drive a wide range of physical or chemical processes. However, their generation efficiency is limited by the concomitant phonon-induced relaxation processes by which the energy in excited carriers is transformed into heat. However, simulations of dynamics of nanoscale clusters are challenging due to the computational complexity involved. Here, we adopt our newly developed Trajectory Surface Hopping (TSH) nonadiabatic molecular dynamics algorithm to simulate plasmon relaxation in Au20 clusters, taking the atomistic details into account. The electronic properties are treated within the Linear Response Time-Dependent Tight-binding Density Functional Theory (LR-TDDFTB) framework. The relaxation of plasmon due to coupling to phonon modes in Au20 beyond the Born-Oppenheimer approximation is described by the TSH algorithm. The numerically efficient LR-TDDFTB method allows us to address a dense manifold of excited states to ensure the inclusion of plasmon excitation. Starting from the photoexcited plasmon states in Au20 cluster, we find that the time constant for relaxation from plasmon excited states to the lowest excited states is about 2.7ps, mainly resulting from a stepwise decay process caused by low-frequency phonons of the Au20 cluster. Furthermore, our simulations show that the lifetime of the phonon-induced plasmon dephasing process is ∼10.4fs and that such a swift process can be attributed to the strong nonadiabatic effect in small clusters. Our simulations demonstrate a detailed description of the dynamic processes in nanoclusters, including plasmon excitation, hot carrier generation from plasmon excitation dephasing, and the subsequent phonon-induced relaxation process.

Role of Ion Channels in the Maintenance of Sperm Motility and Swimming Behavior in a Marine Teleost.

In oviparous marine fishes, the hyperosmotic induction of sperm motility in seawater (SW) is well established, however, the potential function of ion channels in the maintenance of post activated spermatozoon swimming performance remains largely unknown. Here, we investigated the influence of ion channels on the spermatozoon swimming parameters using the gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) as a model for modern marine teleosts. Our data show that the SW-induced activation of seabream sperm motility requires three concomitant processes, the hyperosmotic shock, an ion-flux independent increase of the intracellular concentration of Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i), but not of [K+]i or [Na+]i, and the alkalization of the cytosol. The combination of all three processes is obligatory to trigger flagellar beating. However, the time-course monitoring of sperm motion kinetics and changes in the [Ca2+]i, [K+]i and [Na+]i in SW or in non-ionic activation media, showed that the post activated maintenance of spermatozoa motility is dependent on extracellular Ca2+ and K+. A meta-analysis of a seabream sperm transcriptome uncovered the expression of multiple ion channels, some of which were immunolocalized in the head and/or tail of the spermatozoon. Selective pharmacological inhibition of these ion channel families impaired the long-term motility, progressivity, and velocity of SW-activated spermatozoa. The data further revealed that some antagonists of K+-selective or Ca2+-selective channels, as well as of stretch-activated and mechanosensitive channels, altered the trajectory of spermatozoa, suggesting that these ion channels are likely involved in the control of the swimming pattern of the post activated spermatozoon. These combined findings provide new insight into the signaling pathways regulating spermatozoon activation and swimming performance in marine fishes.

Metabolic Pathways and Ion Channels Involved in Skeletal Muscle Atrophy: A Starting Point for Potential Therapeutic Strategies.

Skeletal muscle tissue has the important function of supporting and defending the organism. It is the largest apparatus in the human body, and its function is important for contraction and movements. In addition, it is involved in the regulation of protein synthesis and degradation. In fact, inhibition of protein synthesis and/or activation of catabolism determines a pathological condition called muscle atrophy. Muscle atrophy is a reduction in muscle mass resulting in a partial or complete loss of function. It has been established that many physiopathological conditions can cause a reduction in muscle mass. Nevertheless, it is not well known the molecular mechanisms and signaling processes causing this dramatic event. There are multiple concomitant processes involved in muscle atrophy. In fact, the gene transcription of some factors, oxidative stress mechanisms, and the alteration of ion transport through specific ion channels may contribute to muscle function impairment. In this review, we focused on the molecular mechanisms responsible for muscle damage and potential drugs to be used to alleviate this disabling condition.

Banksy’s Walled Off Hotel and the mediatization of street art

ABSTRACT This article offers a critical semiotic analysis of the media discourses about Banksy’s Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem. Unlike the existing burgeoning scholarship on this tourist initiative, the article focuses less on the space of the hotel itself and the street art therein than on their mediatization. With the help of the notion of mediatization, the article offers a granular account of the discursive circulation of Banksy’s street art assemblage, with the concomitant processes of social value formation as well as the ambivalent array of moral and affective components involved in such valorization. The mediatization of Banksy’s street art in Palestine interpellates visitors by affectively and morally enticing them to have a first-hand experience of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, namely consuming its mediatized object par excellence, the graffitied wall and/or its reproduction. Less enthusiastic uptakes instead take issue with the affective logic upon which such mediatization seems to be built.