Identification and characterization of a novel non-structural protein of bluetongue virus

Bluetongue virus (BTV) is the causative agent of a major disease of livestock (bluetongue). For over two decades, it has been widely accepted that the 10 segments of the dsRNA genome of BTV encode for 7 structural and 3 non-structural proteins. The non-structural proteins (NS1, NS2, NS3/NS3a) play different key roles during the viral replication cycle. In this study we show that BTV expresses a fourth non-structural protein (that we designated NS4) encoded by an open reading frame in segment 9 overlapping the open reading frame encoding VP6. NS4 is 77–79 amino acid residues in length and highly conserved among several BTV serotypes/strains. NS4 was expressed early post-infection and localized in the nucleoli of BTV infected cells. By reverse genetics, we showed that NS4 is dispensable for BTV replication in vitro, both in mammalian and insect cells, and does not affect viral virulence in murine models of bluetongue infection. Interestingly, NS4 conferred a replication advantage to BTV-8, but not to BTV-1, in cells in an interferon (IFN)-induced antiviral state. However, the BTV-1 NS4 conferred a replication advantage both to a BTV-8 reassortant containing the entire segment 9 of BTV-1 and to a BTV-8 mutant with the NS4 identical to the homologous BTV-1 protein. Collectively, this study suggests that NS4 plays an important role in virus-host interaction and is one of the mechanisms played, at least by BTV-8, to counteract the antiviral response of the host. In addition, the distinct nucleolar localization of NS4, being expressed by a virus that replicates exclusively in the cytoplasm, offers new avenues to investigate the multiple roles played by the nucleolus in the biology of the cell

A multiscale analysis of early flower development in Arabidopsis provides an integrated view of molecular regulation and growth control.

We have analyzed the link between the gene regulation and growth during the early stages of flower development in Arabidopsis. Starting from time-lapse images, we generated a 4D atlas of early flower development, including cell lineage, cellular growth rates, and the expression patterns of regulatory genes. This information was introduced in MorphoNet, a web-based platform. Using computational models, we found that the literature-based molecular network only explained a minority of the gene expression patterns. This was substantially improved by adding regulatory hypotheses for individual genes. Correlating growth with the combinatorial expression of multiple regulators led to a set of hypotheses for the action of individual genes in morphogenesis. This identified the central factor LEAFY as a potential regulator of heterogeneous growth, which was supported by quantifying growth patterns in a leafy mutant. By providing an integrated view, this atlas should represent a fundamental step toward mechanistic models of flower development

Subjective well-being among youth: A studyresearch employing the Pyramid Procedure developed by Landfield

This research investigated the subjective meanings given to well-being by young people. It involved 300 participants ages 16 to 21 years, using Landfield's pyramid procedure. Analysis highlighted seven different \u201cstyles\u201d of well-being perception, demonstrating that styles rely on the personal meaning attributions one gives to events and experiences. The results are used to offer suggestions for ameliorating the awkwardness of youth. However, these sorts of interventions should be measured against the meanings young people freely convey. The pyramid procedure has turned out to be an instrument particularly suitable for such an aim

Il benessere giovanile tra significati soggettivi e contesti relazionali. Agio e disagio come problema di senso e deficit di socialit\ue0

La ricerca sul benessere si \ue8 orientata, specialmente nell'ultimo decennio, verso il significato che tale costrutto assume per le persone all'interno dei loro contesti di vita. Parlare di contesti vuol dire essenzialmente esprimere un'attenzione privilegiata verso i protagonisti che accedono a servizi e vivono in prima persona le proprie situazioni esperienziali. Il richiamo principale ricade sui contesti di sviluppo, enfatizzando il ruolo che peculiari relazioni sociali ricoprono in determinati periodi del ciclo di vita. Tra questi periodi il riferimento cade sull'adolescenza e sulla giovent\uf9. La ricerca qui presentata ha coinvolto 900 giovani equamente distribuiti sul territorio nazionale ed \ue8 stata sviluppata come Progetto di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale (PRIN). La ricerca ha messo in evidenza come l'impegno in servizi comunitari sia associato ad alto livello percepito di benessere e a un basso livello di comportamenti devianti. Il benessere soggettivo sembra non attribuibile solo a condizioni prettamente oggettive, bens\uec soprattutto alle attribuzioni di significato che le medesime assumono per il soggetto. A tale scopo, la ricerca ha indagato: la percezione soggettiva delle condizione di agio e disagio; i legami esistenti tra azione comunitaria, incertezza lavorativa e benessere psicologico individuale. Si \ue8 dimostrato come il coinvolgimento nella comunit\ue0 non ha solo una ricaduta collettiva, ma anche un forte peso sul benessere soggettivo percepito