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Université de Fribourg

Enigmatic dinosaur precursors bridge the gap to the origin of Pterosauria

Ezcurra, Martín D. ; Nesbitt, Sterling J. ; Bronzati, Mario ; Vecchia, Fabio Marco Dalla ; Agnolin, Federico L. ; Benson, Roger B. J. ; Egli, Federico Brissón ; Cabreira, Sergio F. ; Evers, Serjoscha W. ; Gentil, Adriel R. ; Irmis, Randall B. ; Martinelli, Agustín G. ; Novas, Fernando E. ; Silva, Lúcio Roberto da ; Smith, Nathan D. ; Stocker, Michelle R. ; Turner, Alan H. ; Langer, Max C.

In: Nature, 2020, vol. 588, no. 2020-7838, p. 445–449

Pterosaurs were the first vertebrates to evolve powered flight1 and comprised one of the main evolutionary radiations in terrestrial ecosystems of the Mesozoic era (approximately 252–66 million years ago), but their origin has remained an unresolved enigma in palaeontology since the nineteenth century2,3,4. These flying reptiles have been hypothesized to be the close relatives of a wide...

Université de Fribourg

A new species of the large-headed coastal marine turtle Solnhofia (Testudinata, Thalassochelydia) from the Late Jurassic of NW Switzerland

Anquetin, Jérémy ; Püntener, Christian

In: PeerJ, 2020, vol. 8, p. e9931

Background: The large-headed turtle Solnhofia parsonsi is known by a handful of specimens from the Late Jurassic of Germany and Switzerland (maybe also France). Solnhofia parsonsi is traditionally regarded as a “eurysternid” Thalassochelydia, a group of small to medium sized, mostly lagoonal or marginal turtles found almost exclusively in the Late Jurassic of Europe. More recently,...

Université de Fribourg

Neuroanatomy of the spinosaurid Irritator challengeri (Dinosauria: Theropoda) indicates potential adaptations for piscivory

Schade, Marco ; Rauhut, Oliver W. M. ; Evers, Serjoscha W.

In: Scientific Reports, 2020, vol. 10, no. 1, p. 9259

Spinosauridae, a theropod group characterized by elongated snouts, conical teeth, enlarged forelimbs, and often elongated neural spines, show evidence for semiaquatic adaptations and piscivory. It is currently debated if these animals represent terrestrial carnivores with adaptations for a piscivorous diet, or if they largely lived and foraged in aquatic habitats. The holotype of Irritator...

Université de Fribourg

Solenosmilia variabilis-bearing cold-water coral mounds off Brazil

Raddatz, J. ; Titschack, J. ; Frank, N. ; Freiwald, A. ; Conforti, A. ; Osborne, A. ; Skornitzke, S. ; Stiller, W. ; Rüggeberg, Andres ; Voigt, Silke ; Albuquerque, A. L. S. ; Vertino, A. ; Schröder-Ritzrau, A. ; Bahr, A.

In: Coral Reefs, 2020, vol. 39, no. 1, p. 69–83

Cold-water corals (CWC), dominantly Desmophyllum pertusum (previously Lophelia pertusa), and their mounds have been in the focus of marine research during the last two decades; however, little is known about the mound-forming capacity of other CWC species. Here, we present new 230Th/U age constraints of the relatively rarely studied framework-building CWC Solenosmilia variabilis from a mound...

Università della Svizzera italiana

Potential of PEGylated toll-like receptor 7 ligands for controlling inflammation and functional changes in mouse models of asthma and silicosis

Teixeira Ferreira, Tatiana Paula ; Lacerda Mariano, Lívia ; Ghilosso-Bortolini, Roberta ; Santos de Arantes, Ana Carolina ; Fernandes, Andrey Junior ; Berni, Michelle ; Cecchinato, Valentina ; Uguccioni, Mariagrazia ; Maj, Roberto ; Barberis, Alcide ; Machado Rodrigues Silva, Patricia ; Martins, Marco Aurélio

In: Frontiers in immunology, 2016, vol. 7, p. 95

Prior investigations show that signaling activation through pattern recognition receptors can directly impact a number of inflammatory lung diseases. While toll-like receptor (TLR) 7 agonists have raised interest for their ability to inhibit allergen-induced pathological changes in experimental asthma conditions, the putative benefit of this treatment is limited by adverse effects. Our aim...

Università della Svizzera italiana

Antibody binding modulates conformational exchange in domain III of dengue virus E protein

Moraes, Adolfo H. ; Simonelli, Luca ; Pedotti, Mattia ; Almeida, Fabio C.L. ; Varani, Luca ; Valente, Ana P.

In: Journal of virology, 2016, vol. 90, no. 4, p. 1802-1811

Domain III of dengue virus E protein (DIII) participates in the recognition of cell receptors and in structural rearrangements required for membrane fusion and ultimately viral infection; furthermore, it contains epitopes for neutralizing antibodies and has been considered a potential vaccination agent. In this work, we addressed various structural aspects of DIII and their relevance for both...

Université de Fribourg

Toward chemically resolved computer simulations of dynamics and remodeling of biological membranes

Soares, Thereza A. ; Vanni, Stefano ; Milano, Giuseppe ; Cascella, and Michele

In: The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2017, vol. 8, no. 15, p. 3586–3594

Cellular membranes are fundamental constituents of living organisms. Apart from defining the boundaries of the cells, they are involved in a wide range of biological functions, associated with both their structural and the dynamical properties. Biomembranes can undergo large-scale transformations when subject to specific environmental changes, including gel–liquid phase transitions, change...