Browsing by Subject "Punt"

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    Characterization of a unique basolateral targeting domain in the Drosophila TGF-B Type II receptor punt
    (2013-10) Mundt, Melinda G.
    In polarized epithelial cells, differential localization of receptors and ligands can control signaling. Drosophila wing imaginal discs are a polarized epithelial layer in which the TGF-B superfamily ligand Dpp is expressed both apically and basolaterally, yet requires a graded distribution throughout the disc to signal properly. We found that Punt, the type II TGF-B receptor that Dpp signals through, is localized specifically at the basolateral membrane, which limits Dpp signaling to the basolateral surface. In characterizing the sequence of Punt, our lab found a unique basolateral targeting domain, the Punt targeting domain (PTD). The PTD is both necessary and sufficient for basolateral localization. Mutation of the insect-conserved portion and whole PTD results in apical mislocalization but characterization of the PTD shows that there is no minimal sequence within the PTD responsible for function. Furthermore, changes in localization of Punt and the other type II receptor Wit affect fly viability.
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    Matrifocal Retentions in Ethiopian Orthodox Traditions: The Madonna as Ark & Queen Makeda as Prefiguration of Mary; with Egyptian Queen Tiye & Pharaoh Hatshepsut as reference
    (Taylor & Francis' African Identities, 2021-11-16) Spencer, Steffan
    This article examines one of the most fascinating dynamics within the foundation story of Ethiopia’s Royal Solomonic Dynasty, the Kebra Nagast (Glory of Kings), the metaphor that connects Mother Mary with the biblical Ark of the Covenant. Throughout the Kebra Nagast, it is written that just as the Ark served as the vehicle by which the Ten Commandments of the Law were given unto humanity, so too would Mary serve as the perfected and purified vehicle for Christ. The prominence of women such as Mary and Queen Makeda (the Queen of Sheba) in the theology and polity of Ethiopia is indicative of African traditions that have been described as matriarchal, matrilineal, dual-sex and matrifocal. These traditions explain the prominence of Mary and Makeda within Ethiopian Orthodox traditions, as an African matrifocality reaching from the Old to the New Testaments, with Queen Makeda serving as a prefiguration of Mother Mary. This matrifocality is informed by pre-Axumite archeological finds of female statues in northern Ethiopia, and the historical reigns of Egyptian Queen Mother Tiye, and the Lady Pharaoh Hatshepsut. This represents a retention of women-centered African values within Ethiopian Orthodox traditions. Values once prominent and shared throughout the Nile Valley.