We employed gene array technology to investigate the effects of alpha 1-antichymotrypsin (ACT), soluble or fibrillar Alzheimer's peptide (A beta(1-42)) alone and the combination of ACT/A beta(1-42) on human astrocytes. Using a 1.2-fold change as significance threshold, 398 astrocyte genes showed altered expression in response to these treatments compared to controls. Of the 276 genes affected by t

The Late Ludlow topmost Hemse-Burgsvik succession includes more substantial and more rapid facies changes than most older and younger intervals on Gotland. A revised conodont zonation for this interval includes three zones, the Polygnathoides siluricus, the Icriodontid, and the Ozarkodina snajdri zones and four subzones, the Upper P. siluricus, the Lower, the Middle and the Upper Icriodonfid subzo

The major route for the synthesis of triacylglycerol (TAG) in yeast as well as in all TAG-accumulating organisms has been suggested to occur via the acylation of diacylglycerol (DAG) by acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DAGAT). Genes encoding DAGAT have been identified in both plant and animal tissues. These genes show strong sequence similarities to genes encoding acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyl

In the present work, we reexamined the gradient expansion of the exchange energy of an electron gas with a slowly varying charge density. We stay within the exchange-only approximation of Sharp, Horton, Talman, and Shadwick but go to second order in the deviation from the homogeneous limit. The coefficient of the lowest-order gradient correction is obtained analytically both for a bare and a scree

Our newly devised immunofluorometric sandwich assay for measuring plasma concentrations of activated protein C (APC) in complex with protein C inhibitor (PCI) was compared with testing for conventional markers of myocardial damage CKMB (creatine kinase MB), TNI (troponin I) and hypercoagulability (D-dimer, TAT) in 76 patients with suspected myocardial infarction (MI). APC-PCI complex levels in sam

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Standard Reference Material (SRM) for seaweed was developed through an interlaboratory comparison with 24 participants from 16 countries. After evaluating different techniques to calculate certified values for the radionuclides, the median method was found to be the most representative technique. The certified values were provided for 13 ra

Fe-only hydrogenases are enzymes that catalyze dihydrogen production or oxidation, due to the presence of an unusual Fe6S6 cluster (the so-called H-cluster) in their active site, which is composed of a Fe2S2 subsite, directly involved in catalysis, and a classical Fe4S4 cubane cluster. Here, we present a hybrid quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical (QM/MM) investigation of the Fe-only hydrog

Genomes of prokaryotes differ significantly in size and DNA composition. Escherichia coli is considered a model organism to analyze the processes involved in bacterial genome evolution, as the species comprises numerous pathogenic and commensal variants. Pathogenic and nonpathogenic E. coli strains differ in the presence and absence of additional DNA elements contributing to specific virulence tra

A combination of hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) exchange and limited proteolysis experiments coupled to mass spectrometry analysis was used to depict the conformation in solution of HAMLET, the folding variant of human alpha-lactalbumin, complexed to oleic acid, that induces apoptosis in tumor and immature cells. Although near- and far-UV CD and fluorescence spectroscopy were not able to discriminate be

Hydrophobins are small, secreted proteins that play important roles in the development of pathogenic and symbiotic fungi. Evolutionary mechanisms generating sequence and expression divergence among members in hydrophobin gene families are largely unknown. Seven hydrophobin (hyd) genes and one hyd pseudogene were isolated from strains of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Paxillus involutus. Sequences wer

The oxyntic mucosa of the rat stomach is rich in ECL cells which produce and secrete histamine in response to gastrin. Histamine and the histamine-forming enzyme histidine decarboxylase (HDC) have been claimed to occur also in the gastrin-secreting G cells in the antrum. In the present study, we used a panel of five HDC antisera and one histamine antiserum to investigate whether histamine and HDC