We compare free energy calculations for the methyl transfer reaction catalyzed by catechol O-methyltransferase using the quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical free energy method with implicit and explicit solvents. An analogous methylation reaction in a solution is also studied. For the explicit solvent model, we use the three-point transferable intermolecular potential model, and for the implic

Efficient xylose utilisation by microorganisms is of importance to the lignocellulose fermentation industry. The aim of this work was to develop constitutive catabolite repression mutants in a xylose-utilising recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain and evaluate the differences in xylose consumption under fermentation conditions. S. cerevisiae YUSM was constitutively catabolite repressed throu

In conjugated polymers the optical excitation energy transfer is usually described as Forster-type hopping between so-called spectroscopic units. In the simplest approach using the point-dipole approximation the transfer rate is calculated based on the interaction between the transition dipoles of two spectroscopic units. In the present work we compare this approach with three others: The line-dip

We investigated the protection from photoinhibition by different developmental stages of Haematococcus lacustris [Girod] Rostafinski using chlorophyll fluorescence measurements of single cells and suspensions. An overall correlation between higher cellular content of secondary carotenoids and the capacity to withstand excessive irradiation was observed in flagellated cells and aplanospores of H. l

The incorporation of caproic acid in the sn-1 position of phosphatidylcholine (PC) catalyzed by lipase from Rhizopus oryzae was investigated in a water activity-controlled organic medium. The reaction was carried out either as esterification or transesterification. A comparison between these two reaction modes was made with regard to product yield, product purity, reaction time, and byproduct form

Background: The rd1 mouse retina displays fast degeneration of photoreceptors resulting in a depletion of almost all rod photoreceptors by postnatal day 21 (PN21). To evaluate the role of proteinases in the pathophysiology of this animal model of retinitis pigmentosa, C3H rd1 and congenic wild-type (wt) mice retinas were analyzed. Material and Methods: The cellular localization and levels of prote

The aim of this study was to illuminate the pattern of confusional episodes with regard to the content of elderly patients' actions and speech. Fifty-one (11.2%) out of 457 people admitted to an orthopaedic clinic developed acute confusional state. Non-participant direct observations and daily clinical bedside follow-up observations were made during the confusional episodes, focusing on the patien

This study shows signicant effects of protein surface charges on stability and these effects are not eliminated by salt screening. The stability for a variant of protein G B1 domain was studied in the pH-range of 1.5-11 at low, 0.15 M, and 2 M salt. The variant has three mutations, T2Q, N8D, and N37D, to guarantee an intact covalent chain at all pH values. The stability of the protein shows distin

Promoter methylation is a common phenomenon in tumours, including haematological malignancies. In the present study, we investigated 36 cases of high hyperdiploid (> 50 chromosomes) acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) with methylation-specific multiplex ligase-dependent probe amplification to determine the extent of aberrant methylation in this subgroup. The analysis, which comprised the promoters

The karyotypes (number, morphology and size of the chromosomes) of two algae species of Scenedesmus genus, S. incrassatulus and S. antennatus, were studied. The karyotype of S. incrassatulus (n=4) was asymmetric, characterized by two large metacentric, one large submetacentric and one small metacentric chromosomes. The karyotype assembly of S. antennatus (n=6) reveals two metacentrics and four sub

BACKGROUND: Prognostic factors for metastasis in soft tissue sarcoma govern decisions regarding adjuvant treatment. However, the significance of initial tumor-related prognostic factors over time is largely unknown.METHODS: The current study included 338 patients with malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) of the extremities or the trunk wall whose tumors were reviewed by the Scandinavian Sarcoma Pa

OBJECTIVES: The pattern of reflux in the most distal esophagus of asymptomatic individuals is largely unknown. Using a wireless technique we compared the degree and the pattern of acid reflux just above the squamocolumnar junction (SCJ) with that measured at the conventional level for pH monitoring. METHODS: Fifty-three asymptomatic volunteers underwent endoscopy with transoral placement of two pH

We investigated the importance of changes in intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) for amiloride-sensitive alveolar fluid clearance (AFC) in late-gestational guinea pigs. Fetal guinea pigs of 61, 68, and 69 days (term) gestation were investigated under normal conditions and after oxytocin-induced preterm labor. AFC or alveolar fluid secretion was measured using an impermeable tracer tec

In order to determine the occurrence and frequency of resistant strains of the bacterium Campylobacter jejuni and to establish baseline MICs in isolates from an environmental reservoir, the resistance profiles of 10 antimicrobial substances were determined for 137 C. jejuni isolates from wild birds in Sweden. Observed MICs were generally low, with only low to moderate incidence of resistance to th

Behaviour on migration was often suggested to be selected for time-minimising strategies. Current optimality models predict that optimal fuel loads at departure from stopover sites should increase with increasing fuel deposition rates. We modified such models for the special case of the east Atlantic crossing of the Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe). From optimality theory, we predict that opt

Two new carboxylate-containing polydentate ligands have been synthesized, the symmetric ligand 2,6-bis[N-(N-(carboxylmethyl)-N-((1-methylimidazol)methyl)amine)methyl]-4-methylphenolate (BCIMP) and the corresponding asymmetric ligand 2-(N-isopropyl-N-((1-aminomethyl)-4-methylphenol (ICIMP). The ligands have been used to prepare model complexes for the active site of the dinuclear nickel enzyme urea