The structural integrity of the ubiquitous enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD1) relies critically on the correct coordination of Cu and Zn. Loss of these cofactors not only promotes SOD1 aggregation in vitro but also seems to be a key prerequisite for pathogenic misfolding in the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We examine here the consequences of Zn2+ loss by selective

Protein HC is a low molecular weight heterogeneous glycoprotein widely distributed in human body fluids and belonging to the lipocalin superfamily. The monomer contains a single (183 amino acid residues long) peptide chain with 3 cysteine residues (2 of which form a disulfide bridge) and is glycosylated. The molecular mass of the glycosylated protein is about 27 kDa. Native gel electrophoresis res

Background: The global prevalence of obesity and overweight is increasing rapidly among adults as well as among children and adolescents. Recent genome-wide association studies have provided strong support for association between variants in the FTO gene and obesity. We sequenced regions of the FTO gene to identify novel variants that are associated with obesity and related metabolic traits. Resul

Previous research has found that genetic and nonshared environmental factors influence Marital quality (Spotts et al., 2004). The current study explored personality as a source for these genetic and environmental individual differences. A sample of 752 Swedish twin women and their spouses were used. Genetic and environmental influences were found for self-report measures of Marital quality, but on

Amylin is a member of the calcitonin family of hormones cosecreted with insulin by pancreatic beta cells. Cell culture assays suggest that amylin could affect bone formation and bone resorption, this latter function after its binding to the calcitonin receptor (CALCR). Here we show that Amylin inactivation leads to a low bone mass due to an increase in bone resorption, whereas bone formation is un

Asperger syndrome (AS) is a mild form of autistic disorder characterised by impairment in social interaction as well as a restricted pattern of behaviour, interests, and activities. Two patients with AS and balanced translocations t(13;17) and t(17;19), respectively, were identified. Fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) analysis with chromosome 17 specific clones to metaphase chromosomes from

INTRODUCTION AND MATERIALS AND METHODS: G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) play an important role in platelet aggregation. To identify new platelet GPCRs, a platelet gene expression profile was generated and validated using quantitative real-time PCR. RESULTS: In total, mRNA of 28 GPCR genes was detected in human platelets. The 12 most abundant platelet GPCR transcripts were: thrombin receptor PA

The concept of social capital has gained wide interest in public health research in recent years. However, we suggest a concept that was introduced and developed by Fukuyama, named "miniaturization of community".. as an alternative to that of social capital. The concept of miniaturization of community emphasizes that a high level of social participation can be accompanied by a low level of trust,

Introduction: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have demonstrated that patients with schizophrenia have thinner brain cortices compared with healthy control subjects. Neurodevelopment is vulnerable to obstetric complications (OCs) such as hypoxia and birth trauma, factors that are also related to increased risk of developing schizophrenia. With the hypothesis that OCs might explain the thin

Abstract in UndeterminedMarine operations depend on the ability to forecast suddenly appearing storms, and failures often cause great damage. As part of a sea-state alarm study, meteorological forecasts overlaid with satellite observations sent to ships have been found to be a useful too]. In this paper we present a real-time assimilation algorithm that extends this tool using statistical methods.

BACKGROUND: Eotaxin is a chemokine that attracts and activates eosinophils. The present study examines the occurrence of eotaxin in nasal mucosal surface liquids in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis without allergen exposure and during repeat allergen challenge with and without topical glucocorticosteroid treatment. The number of subepithelial eosinophils and mucosal outputs of bulk plasma

A hollow-fibre supported liquid membrane (HF-SLM) extraction method has been developed for determination of 11 heterocyclic aromatic amines (HCAs) in human urine samples by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with an ultraviolet (UV) absorbance detector. These compounds were extracted from an alkaline urine sample (donor phase) into the organic solvent residing in the pore

The double helicity asymmetry in neutral pion production for p(T) = 1 to 12 GeV/c was measured with the PHENIX experiment to access the gluon-spin contribution, Delta G, to the proton spin. Measured asymmetries are consistent with zero, and at a theory scale of mu 2 = 4 GeV2 a next to leading order QCD analysis gives Delta G([0.02,0.3]) = 0.2, with a constraint of -0.7 < Delta G([0.02,0.3]) < 0.5

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with chemical shift resolution is a recent extension of MRI and it provides information about species resolved molecular transport on the macroscopic scale in complex systems. In this contribution, we show that by using this novel method, one can predict the behavior of drug and food molecules when they are in contact with the mucosal layer in the gastrointestinal

The effect of plant species diversity on productivity and competitive ability was studied in an experiment carried out simultaneously in five European countries: Czech Republic (CZ), the Netherlands (NL), Sweden (SE), Spain (SP), and United Kingdom (UK). The aim was to separate the 'chance' or 'sampling effect' (increasing the number of sown species increases the probability that a species able 't

During past 10 years, the availability of polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) tools has made application of hard turning increase remarkably in a range of industrial areas, especially in automotive, roller bearing and hydraulic industry. Among the applications of CBN cutting tools, precision hard turning attracts great interests since its environmentally friendly and flexibility, which ulti

Background It has been proposed that the mechanism of action of the new risk factors for myocardial infarction and stroke, von Willebrand factor (vWF), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and tissue plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) could possibly be mediated via a primary effect on atherogenesis but there is little data to substantiate this. Design A prospective single-centre cohort study

We demonstrate metal organic vapour phase epitaxy growth of GaP/GaAs1-xPx/GaP double heterostructure nanowires on GaP(111)B, and report bright photoluminescence at room temperature. By using different PH3 to AsH3 flow ratios during growth of the GaAs1-xPx segment, we are able to control the composition of the segment, making it feasible to tune the wavelength of the emitted light. A photoluminesce