Members of the Rho/Rac/Cdc42 superfamily of GTPases [1,2] and their upstream activators, guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) [3], have emerged as key regulators of actin and microtubule dynamics. In their GTP bound form, these proteins interact with downstream effector molecules that alter actin and microtubule behavior. During Drosophila embryogenesis, a Galpha subunit (Concertina) and a R

Diastereomer discrimination was observed in the formation of a metallomacrocycle from a racemic ligand based on Tröger's base. The metallomacrocycle exhibited a dramatic increase in fluorescence intensity compared to the ligand and its fluorescence was efficiently quenched by C(60).

Cognitive behavioral therapy with children: A guide for the community practitioner by K. Manassis (see record 2009-01291-000). This book is a clearly written and concise guide for therapists who may have had some exposure to a manualized CBT program for children, but have had little formal training or supervision in CBT. While there is a heavy focus on anxiety and depression, the book is really ab

Bacterial colonization of the lower respiratory tract is frequently seen in COPD and may cause exacerbations leading to deterioration of the disease. An important part of the innate lung immunity is antimicrobial peptides, not least the cathelicidin hCAP-18/LL-37. Peptidylarginine deiminases (PADI) posttranslationally modifies proteins by converting cationic peptidylarginine residues to neutral pe

Protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) in-gel assays were used to explore association of PTPs with the platelet-derived growth factor beta-receptor (PDGFbetaR). Five PTP activity bands of approximately 120, approximately 70, approximately 60, approximately 53, and approximately 45 kDa could be detected in PDGFbetaR immunoprecipitates and were identified by immunodepletion experiments as PTP-PEST, SHP-

Corticosterone exposure during prenatal development as a result of maternal upregulation of circulating hormone levels has been shown to have effects on offspring development in mammals. Corticosterone has also been documented in egg yolk in oviparous vertebrates, but the extent to which this influences phenotypic development is less studied. We show that maternal corticosterone is transferred to

Here, we investigated effects of increased atmospheric CO2 concentration, increased temperatures, and both factors in combination on ericoid mycorrhizal colonization, mycorrhizal functioning and below-ground carbon allocation in a subarctic forest understorey, to evaluate the hypothesis that photosynthesis is a primary driver for mycorrhizal colonization. Treatment effects on ecosystem processes w

Microcrystalline cellulose (10 g/L Avicel) was hydrolysed by two major cellulases, cellobiohydrolase I (CBH I) and endoglucanase II (EG II), of Trichoderma reesei. Two types of experiments were performed, and in both cases the enzymes were added alone and together, in equimolar mixtures. In time course studies the reaction time was varied between 3 min and 48 h at constant temperature (40degreesC)

Background The importance of needs assessment for service development has been widely recognised. Several studies have focused on the associations between ratings of needs by patients and staff and have found clear differences, especially concerning the unmet needs. Methods The present study is part of a Nordic Multicentre study that investigates the life and care of outpatients with a schizophren

BdbD is a thiol: disulfide oxidoreductase (TDOR) from Bacillus subtilis that functions to introduce disulfide bonds in substrate proteins/peptides on the outside of the cytoplasmic membrane and, as such, plays a key role in disulfide bond management. Here we demonstrate that the protein is membrane-associated in B. subtilis and present the crystal structure of the soluble part of the protein lacki

The interaction between beta-cyclodextrin (CD) and gemini surfactant of the type alkyl-alpha,omega-bis(dodecyldimethyl-ammonium bromide) with different spacer lengths of 2, 8, and 10 carbons has been investigated by means of electric conductivity (EC) and proton self-diffusion NMR at 298 K. The formation of a 2: 1 (CD: gemini) complex in a two-step mechanism is observed with the first association

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) was induced in a mouse model (C57/BL6) to investigate the antioxidant status of animals at various clinical stages of the disease. For this purpose, blood, brain and spinal cord samples from EAE mice were collected and examined at different scores following post-immunization with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG). The clinical sign of mobilit

Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy types 2E and F are characterized by skeletal muscle weakness and often cardiomyopathy and are due to mutations in the genes encoding beta- and delta-sarcoglycan. We previously demonstrated that loss of sarcoglycans in smooth muscle leads to constrictions of the microvasculature that contributes to the cardiac phenotype. It is unclear how vasculature abnormalities aff

The bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein (BPI), stored in human neutrophil granulocytes, is cytotoxic against Gram-negative bacteria. Several genes related to BPI cluster on human chromosome 20 and on mouse chromosome 2, but expression and characterization of a BPI ortholog in the mouse have not been reported. We asked whether BPI is structurally and functionally conserved between humans a