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Predicted alterations in belowground plant-allocated C as a result of environmental change may cause compositional shifts in soil microbial communities, and it has been hypothesized that such alterations will influence C mitigation in forest ecosystems. In order to investigate to what degree living trees influence the abundance and activity of mycorrhizal fungi, saprotrophic fungi, and bacteria we

Background/Aims: We have observed a difference between patients on low-flux hemodialysis (HD) or peritoneal dialysis and patients on hemodiafiltration (HDF) or high-flux HD in the capacity of transmigrated leukocytes to mobilize CD11b in response to inflammatory stimuli compared with healthy subjects. This could be due to different interstitial chemokine concentrations. Methods: We measured concen

Here we studied whether glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), given as a single bolus injection before an intrastriatal 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesion, can protect the nigrostriatal dopamine neurons against the toxin-induced damage and preserve normal motor functions in the lesioned animals. GDNF or vehicle was injected in the striatum (25 microg), substantia nigra (25 microg) or

The ribosome has a distinct lateral protuberance called the stalk; in eukaryotes it is formed by the acidic ribosomal P-proteins which are organized as a pentameric entity described as P0-(P1-P2)(2). Bilateral interactions between P0 and P1/P2 proteins have been studied extensively, however, the region on P0 responsible for the binding of P1/P2 proteins has not been precisely defined. Here we repo

Because of their limited size and complexity, de novo designed proteins are particularly useful for the detailed investigation of folding thermodynamics and mechanisms. Here, we describe how subtle changes in the hydrophobic core of a model three-helix bundle protein (GM-0) alter its folding energetics. To explore the folding tolerance of GM-0 toward amino acid sequence variability, two mutant pro

Each autumn, large numbers of red admirals migrate throughout northern Europe,flying south, to reach areas with conditions suitable for surviving the winter. We observed the visible butterfly migration at Falsterbo peninsula, the southwesternmost point in Sweden, where red admirals are seen most autumns. ying towards the Danish coast on their way to more southern parts of Europe. Weather parameter

Eemian-Weichselian sequences, located outside the maximum limit of the Late Weichselian ice sheet, provide excellent opportunities for the discovery of continuous sedimentary records encompassing the whole Last Interglacial/Glacial cycle. Such a sequence is recorded in a borehole (117P) through the succession in a small kettlehole lake located at Medininkai, eastern Lithuania. The succession consi

A Zn(Cys)4 center has been found in the C-terminal region of the crystal structure of the anaerobic class III ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) from bacteriophage T4. The metal center is structurally related to the zinc ribbon motif and to rubredoxin and rubrerythrin. Mutant enzymes of the homologous RNR from Escherichia coli, in which the coordinating cysteines, conserved in almost all known class I

Heparan sulfate 3-O-sulfotransferase transfers sulfate to the 3-OH position of a glucosamine residue of heparan sulfate (HS) to form 3-O-sulfated HS. The 3-O-sulfated glucosamine residue contributes to two important biological functions of HS: binding to antithrombin and thereby carrying anticoagulant activity, and binding to herpes simplex viral envelope glycoprotein D to serve as an entry recept

BACKGROUND: Organic acid anhydrides (OAAs) are highly allergenic compounds used in the chemical industry. The OAAs probably act as haptens but the proteins that form conjugates with OAAs in vivo are still unknown. Conjugates between the anhydrides and serum albumins (SAs) have routinely been used when testing for OAA-specific antibodies. However, the use of SA as the carrier-protein in these tests

BACKGROUND: The proportion of free prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is higher in the sera of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia compared with patients with prostate cancer (PCa). We developed an immunoassay that measures intact, free PSA forms (fPSA-I), but does not detect free PSA that has been internally cleaved at Lys145-Lys146 (fPSA-N), and investigated whether this form could discrimin