Objective: To collect data on the practices of molecular genetic testing (MGT) laboratories for the development of national and international policies for quality assurance (QA). Methods: A web-based survey of MGT laboratory directors (n = 827; response rate 63%) in 18 countries on 3 continents. QA and reporting indices were developed and calculated for each responding laboratory. Results: Laborat

The rat brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene consists of four short 5'-exons linked to separate promoters and one 3'-exon encoding the mature BDNF protein. Using in situ hybridization we demonstrate here that kindling-induced seizures, cerebral ischaemia and insulin-induced hypoglycaemic coma increase BDNF mRNA levels through insult- and region-specific usage of three promoters within the

Transverse momentum spectra of electrons from Au+Au collisions at roots(NN) = 130 GeV have been measured at midrapidity by the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The spectra show an excess above the background from photon conversions and light hadron decays. The electron signal is consistent with that expected from semileptonic decays of charm. The yield of the electron sign

Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is one of the most common co-occurring disorders in substance abusers, characterized among other things by a high propensity for criminal actions. A cohort of 125 substance abusers were followed in a longitudinal design. Patients were diagnosed with ASPD at an index treatment episode, interviewed at five-year follow-up, and followed-up through the Swedish cri

Aqueous mixtures of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes undergo associative phase separation, resulting in coacervation, gelation, or precipitation. This phenomenon has been exploited in forming DNA gel particles by interfacial diffusion. We report here the formation of DNA gel particles by mixing solutions of double-stranded DNA with aqueous solutions containing two cationic proteins, lysozyme an

Background: Osteocalcin (OC) is produced by osteoblasts during bone formation, and circulating OC has been used in clinical investigations as a marker of bone metabolism. OC is excreted into urine by glomerular filtration and can be found in urine as midmolecule fragments. Methods: We developed and evaluated three immunoassays (U-MidOC, U-LongOC, and U-TotalOC) for the detection of various molecul

Objectives: The antibacterial activity of antimicrobial peptides is influenced by various factors such as salt content, pH and the presence of proteins. In this study, we explored the antibacterial action of the human cathelicidin LL-37 in physiologically relevant conditions, i.e. various human wound fluids, human plasma fractions and serum. Methods: Radial diffusion assays using Staphylococcus au

Aims/hypothesis Increased glucagon secretion predicts deterioration of glucose tolerance, and high glucagon levels contribute to hyperglycaemia in type 2 diabetes. Inhibition of glucagon action may therefore be a potential novel target to reduce hyperglycaemia. Here, we investigated whether chronic treatment with a glucagon receptor antagonist (GRA) improves islet dysfunction in female mice on a h

Abstract in German Das systemische klinische Bild der Patienten mit SS kann auf eine Disposition vieler Zellarten zurückgeführt werden, bei einer Konfrontation mit Stressreizen überzureagieren. Dies beeinflusst die elementaren zellulären Vorgänge wie Apoptose und Acethylcholine-Rezeptor-Signalvermittlung. Diese Hyperreaktivität des Gewebes kann auch die beobachteten autoimmunogenen Eigenschaften eThe systemic clinical picture of SS patients can be traced back to a disposition of many cell types to over-react when confronted with stress stimuli. This will influence basic cellular processes such as apoptosis and acetylcholine receptor signaling. This tissue hyper-reactivity may also explain the observed autoimmune features, and may constitute a major aetiopathogenetic determinant in SS.

Aims/Hypothesis: To test the usefulness of the new WHO criteria for clinical staging of diabetes in the characterization of 1977 diabetic patients. Methods: The following clinical stages were used: patients on diet and/or oral antidiabetic agents 2 years after diagnosis were considered as non-insulin requiring (NIR; n = 711) and patients who required insulin therapy after 1 year as insulin requiri

The recent identification of fragile X-associated tremor ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) associated with premutations in the FMR1 gene and the possibility of clinical overlap with multiple system atrophy (MSA) has raised important questions, such as whether genetic testing for FXTAS should be performed routinely in MSA and whether positive cases might affect the specificity of current MSA diagnostic crite

The hottest developments in the fields of cancer research, neuroscience, genomics and proteomics, anti-virals and more, with a pick of the key research papers in these areas.

We report the sequence and expression analysis of two new Drosophila members of the Semaphorin family. Both proteins show the presence of Semaphorin domains and transmembrane domains. Both genes are expressed maternally and in embryos, and reveal distinct expression patterns much earlier than the onset of neurogenesis. We also present an overview of the domain structure of all so far known semapho

The present work deals with the use of a digital thruster (DT) for the separation of cadmium and lead metals from mixture samples. Mixtures of lead and cadmium salts with varying concentrations were injected into a free electrolytic diffusion apparatus (FEDA). The microcathodes surrounding the central anode were programmed witha DT. The DT distributed the charge over the microcathodes at time inte

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are estimated to represent at least 1% of the human genome. An HERV-H env SU sequence (HERV-H19) was used to screen the high-throughput (htgs) and nonredundant (nr) databases for other HERV-H SU open reading frames (ORFs) and thus possible functional proteins. Using PCR with primers derived from HERV-H19 SU, we also obtained several new sequences with ORFs fro