In photosynthesis, light-harvesting chlorophyll molecules are shunted between photosystems by phosphorylation of the protein to which they are bound, An anchor for the phosphorylated chlorophyll-protein complex has now been identified in the reaction centre of chloroplast photosystem I. This finding supports the idea that molecular recognition, not membrane surface charge, governs the architecture

The performance of lift-hyperlayer asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation using rapid elution conditions was tested through the separation of standard polystyrene latex particles of diameters from 2 to 20 mum. Optimization of flowrates was studied not only in order to obtain efficient and rapid separation; but also to work under conditions of various shape and steepness of the axial flow veloc

Cytokines such as interleukin 3 (IL-3), kit ligand (KL), and flt3 ligand (FL) promote survival of hematopoietic stem cells and myeloid progenitor cells. In many cell types, members of the Bcl-2 gene family are major regulators of survival, but the mediating mechanisms are not fully understood. Using two myeloid progenitor cell lines, FDCP-mix and FDC-P1, as well as primary mouse bone marrow progen

BACKGROUND: In this study, electrochemotherapy (ECT), i.e. tumour treatment based on local augmentation of intracellular drug delivery from short, intense electric pulses, was evaluated in rats with an adenocarcinoma implanted into the liver. Tumour response and concentrations of macrophages and T-lymphocytes (CD4 and CD8) in and around the tumour were measured.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Rats were tre

We investigate the light emission from dipolar emitters located within nanoparticle antennas. It is found that the enormous emission enhancement can reach nearly a million fold. For multinanoparticle antennas, the polarization of the emissions strongly depends on the geometry of the antennas, the emitted wavelengths, and the dielectric functions of surrounding media. It is shown that a polarizatio

The present study was undertaken to investigate the possible effects of Spantide [D-Arg1, D-Trp7,9 Leu11]-substance P, a substance P antagonist, and of somatostatin on spinal cord blood flow. The experiments were performed with the laser-doppler technique on the L1 spinal cord segment exposed by laminectomy. The effect of Spantide was also studied in the rat with the [14C]iodoantipyrine technique.

The adsorption of a series of charged bottle-brush polymers with side chains of constant length on mica and silica surfaces is modeled using a lattice mean-field theory, and the predicted results are compared to corresponding experimental data. The bottle-brush polymers are modeled as being composed of two types of main-chain segments: charged segments and uncharged segments with an attached side

The evolution of bulk flow structures and their influence on the spatial distribution of heat release zones and of partially oxidized fuel and particulate matter (soot) is examined experimentally in a swirl-supported, direct-injection diesel engine. Vector fields describing the bulk flow structures are measured with particle image velocimetry (PIV), while complementary scalar field measurements of

A fossil meteorite, c. 1 cm in diameter, has been found in a loose limestone block in the Gullhogen quarry at Billingen, southern Sweden. The meteorite, named Gullhogen 001, is almost completely pseudomorphosed by clay minerals and calcite, but contains abundant relict chromite grains and high platinum group element concentrations. Chromite element chemistry indicates that Gullhogen 001 most likel

A study of the performance of five commercial radiotherapy treatment planning systems ( TPSs) for common treatment sites regarding their ability to model heterogeneities and scattered photons has been performed. The comparison was based on CT information for prostate, head and neck, breast and lung cancer cases. The TPSs were installed locally at different institutions and commissioned for clinica

The matter of this work was to evaluate possibilities of biospecific immobilization of synthetic mannan-penicillin G acylase neoglycoconjugate on Concanavalin A support. The conjugate containing 37% (w/w) of yeast mannan was prepared. Significant biospecific interaction of this neoglycoenzyme with Con A was confirmed by precipitation method. The biospecific sorption of conjugate was investigated u

Eliminating the risk for ABO-incompatible transfusion errors and simplifying logistics by creating a universal blood inventory is a challenging idea. Goldstein and co-workers pioneered the field of enzymatic conversion of blood group A and B red blood cells (RBCs) to O (ECO). Using alpha-galactosidase from coffee beans to produce B-ECO RBCs, proof of principle for this revolutionary concept was ac

Although multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a neurodegenerative disorder leading to progressive disability and decreased life expectancy, little is known about patients' own evaluation of their illness and factors associated with poor health-related quality of life (Hr-QoL). We, therefore, assessed Hr-QoL and its determinants in MSA. The following scales were applied to 115 patients in the European

Nitrous oxide and isoflurane have different effects on absolute cerebral blood flow (CBF) and regional distribution of CBF in humans. In this study we examined the effects of isoflurane in combination with nitrous oxide on CBF. We studied 10 patients (two groups of five patients, ASA I) anaesthetized with 50% nitrous oxide and either 0.5 or 1.0 MAC of isoflurane during normocapnia (PaCO2 5.7 kPa)

The presented "spot-on-a-chip" technology enables easy enrichment of samples in the low nanomolar (1-5 nM) range and provides a fast and reliable automated sample preparation method for performing matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) analysis with high sensitivity and throughput. Through microdispensing, which allows accurate deposition of 60-

Multiple and variable tyrosine sulfation in extracellular class II leucine-rich repeat proteins/proteoglycans were characterized by mass spectrometry. The sulfogroup on tyrosine is labile and is released from peptides under normal mass spectrometric conditions. Thus, special approaches must be considered in order to identify this modification. By using a combination of mass spectrometry studies op

In a within-subject design we investigated the levels-of-processing (LOP) effect using visual material in a behavioral and a corresponding PET study. In the behavioral study we characterize a generalized LOP effect, using pleasantness and graphical quality judgments in the encoding situation, with two types of visual material, figurative and nonfigurative line drawings. In the PET study we investi

Intracellular Ca2+ was determined with the fura-2 technique during electrically induced contractions in the rabbit rectococcygeus smooth muscle at 22 degreesC. The muscles were electrically activated to give short, reproducible contractions. Intracellular [Ca2+] increased during activation; the increase in [Ca2+] preceded force development by approximately 2 s. After cessation of stimulation Ca2+

Mycorrhizal symbiosis involves reciprocal transfer of carbon and nutrients between shoots on the one hand and roots colonized by symbolic fungi on the other. Mycorrhizas may improve the mineral nutrient acquisition rates, but simultaneously increase the belowground demand for carbon. Mycorrhizal plants will have a selective advantage over non-mycorrhizal ones if they are more cost-efficient in ter