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Objective: Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease, modulated by plaque stabilizing and de-stabilizing cell populations such as infiltrating monocytes and vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMCs). Transcription factors regulating proliferation and differentiation of atherosclerosis relevant cell types are of interest in this context. The forkhead box transcription factor FoxP1 modulates monocyte differentiation. We studied FoxP1 expression in atherosclerotic tissue, correlated FoxP1 expression with plaque characteristics and identified associations between FoxP1 and plaque proteins. Methods: 116 Atherosclerotic plaques from carotid endarterectomy samples were histologically classified (fibrous, fibroatheromatous, atheromatous) and subjected to semi-quantitative protein analysis. Macrophage,...

Science.gov (United States)

Adipocyte lipid-binding protein (ALBP or aP2) is an intracellular fatty acid-binding protein that is

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Alpha-hemoglobin-stabilizing protein (AHSP) is an erythroid-specific protein that acts as a molecular chaperone for the free α chains of hemoglobin. Evidence strongly suggests...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The exposure of cells to several metal ions stabilizes HIF-1α protein. However, the molecular mechanisms are not completely understood. They may involve inhibition of hydroxylation by either...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Numerous studies have noted that the evolution of new enzymatic specificities is accompanied by loss of the protein's thermodynamic stability (ΔΔG), thus suggesting...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Human complement protein C9 is shown to be a metalloprotein that binds 1 mol of Ca"2"+/mol of C9 with a dissociation constant of 3 #mu#m as measured by equilibrium dialysis. Incubation with EDTA removes the bound calcium, resulting in a apoprotein with decreased thermal stability. This loss in stability leads to aggregation and, therefore, to loss of hemolytic activity upon heating to a few degrees above the physiological temperature. Heat-induced aggregation of apoC9 can be prevented by salts that stabilize proteins according to the Hofmeister series of lyotropic ions, suggesting that the ion in native C9 may ligand with more than one structural element of domain of the protein. Ligand blotting indicates that the calcium binding site is located in the amino-terminal half of the protein. Removal of calcium by inclusion of EDTA in assay ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Surfactant protein A (SP-A), first identified as a component of the lung surfactant system, is now recognized to be an important contributor to host defence mechanisms. SP-A can facilitate phagocytosis...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

We had previously identified a macrophage surface protein whose expression is highly induced, transient, and specific, as it is restricted to actively fusing macrophages in vitro and in vivo. This protein...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Alpha-toxin, the major cytotoxic agent elaborated by Staphylococcus aureus, was the first bacterial exotoxin to be identified as a pore former. The protein is secreted as a single-chain, water-soluble...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dynamic stability enhancement of composite mode oscillations of interconnected power systems by means of a hybrid power system stabilizer is discussed here. The proposed Hybrid PSS is of a two-level structure composed of a local PSS for local mode and a global PSS for inter-area mode damping. Here, the input of the global stabilizer is the center of inertia speed deviation of slow-coherent generators. The paper is focused on the practical considerations in implementation of the proposed stabilizer. First, the optimum allocation of this stabilizer is discussed. The authors introduce an index of mode-input-assignability, by which the best sites of the stabilizer can be identified. Next, for practical applications, an estimation method for the approximation of the input of the global PSS is introduced. An approximated value of the center of ...

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A decoupled characteristic between the damping of a specific swing mode and the stabilizer gain of the corresponding machine in multimachine power systems is identified. Using this decoupled characteristic a power system stabilizer (PSS) synthesis approach which is based on the phase compensation concept is verified on a 9-machine system and the dynamic performance of this system is significantly improved. This method is proved to be effective, simple and it can provide useful guidance for the PSS field tuning.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Cocoon sericin plays an important role in the reeling of silk and serves as a valuable biomaterial in the field of biomedicine, skincare, and food industries; however, knowledge about cocoon sericin proteins has been limited. For a comprehensive study on sericin, cocoons of eight varieties of silkworm of different geographic origin and with varied cocoon color were analyzed utilizing proteomics and bioinformatics approaches. The electrophoresis pattern demonstrated some common protein bands for all silkworm varieties and distinctive protein bands for some of those examined in the present study. The Ser2 protein, a new Ser3 protein, and four other novel sericin proteins were identified in cocoons for the first time. Products of both Ser1 and Ser3 genes appear to be ubiquitous in the cocoon ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Ribosomal protein L1 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae binds 5S rRNA and can be released from intact 60S ribosomal subunits as an L1-5S ribonucleoprotein (RNP) particle. To understand the nature of the...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper introduces an indirect adaptive fuzzy controller as a power system stabilizer used to damp inter-area modes of oscillation following disturbances in power systems. Compared to the IEEE standard multi-band power system stabilizer (MB-PSS), indirect adaptive fuzzy-based stabilizers are more efficient because they can cope with oscillations at different operating points. A nominal model of the power system is identified on-line using a variable structure identifier. A feedback linearization-based control law is implemented using the identified model. The gains of the controller are tuned via a particle swarm optimization routine to ensure system stability and minimum sum of the squares of the speed deviations. A bench-mark problem of a 4-machine 2-area power system is used to demonstrate the performance of the proposed controller and ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Many existing methods of identifying the optimum sites for installing power system stabilizers (PSSs) in multi-machine systems are restricted to the sequential PSS application, which considers the enhancement of damping of just one critical electromechanical mode at a time; the eigenstructure analysis of the open-loop system, which does not take the control matrix (i.e., the B matrix in the linearized model x = Ax + Bu for power systems) into consideration. This paper presents a method of identifying the optimum sites for installing power system stabilizers. The advantages of this method are: it can identify the optimum sites for installing PSSs so that several electrochemical modes are damped out simultaneously; it takes both the eigenstructure of the open-loop system and the control matrix into consideration.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Metagenomics projects based on shotgun sequencing of populations of micro-organisms yield insight into protein families. We used sequence similarity clustering to explore proteins with a comprehensive dataset consisting of sequences from available databases together with 6.12 million proteins predicted from an assembly of 7.7 million Global Ocean Sampling (GOS) sequences. The GOS dataset covers nearly all known prokaryotic protein families. A total of 3,995 medium- and large-sized clusters consisting of only GOS sequences are identified, out of which 1,700 have no detectable homology to known families. The GOS-only clusters contain a higher than expected proportion of sequences of viral origin, thus reflecting a poor sampling of viral diversity until now. Protein domain distributions in the GOS dataset and current protein databases show ...

Science.gov (United States)

A new algorithm for the design of decentralized output feedback stabilizers for large-scale electric power systems is presented in this paper. In the proposed approach, the generators which are most effective for stabilizer applications are first identified by using participation factors. Then an efficient algorithm based on decentralized pole assignment is proposed for the determination of the parameters of the power system stabilizers which, due to the difficulty associated with the communication among the geographically dispersed generating stations in a large power system, are essentially decentralized compensators using local generator outputs as their feedback signals. The proposed method is computationally efficient and can be applied to any large-scale system. The simplicity and effectiveness of the proposed method are demonstrated by an example of stabilizer design for a ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

A histidine kinase protein (Cph1) with sequence homology and spectral characteristics very similar to those of the plant phytochrome has been recently identified in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

A fluid-phase immunoradiometric assay has been developed which identifies an antigen on the Factor VIII (antihemophilic factor) procoagulant protein. This sensitive and quantitative assay is not influenced...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

CDC7 is an essential gene required for DNA replication in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Cdc7p homologs have recently been identified in vertebrates, but their role in DNA...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

There are many methods to screen for abnormal amounts of proteinuria to identify patients at risk for progression of renal disease, but which method best predicts renal risk is unknown. Here, we analyzed...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The CD1 family of proteins binds self and foreign glycolipids for presentation to CD1-restricted T cells. To identify previously uncharacterized active CD1 ligands, especially those of microbial origin,...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The effects of various antioxidants and antioxidant concentrations on the radiation and thermal stability of EPDM and XLPE polymers used for insulation of electric cable in nuclear power plants were measured. The objective was to determine if particular antioxidants could be identified as being especially effective for stabilization against radiation aging and combined thermal and radiation aging. Elongation to rupture was used as the measure of stability. Materials were irradiated to doses up to 2 MGy (200 Mrad) at a dose rate of 200 to 300 Gy/h in the Cobalt-60 Gamma Irradiation Facility at the University of Virginia. All of the antioxidants tested, which were known to provide excellent thermal stability, also provided good stability for radiation aging and combined thermal/radiation aging, although small differences between antioxidants were noted. No ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Peculiar DNA sequences made up by the tandem repetition of a 5 bp unit have been identified within or upstream from three avian protein-coding genes. One sequence is located within an intron of the...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

We have used intramolecular cross-linking, MS, and sequence threading to rapidly identify the fold of a model protein, bovine basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-2. Its tertiary structure was probed...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Implementation of an adaptive power system stabilizer (PSS) based on linear optimal control is described in this paper. The generator is identified in real time, and a special 3rd order discrete Riccati equation is solved in each sample interval. Because the output of the generator is fed back directly, the controller can track the system very fast. Experimental studies on a physical model of a power system demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed adaptive optimal controller.

Scientific Electronic Library Online (English)

Abstract in english The tegument surface of the adult schistosome, bounded by a normal plasma membrane overlain by a secreted membranocalyx, holds the key to understanding how schistosomes evade host immune responses. Recent advances in mass spectrometry (MS), and the sequencing of the Schistosoma mansoni transcriptome/genome, have facilitated schistosome proteomics. We detached the tegument from the worm body and enriched its surface membranes by differential extraction, before subjecting t (more) he preparation to liquid chromatography-based proteomics to identify its constituents. The most exposed proteins on live worms were labelled with impearmeant biotinylation reagents, and we also developed methods to isolate the membranocalyx for analysis. We identified transporters for sugars, amino acids, inorganic ions and water, which confirm the importance of the tegument plasma membrane in nutrient acquisition and solute ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A stable power system stabilizer (PSS) based on the inverse dynamics of the controlled system using an artificial neural network (ANN) is suggested to enhance the dynamic performances of a power system. First, an output feedback control law is driven with some conditions satisfied, which guarantees the internal stability and robustness against the asymptotically stable external disturbances. Then the control law is implemented using the inverse dynamics of the controlled plant. The inverse dynamics of the controlled plant is identified by an ANN, inverse dynamics neural network (IDNN), off-line. The pole-shifting technique and a scaling factor are introduced for the control system to meet the conditions for internal stability and robustness. The proposed controller is applied to a typical single-machine infinite-bus power system. Simulation results under various operation conditions are given which show ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract Therapeutic proteins are exposed to various potential contact surfaces, particles, and leachables during manufacturing, shipping, storage, and delivery. In this review, we present published examples of interfacial- or leachable-induced aggregation or particle formation, and discuss the mitigation strategies that were successfully utilized. Adsorption to interfaces or interactions with leachables and/or particles in some cases has been reported to cause protein aggregation or particle formation. Identification of the cause(s) of particle formation involving minute amounts of protein over extended periods of time can be challenging. Various formulation strategies such as addition of a nonionic surfactant (e.g., polysorbate) have been demonstrated to effectively mitigate adsorption-i...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Proteomic changes in proteins secreted by human hepatocellular carcinomas (HepG2) cells exposed to butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) were evaluated. HepG2 cells were treated with three different concentrations of BBP (0, 10, or 25 ?M) for 24 or 48 h. Following incubation, the cells were subjected to proteomic analysis using two different pI ranges (4-7 and 6-9) and large-size two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Results showed resolution of a total of 2776 protein spots. Of these, 29, including 19 upregulated and 10 downregulated proteins, were identified by electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). Among these, the identities of cystatin C, Rho guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitor, gelsolin, DEK protein, Raf kinase inhibitory protein, triose phosphate ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The authors have previously identified a small-cell lung cancer cell line (NCI-H209) that expresses an aberrant, underphosphorylated form of the retinoblastoma protein RB1. Molecular analysis of RB1 mRNA from this cell line revealed a single point mutation within exon 21 that resulted in a nonconservative amino acid substitution (cysteine to phenylalanine) at codon 706. Stable expression of this mutant RB1 cDNA in a human cell line lacking endogenous RB1 demonstrated that this amino acid change was sufficient to inhibit phosphorylation. In addition, this cysteine-to-phenylalanine substitution also resulted in loss of RB1 binding to the simian virus 40 large tumor and adenovirus E1A transforming proteins. These results confirm the importance of exon 21 coding sequences and suggest that the cysteine residue at codon 706 may play a role in achieving a specific protein conformation essential for ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The time of appearance of newly synthesized rRNAs and ribosomal proteins (r-proteins) in the ribosomes of pea cotyledons (Pisum sativum L.) during germination was investigated. The ribosomal fraction was isolated and analyzed according to the method of germination of the embryo in the presence of labeled precursors or after pulse labeling of the embryos at different stages of germination. For the identification of newly synthesized rRNAs in the ribosomes we estimated the relative stability of labeled RNAs to the action of RNase, the sedimentation rate, the ability to be methylated in vivo in the presence of (/sup 14/C)CH/sub 3/-methionine, and the localization in the subunits of dissociated ribosomes. The presence of newly synthesized r-proteins in the ribosomes was judged on the basis of the electrophoretic similarity in SDS-disc electrophoresis of labeled polypeptides of purified ribosome preparations ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In previous work the authors showed that on photolysis of Escherichia coli ribosomes in the presence of ({sup 3}H)tetracycline (TC) the major protein labeled is S7, and they presented strong evidence that such labeling takes place from a high-affinity site related to the inhibitory action of TC. In this work they use single protein omission reconstitution (SPORE) experiments to identify those proteins that are important for high-affinity TC binding to the 30S subunit, as measured by both cosedimentation and filter binding assays. With respect to both sedimentation coefficients and relative Phe-tRNA{sup Phe} binding, the properties of the SPORE particles they obtain parallel very closely those measured earlier, with the exception of the SPORE particle lacking S13. A total of five proteins, S3, S7, S8, S14, and S19, are shown to be important for TC binding, with the largest effects ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Lung cancer is still difficult to treat by current chemotherapeutic procedures. We recently found that MVL, an anti-HIV lectin from blue-green algae Microcystis viridis, also has antitumor activity. The objective of this study was to investigate apoptosis-inducing activity of recombinant MVL (R-MVL) and proteomic changes in A549 cells, and to identify the molecular pathways responsible for the anti-cancer action of R-MVL. We found that R-MVL induces A549 cells apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner by using MTT assay, fluorescent microscope (FM) and flow cytometry (FCM), and the IC50 was calculated to be 24.12??g/ml. Subsequently, 7 altered proteins in R-MVL-treated A549 cells were identified, including upregulated aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 and ?-actin, and five downregulated proteins: heat s...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Two methods were used to label pig kidney microvillar membrane proteins from the luminal and cytoplasmic surfaces of closed membrane vesicles. The first method was lactoperoxidase-catalysed radioiodination. Lactoperoxidase and glucose oxidase were positioned inside or outside the vesicles, iodination being initiated by adding glucose and "1"2"5I. After electrophoresis of the proteins, asymmetric labelling patterns on radioautographs were observed. However the major disadvantage of this method was the high degree of intramembrane labelling of the fatty acid chains of membrane lipids. The second method overcame this disadvantage. A new hydophilic photoreagent, 3,5-di("1"2"5I)iodo-4-azidobenzenesulphonate, was transported by a Na"+-dependent system into microvillar vesicles, thus permitting labelling from either side of the membrane when the vesicles were photolysed. The activity of several microvillar peptidases survived the labelling reaction ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Protein kinase C activity has been identified in the rat brown adipocyte. About 60% of this activity is found in the cytosolic fraction under basal conditions, and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) causes a rapid shift from the cytosol to the particulate fraction. Norepinephrine and phenylephrine causes a similar redistribution that can be blocked by prazosin but not by alprenolol. {alpha}{sub 1}-Adrenergic agonists cause three- to fivefold stimulation of type 2 iodothyronine 5{prime}-deiodinase activity in brown adipocytes. TPA has no effect on basal deiodinase activity and reduces the response of the enzyme to {alpha}{sub 1}-adrenergic agonists. These results suggest that the translocation of protein kinase C from cytosol to particulate fraction is not sufficient to increase deiodinase activity but can modulate the {alpha}{sub 1}-adrenergic agonist-mediated responses in these cells.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soybean is one of the most economical and nutritious food packed with basic nutrients that combat diseases stemming from mal- and under-nutrition. Despite its rich nutritional profile, use of soybean in food has been limited because soybean proteins are often associated with compounds, which could exert a negative impact on the nutritional quality of the protein. Trypsin inhibitor (TI) is one of the important anti-nutritional factors that exert negative effect by causing growth inhibition. Soybean cultivar VLS-2 was irradiated with 250 Gy gamma rays in a gamma cell (200) with 60Co source installed at BARC to induce mutations for low trypsin inhibitor content. Three mutants with lower levels of TI content were identified and can be utilized for developing elite varieties of soybean. (author)

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is the main intermediate filament protein in mature astrocytes, but also an important component of the cytoskeleton in astrocytes during development. Major recent developments in astrocyte biology and the discovery of novel intermediate filament functions enticed the interest in the function of GFAP. The discovery of various GFAP splice variants gave an additional boost to explore this protein in more detail.The structural role of GFAP in astrocytes has been widely accepted for a long time, but over the years, GFAP has been shown to be involved in astrocyte functions, which are important during regeneration, synaptic plasticity and reactive gliosis. Moreover, different subpopulations of astrocytes have been identified, which are likely to have distinc...

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Intact rat fat cell exposed to 12.5 ..mu..M (..gamma..-32P)ATP incorporate label into specific proteins within minutes. By solubilizing the reaction mixture with SDS which bypasses the subcellular fractionation steps, the labeled proteins can be identified in autoradiographs of SDS-PAGE gels. The most prominently labeled protein has an M/sub r/ of 42,000. Localization of this component to the cell surface can be made on the basis of inhibition of phosphorylation by addition of a protein derived from the rat brain with protein kinase inhibitory property, susceptibility of the phosphorylated protein to the tryptic digestion, inhibition of phosphorylation of this protein after brief exposure to melittin. To rule out the possibility that the cell surface protein might be a mitochondrial contaminant from ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The YTH (YT521-B homology) domain was identified by sequence comparison and is found in 174 different proteins expressed in eukaryotes. It is characterized by 14 invariant residues within an α-helix/β-sheet...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundCoiled-coil domain containing 115 (Ccdc115) or coiled coil protein-1 (ccp1) was previously identified as a downstream gene of Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 (FGF2) highly expressed...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A {lambda}gt11 cDNA library was constructed from poly(U)-Spharose-selected Entamoeba histolytica trophozoite RNA in order to clone and identify surface antigens. The library was screened with rabbit polyclonal anti-E. histolytica serum. A 700-base-pair cDNA insert was isolated and the nucleotide sequence was determined. The deduced amino acid sequence of the cDNA revealed a cysteine-rich protein. DNA hybridizations showed that the gene was specific to E. histolytica since the cDNA probe reacted with DNA from four axenic strains of E. histolytica but did not react with DNA from Entamoeba invadens, Acanthamoeba castellanii, or Trichomonas vaginalis. The insert was subcloned into the expression vector pGEX-1 and the protein was expressed as a fusion with the C terminus of glutathione S-transferase. Purified fusion protein was used to generate 22 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and a mouse polyclonal antiserum ...

J-STORE (Japan)

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The human zinc finger protein genes (ZFX/Y) were identified as a result of a systematic search for the testis-determining factor gene on the human Y chromosome. Although they play no direct role in sex determination, they are of particular interest because they are highly conserved among mammals, birds, and amphibians and because, in eutherian mammals at least, they have active alleles on both the X and the Y chromosomes outside the pseudoautosomal region. We used in situ hybridization to localize the homologues of the zinc finger protein gene to chromosome 1 of the Australian echidna and to an equivalent position on chromosomes 1 and 2 of the playtpus. The localization to platypus chromosome 1 was confirmed by Southern analysis of a Chinese hamster [times] platypus cell hybrid retaining most of platypus chromosome 1. This localization is consistent with the cytological homology of chromosome 1 between the two species. The ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

No abstract prepared.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Implementation of an adaptive power system stabilizer (APSS) and experimental studies are presented in this paper. The APSS consists of an adaptive linear element (ADALINE) based identifier that identifies the power system as a third-order discrete auto-regressive moving average (ARMA) model and a pole-shift controller. The ADALINE is modeled so that its weights have a one-to-one relationship with the ARMA model parameters. The weights are updated at each sampling interval to track the dynamic characteristics of the actual system. The on-line updated ARMA parameters are used in the PS control algorithm to calculate the new closed-loop poles of the system that are always inside the unit circle in the z-plane. The calculated control is such that it achieves regulation of the system to a constant setpoint in the shortest interval of time. Experimental studies on a physical model of power system verify that the proposed ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

pT181 is a naturally-occurring 4437 basepair (bp) plasmid isolated from Staphylococcus aureus which encodes inducible resistance to tetracycline (Tc). The DNA sequence data has identified three open reading frames (ORFs). The largest ORF B, has been found to be responsible for the Tc resistance phenotype of pT181. Since most Tc resistance systems appear to be regulated by an effector protein and a repressor protein, several Bal 31 deletion mutants of pT181 were constructed and analyzed in an effort to identify the elements involved in Tc resistance. Two transcomplementing groups of mutants were identified within the tet gene. The mechanism of Tc resistance was studied by assaying the accumulation of (7-/sup 3/H) Tc by Tc sensitive cells, and uninduced and induced pT181-containing cells. A sharp decrease in accumulation of the drug after an initial increase was observed in Tc induced ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Introduction: Tumor-derived heat shock protein (HSP)-peptide complexes (HSPPCs) induced immunity against malignancies in preclinical trials, working across tumor types and bypassing the need to identify single immunogenic peptides. These results paved the way for the use of human gp96 obtained from autologous tumor samples as an anti-cancer vaccine. Areas covered: Autologous tumor-derived HSP gp96 peptide complex (HSPPC-96) vaccine is emerging as a tumor- and patient-specific cancer vaccine, with confirmed activity in several malignancies. It has been tested in Phase III clinical trials in advanced melanoma and kidney cancer with evidence for efficacy in patients with earlier stage disease. HSPPC-96-based vaccine demonstrated an excellent safety profile, thus emerging as a novel therapeuti...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

We previously reported that puromycin-insensitive leucyl-specific aminopeptidase (PILSAP) is required for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)- and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF)-induced angiogenesis and for endothelial differentiation from embryonic stem (ES) cells via the aminopeptidase activity of PILSAP. In this study, we searched for molecules that function during angiogenesis with PILSAP. We performed proteome analysis of nuclear extracts from embryoid bodies (EBs) made from ES cells transfected with mutant PILSAP lacking aminopeptidase activity and mock EBs. We identified pigpen, a 67-kDa nuclear coiled body component protein. Immunoprecipitation and western blotting demonstrated the binding of PILSAP and pigpen in endothelial cells (ECs), and this interaction was enhanc...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The authors have identified a protein present only in erythroid cells that binds to two adjacent sites within an enhancer region of the chicken {beta}-globin locus. Mutation of the sites, so that binding by the factor can no longer be detected in vitro, leads to a loss of enhancing ability, assayed by transient expression in primary erythrocytes. Binding sites for the erythroid-specific factor (Eryf1) are found within regulatory regions for all chicken globin genes. A strong Eryf1 binding site is also present within the enhancer of at least one human globin gene, and proteins from human erythroid cells (but not HeLa cells) bind to both the chicken and the human sites.

CERN Document Server

We study analytically and numerically the stability of the pressure-less, viscously spreading accretion ring. We show that the ring is unstable to small non-axisymmetric perturbations. To perform the perturbation analysis of the ring we use a stretching transformation of the time coordinate. We find that to 1st order, one-armed spiral structures, and to 2nd order additionally two-armed spiral features may appear. Furthermore, we identify a dispersion relation determining the instability of the ring. The theoretical results are confirmed in several simulations, using two different numerical methods. These computations prove independently the existence of a secular spiral instability driven by viscosity, which evolves into persisting leading and trailing spiral waves. Our results settle the question whether the spiral structures found in earlier simulations of the spreading ring are numerical artifacts or genuine instabilities.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A real-time orbit feedback system has been implemented at the Advanced Photon Source in order to meet the stringent orbit stability requirements. The system reduces global orbit motion below 30Hz by a factor of four to below 5{micro}m rms horizontally and 2{micro}m rms vertically. This paper focuses on dynamic orbit stability and describes the all-digital orbit feedback system that has been implemented at the APS. Implementation of the global orbit feedback system is described and its latest performance is presented. Ultimately, the system will provide local feedback at each x-ray source point using installed photon BPMs to measure x-ray beam position and angle directly. Technical challenges associated with local feedback and with dynamics of the associated corrector magnets are described. The unique diagnostic capabilities provided by the APS system are discussed with reference to their use in identifying sources of the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An adaptive power system stabilizer (APSS) employing a new self-optimizing pole shifting control strategy and its application to a power system are described in this paper. Based on an identified model of the system, the control is computed by an algorithm which shifts the closed-loop poles of the system to some optimal locations inside the unit circle in the z-domain to minimize a given performance criterion. With the self-optimization property, outside intervention in the controller design procedure is minimized, thus simplifying the tuning procedure during commissioning. Also, a new method of calculating the variable forgetting factor in real-time parameter identification is discussed. Studies show that the proposed APSS can provide good damping of the power system over a wide operating range and significantly improve the dynamic performance of the system.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The herbicide atrazine is a known immunotoxicant and an inhibitor of human natural killer (NK) cell lytic function. The precise changes in NK cell lytic function following atrazine exposure have not been fully elucidated. The current study identifies the point at which atrazine exerts its affect on the stepwise process of human NK cell-mediated lyses of the K562 target cell line. Using intracellular staining of human peripheral blood lymphocytes, it was determined that a 24-h in vitro exposure to atrazine did not decrease the level of NK cell lytic proteins granzyme A, granzyme B or perforin. Thus, it was hypothesized that atrazine exposure was inhibiting the ability of the NK cells to bind to the target cell and subsequently inhibit the release of lytic protein from the NK cell. To test this hypothesis, flow cytometry and fluorescent microscopy were employed to analyze NK cell-target cell co-cultures following atrazine ...

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Twenty-six unclassified Campylobacter-like strains previously isolated from 15 chicken carcasses and caecal contents, together with two more strains isolated from chicken faeces on a different occasion, were identified as Helicobacter pullorum using various phenotypic identification methods. API Campy identification kits and a 16-test identification scheme developed for campylobacters failed to identify these bacteria, or identified them as Campylobacter spp. Eighteen strains (including the two isolated on a different occasion) were chosen for examination using a more comprehensive probabilistic identification scheme. Using this method, 14 of the 18 strains were identified as H. pullorum with ID scores > 95%; two strains were also identified as H. pullorum with lower ID scores. Of the remaining two strains, one was not identified with this scheme and the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heterochromatin constitutes a significant portion of the genome in higher eukaryotes; approximately 30% in Drosophila and human. Heterochromatin contains a high repeat DNA content and a low density of protein-encoding genes. In contrast, euchromatin is composed mostly of unique sequences and contains the majority of single-copy genes. Genetic and cytological studies demonstrated that heterochromatin exhibits regulatory roles in chromosome organization, centromere function and telomere protection. As an epigenetically regulated structure, heterochromatin formation is not defined by any DNA sequence consensus. Heterochromatin is characterized by its association with nucleosomes containing methylated-lysine 9 of histone H3 (H3K9me), heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) that binds H3K9me, and Su(var)3-9, which methylates H3K9 and binds HP1. Heterochromatin formation and functions are influenced by HP1, Su(var)3-9, and the RNA interference (RNAi) ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A multifunctional protein kinase, purified from rat liver as ATP-citrate lyase kinase, has been identified as a glycogen synthase kinase. This kinase catalyzed incorporation of up to 1.5 mol of and)2numberSPO4/mol of synthase subunit associated with a decrease in the glycogen synthase activity ratio from 0.85 to a value of 0.15. Approximately 65-70% of the TUPO4 was incorporated into site 3 and 30-35% into site 2 as determined by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography. This multifunctional kinase was distinguished from glycogen synthase kinase-3 on the basis of nucleotide and protein substrate specificities. Since the phosphate contents in glycogen synthase of sites 3 and 2 are altered in diabetes and by insulin administration, the possible involvement of the multifunctional kinase was explored. Glycogen synthase purified from diabetic rabbits was phosphorylated in vitro by this multifunctional kinase at only ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

A central feature of the endocrine pathophysiology of septic shock is thought to be the existence of adrenal dysfunction. Based on changes in glucocorticoid secretion and responsiveness, protein binding, and activity. These changes have been described by the terms "Relative Adrenal Insufficiency" (RAI), or "Critical Illness Related Corticosteroid Insufficiency" (CIRCI), and form part of the rationale for trials of glucocorticoid treatment in septic shock. Diagnostic criteria for these conditions have been based on plasma cortisol profiles and have proven notoriously difficult to establish. The uncertainty in this area arises from the inability of current tests to clearly identify who is truly glucocorticoid "deficient" at a cellular level, and hence who requires supplemental glucocorticoid...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

We provide two examples to illustrate how electronic structure calculations contribute to our understanding of vacancies and their role in determining material properties. Diffusion and elctromigration in aluminium are known to depend strongly on vacancies. Electronic structure calculations show that the vacancy-impurity interaction oscillates with distance, and this leads to an explanation for both the increased elctromigration resistance and the slow impurity diffusion for copper in aluminium. Calculations of vacancies in plutonium have been used in conjunction with positron annihilation lifetime measurements to identify the presence of helium-filled vacanies. Helium stabilization of vacancies can provide the precursors for subsequent vacancy-related changes in materials properties.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) are small guanine nucleotide-binding proteins that enhance the enzymatic activities of cholera toxin. Two ARF cDNAs, ARF1 and ARF3, were cloned from a human cerebellum library. Based on deduced amino acid sequences and patterns of hybridization of cDNA and oligonucleotide probes with mammalian brain poly(A)"+ RNA, human ARF1 is the homologue of bovine ARF1. Human ARF3, which differs from bovine ARF1 and bovine ARF2, appears to represent a newly identified third type of ARF. Hybridization patterns of human ARF cDNA and clone-specific oligonucleotides with poly(A)"+ RNA are consistent with the presence of at least two, and perhaps four, separate ARF messages in human brain. In vitro translation of ARF1, ARF2, and ARF3 produced proteins that behaved, by SDS/PAGE, similar to a purified soluble brain ARF. Deduced amino acid sequences of human ARF1 and ARF3 contain regions, similar to those in ...

Science.gov (United States)

Escherichia coli spheroplast protein y (EcSpy) is a small periplasmic protein that is homologous with CpxP, an inhibitor of the extracytoplasmic stress response. Stress conditions such as spheroplast formation induce the expression of Spy via the Cpx or the Bae two-component systems in E. coli, though the function of Spy is unknown. Here, we report the crystal structure of EcSpy, which reveals a long kinked hairpin-like structure of four ?-helices that form an antiparallel dimer. The dimer contains a curved oval shape with a highly positively charged concave surface that may function as a ligand binding site. Sequence analysis reveals that Spy is highly conserved over the Enterobacteriaceae family. Notably, three conserved regions that contain identical residues and two LTxxQ motifs are placed at the horizontal end of the dimer structure, stabilizing the overall fold. CpxP also contains the conserved sequence motifs and has ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The authors characterized nine human actin genes that they isolated from a library of cloned human DNA. Measurements of the thermal stability of hybrids formed between each cloned actin gene and ..cap alpha..-, ..beta..-, and ..gamma..-actin mRNA demonstrated that only one of the clones is most homologous to sarcomeric actin mRNA, whereas the remaining eight clones are most homologous to cytoplasmic actin mRNA. By the following criteria they show that these nine clones represent nine different actin gene loci rather than different alleles or different parts of a single gene: (i) the restriction enzyme maps of the coding regions are dissimilar; (ii) each clone contains sufficient coding region to encode all or most of an entire actin gene; and (iii) each clone contains sequences homologous to both the 5' and 3' ends of the coding region of a cloned chicken ..beta..-actin cDNA. They conclude, therefore, that the human cytoplasmic actin ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Synthesis genes encoding the human #alpha#- and #beta#-globin polypeptides have been expressed from a single operon in Escherichia coli. The #alpha#- and #beta#-globin polypeptides associate into soluble tetramers, incorporate heme, and accumulate to >5% of the total cellular protein. Purified recombinant hemoglobin has the correct stoichiometry of #alpha#- and #beta#-globin chains and contains a full complement of heme. Each globin chain also contains an additional methionine as an extension to the amino terminus. The recombinant hemoglobin has a C_4 reversed-phase HPLC profile essentially identical to that of human hemoglobin A_0 and comigrates with hemoglobin A_0 on SDS/PAGE. The visible spectrum and oxygen affinity are similar to that of native human hemoglobin A_0. The authors have also expressed the #alpha#- and #beta#-globin genes separately and found that the expression of the #alpha#-globin gene alone results in a marked decrease in the accumulation of ...

Science.gov (United States)

We report on the effect of potato maltodextrins with variable dextrose equivalent (Paselli SA-2, SA-6 and SA-10) on the surface behavior at the air-water interface of the mixture: legumin+small-molecule surfactant. Distinct in nature small-molecule surfactants (model: sodium salt of capric acid, Na-caprate; and commercially important: a citric acid ester of monoglyceride, CITREM) have been under our consideration. The role of the structure of both of the maltodextrins and the small-molecule surfactants in the effect studied has been elucidated by measurements in a bulk aqueous medium of the enthalpy of their interaction from mixing calorimetry, value of weight average molecular weight of the maltodextrins and the thermodynamics of the pair maltodextrin-solvent and maltodextrin-protein interactions from laser static light scattering. The combined data of mixing calorimetry and light scattering suggest some complex formation between the small-molecule surfactants and ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Starch from the fruits of sweetsop (Anonna squamosa) and soursop (Anonna muricata) were isolated and purified and the fat, ash, phosphorus and protein contents measured. The amount of amylose present was determined spectrophotometrically and found to be very similar (19%) for both starches. Scanning electron microscopy showed very small indented and spherical granules from both with an average granule size of 4.84mm and 4.72mm, respectively. The physicochemical properties, namely the swelling power, solubility, pasting characteristics, paste clarity and freeze-thaw stability were studied to assess the functionality of the starch pastes as hydrocolloids. The sweetsop starch showed higher swelling power and solubility compared to soursop starch and had a lower gelatinization temperature indi...

Science.gov (United States)

The aim for deterministic control of the interactions between macroions in aqueous media has motivated widespread experimental and theoretical work. Although it has been well established that like-charged macromolecules can aggregate under the influence of oppositely charged condensing agents, the specific conditions for the stability of such aggregates can only be determined empirically. We examine these conditions, which involve an interplay of electrostatic and osmotic effects, by using a well defined model system composed of F-actin, an anionic rod-like polyelectrolyte, and lysozyme, a cationic globular protein with a charge that can be genetically modified. The structure and stability of actin-lysozyme complexes for different lysozyme charge mutants and salt concentrations are examined by using synchrotron x-ray scattering and molecular dynamics simulations. We provide evidence that supports a structural transition ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cockayne syndrome (CS) is a rare autosomal recessive disease, which shows diverse clinical symptoms such as photosensitivity, severe mental retardation and developmental defects. CS cells are hypersensitive to killing by ultraviolet (UV)-irradiation and defective in transcription-coupled repair. Two genetic complementation groups in CS (CS-A and CS-B) have been identified. We analyzed mutations of the CSA gene in 5 CS-A patients and identified 3 types of mutations. Four unrelated CS-A patients (CS2OS, CS2AW, Nps2 and CS2SE) had a deletion including exon 4, suggesting that there is a founder effect on the CSA mutation in Japanese CS-A patients. Patient CS2SE was a compound heterozygote for this deletion and an amino acid substitution at the 106th glutamine to proline (Q106P) in the WD-40 repeat motif of the CSA protein, which resulted in a defective nucleotide excision repair. Patient Mps1 had a large deletion in the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer and has very limited therapeutic options. Recently, it has been found that hyaluronic acid (HA) shows selective binding to CD44 receptors expressed in most cancer histotypes. Since the trend in cancer treatment is the use of targeted radionuclide therapy, the aim of this research was to label HA with rhenium-188 and to evaluate its potential use as a hepatocarcinoma therapeutic radiopharmaceutical. Methods: {sup 188}Re-HA was prepared by a direct labelling method to produce a ReO(O-COO){sub 2}-type coordination complex. {sup 188}Re-HA protein binding and its stability in saline, phosphate buffer, human serum and cysteine solutions were determined. Biokinetic and dosimetric data were estimated in healthy mice (n=60) using the Medical Internal Radiation Dose methodology and mouse model beta-absorbed fractions. To evaluate liver toxicity, alanine aminotranferase (AST) and ...

Science.gov (United States)

Although the p53 tumor suppressor is relatively well characterized, much less is known about the functions of other members of the p53 family, p73 and p63. Here, we present evidence that in specific pathological conditions caused by exposure of normal cells to bile acids in acidic conditions, p73 protein plays the predominant role in the DNA damage response. These pathological conditions frequently occur during gastric reflux in the human esophagus and are associated with progression to esophageal adenocarcinoma. We found that despite strong DNA damage induced by bile acid exposure, only p73 (but not p53 and p63) is selectively activated in a c-Abl kinase-dependent manner. The activated p73 protein induces DNA damage repair. Using a human DNA repair PCR array, we identified multiple DNA repair genes affected by p73. Two glycosylases involved in base excision repair, SMUG1 and MUTYH, were characterized and found to be ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Human senescence marker protein 30 (SMP30), which functions enzymatically as a lactonase, hydrolyzes various carbohydrate lactones. The penultimate step in vitamin-C biosynthesis is catalyzed by this enzyme in nonprimate mammals. It has also been implicated as an organophosphate hydrolase, with the ability to hydrolyze diisopropyl phosphofluoridate and other nerve agents. SMP30 was originally identified as an aging marker protein, whose expression decreased androgen independently in aging cells. SMP30 is also referred to as regucalcin and has been suggested to have functions in calcium homeostasis. The crystal structure of the human enzyme has been solved from X-ray diffraction data collected to a resolution of 1.4 {angstrom}. The protein has a 6-bladed {beta}-propeller fold, and it contains a single metal ion. Crystal structures have been solved with the metal site bound with either a Ca{sup 2+} or a ...

Science.gov (United States)

The natriuretic peptides are considered to be cardioprotective; however, their receptors have not been identified in human myocardium using radiolabeled analogs. Dendroaspis natriuretic peptide (DNP) has been recently identified as a new member of this peptide family and is thought to be less susceptible to enzymatic degradation. Therefore, we have developed the novel radiolabeled analog [125I]-DNP and used this to localize high-affinity (K(D)=0.2 nmol/L), saturable, specific binding sites in adult human heart (n=6) and coronary artery (n=8). In competition binding experiments, atrial natriuretic peptide and brain type natriuretic peptide had greater affinity for [125I]-DNP binding sites than C-type natriuretic peptide and the natriuretic peptide receptor (NPR)-C ligand, cANF. This rank order of potency suggested binding of [125I]-DNP was specific to NPR-A. Messenger RNA encoding NPR-A was identified in left ventricle and ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Plant meiotic prophase I is a complicated process involving the late zygotene and pachytene stages, both crucial for completing synapsis and recombination. Using David Lily (Lilium davidii var. Willmottiae) as our research material, we performed suppression subtractive hybridization to construct EST library of anthers at various stages of development by the pollen mother cells. From this library, we identified small heat shock protein LimHSP16.45 was highly expressed during the late zygotene to pachytene stages. Our results also showed that LimHSP16.45 was almost specifically expressed in the anther compared with the root, stem, or leaf, and in situ expression of LimHSP16.45 mRNAs showed strong signals in the pollen mother cells and tapetal cells. LimHSP16.45 could be induced by heat and c...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Previous work showed that ["3H]p-azidopuromycin photoaffinity labeled 70 S Escherichia coli ribosomes and that photoincorporation into 50 S subunit proteins was in the order L23 greater than L18/22 greater than L15. In the present work the authors report on immunoelectron microscopic studies of the complexes formed by p-azidopuromycin-modified 50 S subunits with antibodies to the N6,N6-dimethyladenosine moiety of the antibiotic. The p-azidopuromycin-modified 50 S subunits appear to be identical to unmodified control subunits in electron micrographs. Complexes of modified subunits with antibodies to the N6,N6-dimethyladenosine moiety of p-azidopuromycin were visualized in micrographs. Two regions of p-azidopuromycin photoincorporation were identified. The primary site, seen in about 75% of the complexes, is between the central protuberance and small projection, on the side away from the L7/L12 arm, in a region thought to contain the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Use of an adaptive optimal control algorithm for two realtime control applications, optimal excitation control of a synchronous generator (OEC) and power system stabilizer (PSS) is described in this paper. Experimental studies on a physical model of a power system show that the proposed OEC and PSS can track the controlled system by parameter identification at different operating conditions. The proposed control algorithm is based on the linear optimal control theory and a special 5th order discrete Riccati equation is solved in each sampling period. The proposed OEC and PSS can always guarantee that in closed loop the controlled system is stable based on the identified parameters. As the actual output of the controlled system and control are directly used in the controller, no observer is required. Also, the proposed OEC and PSS can track the controlled system very fast. A number of tests have been performed. All show satisfactory results.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A study has been made of the precipitation and growth processes which occur during cooling from solution treatment and under isothermal hold conditions in a magnesia-partially-stabilized zirconia alloy. Three types of precipitate have been identified which develop during cooling or during isothermal hold treatments just above and below the eutectoid temperature. These precipitate forms are termed (i) primary, (ii) large random, and (iii) secondary. Further precipitation, slow growth of existing precipitates, and subeutectoid decomposition result when an additional 1100/sup 0/C aging treatment is given to the previously cooled material. It is shown that type (iii) secondary precipitates from rapidly within the temperature range of 1300/sup 0/ to 1375/sup 0/C. The secondary precipitates are largely responsible for the improved room-temperature strength properties of the heat-treated samples. The formation and effects on mechanical properties of ...

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This study presents a dynamic analysis of a rotor supported by two turbulent flow model journal bearings and lubricated with couple stress fluid under nonlinear suspension. The dynamics of the rotor center and bearing center is studied. The dynamic equations are solved using the Runge-Kutta method. The analysis methods employed in this study is inclusive of the dynamic trajectories of the rotor center and bearing center, power spectra, Poincare maps and bifurcation diagrams. The maximum Lyapunov exponent analysis is also used to identify the onset of chaotic motion. The results show that the values of dimensionless parameters l* strongly influence dynamic motions of bearing and rotor centre. It is found that couple stress fluid improve the stability of the system when l* > 0.4 even if the flow of this system is turbulent. We also demonstrated that the dimensionless rotational speed ratios s and the dimensionless unbalance parameter ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This study presents a dynamic analysis of a flexible rotor supported by two porous squeeze couple stress fluid film journal bearings with non-linear suspension. The dynamics of the rotor center and bearing center are studied. The analysis of the rotor-bearing system is investigated under the assumptions of non-Newtonian fluid and a short bearing approximation. The spatial displacements in the horizontal and vertical directions are considered for various non-dimensional speed ratios. The dynamic equations are solved using the Runge-Kutta method. The analysis methods employed in this study is inclusive of the dynamic trajectories of the rotor center and bearing center, power spectra, Poincare maps and bifurcation diagrams. The maximum Lyapunov exponent analysis is also used to identify the onset of chaotic motion. The numerical results show that the stability of the system varies with the non-dimensional speed ratios, the non-dimensional ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This work presents a digital adaptive Power System Stabilizer (PSS) which operates in a gain scheduling scheme. It`s parameters are designed for a lot of different operating regions in a P x Q plane (active and reactive powers), and saved in a microcomputer real time control. During working, the PSS identifies the present region of operation, and synthesizes its damping signal in accordance with the parameters for that region. As an extension of the method, a neural PSS, which uses the set of parameters of each region as a standard set to train a neural network to form this PSS, is also proposed. The tests presented show good performance for both PSS, when compared to a conventional (non adaptive) one. (author) 10 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.; e-mail: jalb at guama.cpgee.ufpa.br

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The human genome encodes 11 cysteine cathepsins belonging to the papain-like family of cysteine peptidases that are known predominantly as endo-lysosomal enzymes. However, it is now understood that the functions and activities of cysteine cathepsins are not limited to endo-lysosomal compartments, as they are also active in the peri- and extracellular space. The thyroid gland is an endocrine organ where such intra- and extracellular proteolytic activities are required to solubilize the prohormone thyroglobulin from its luminal, covalently cross-linked storage forms for subsequent processing into smaller protein fragments and thyroid hormone liberation. Cathepsin K has been identified as one of the cysteine cathepsins with a crucial role in thyroglobulin processing. However, cathepsin K has ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

When labeled cAMP is incubated with isolated mitochondria from rat liver, it penetrates not only through the outer membrane of the mitochondria but also into the mitoplasts, where it is accumulated chiefly in the matrix. Damage to the mitochondrial membrane by freezing-thawing promotes not an influx but an efflux of cAMP out of the mitoplasts. A substantial part of the labeled nucleotide in all the investigated submitochondrial fractions was identified as intact cAMP by the method of thin-layer chromatography. The transport of cAMP into the mitochondria can explain the activation of their functions by the hormones that activate cytoplasmic adenylate cyclase and by extramitochondrial (cytosol) cAMP, as well as the presence of cAMP-dependent protein kinase and cAMP-phosphodiesterase in the mitochondria.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Meningococcal disease is an infection caused by Neisseria meningitidis. Genetic factors contribute to host susceptibility and progression to disease, but the genes responsible for disease development are largely unknown. We report here a genome-wide association study for host susceptibility to meningococcal disease using 475 individuals with meningococcal disease (cases) and 4,703 population controls from the UK. We performed, in Western European and South European cohorts (consisting of 968 cases and 1,376 controls), two replication studies for the most significant SNPs. A cluster of complement factor SNPs replicated independently in both cohorts, including SNPs within complement factor H (CFH) (rs1065489 (p.936Dprotein 3 (CFHR3)(rs426736, P = 4.6 ...

CERN Document Server

One hope to solve the cosmological constant problem is to identify a symmetry principle, based on which the cosmological constant can be reduced either to zero, or to a tiny value. Here, we note that requiring that the vacuum state is Lorentz invariant significantly reduces the theoretical value of the vacuum energy density. Hence, this also reduces the discrepancy between the observed value of the cosmological constant and its theoretical expectation, down from 123 orders of magnitude to 56 orders of magnitude. We find that, at one loop level, massless particles do not yield any contribution to the cosmological constant. Another important consequence of Lorentz symmetry is stabilization of the gravitational hierarchy: the cosmological constant (divided by Newton's constant) does not run as the quartic power of the renormalization group scale, but instead only logarithmically.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The point at which the common final pathway for induction of cancer by chemical carcinogens and ionizing radiation has not been identified. Although common molecular targets are suggested by recent findings about the role of oncogenes, the mechanism by which the deposition of radiation energy and the formation of adducts or other DNA lesions induced by chemicals affects the changes in the relevant targets may be quite different. The damage to DNA that plays no part in the transformation events, but that influences the stability of the genome, and therefore, the probability of subsequent changes that influence tumorigenesis may be more readily induced by some agents than others. Similarly, the degree of cytotoxic effects that disrupt tissue integrity and increase the probability of expression of initiated cells may be dependent on the type of carcinogen. Also, evidence was presented that repair of the initial lesions could be demonstrated after ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In order to apply chemical-looping combustion to a practical power plant, carbon deposition on the solid particle is one of the key problems to be overcome. Six kinds of solid particles were examined to clarify the kinetic behavior of carbon deposition. The effects of the solid composition, feed gas composition, and reaction temperature on carbon deposition were investigated by thermogravimetrical reactor on the basis of NiO/YSZ particle. From the viewpoints of both reactivity and resistance against carbon deposition, the particle of NiO mixed with YSZ (i.e., yttria-stabilized zirconia) was found to be a good candidate for chemical-looping combustion. It has been observed that carbon deposition could be completely avoided with very low concentration of water vapor. By means of a proposed model, the condition that carbon deposition would be avoided was identified. 12 refs., 8 figs., 2 tabs.

Science.gov (United States)

The phase stability of silicides of Ni, Pt and Pd in contact with single crystal or amorphous silicon is examined. The presence of a particular silicide phase is identified by X-ray diffraction, and Rutherford backscattering is used to study composition. It is concluded that Pt or Pd silicides are suitable for Schottky barriers. Layers of silicon can be grown quickly by solid phase epitaxy at temperatures of 300-500C and using an intermediate metal film. Experimental results are reported. Doped layers have been obtained which have electrical characteristics suitable for the junctions in solar cells. The effects of impurities and orientation of the substrate on the growth kinetics are discussed.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spiral orbit tribometry friction tests performed on Ni-rich Ni55Ti45 titanium ball bearings indicate that this alloy is a promising candidate for future aerospace bearing applications. Microstructural characterization of the bearing specimens was performed using transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy, with NiTi, Ni4Ti3, Ni3Ti, and Ni2Ti4Ox phases identified within the microstructure of the alloy. Density functional theory was applied to predict the electronic structure of the NixTiy phases, including the band structure and site projected density of states. Ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy was used to verify the density of states results from the density functional theory calculations, with good agreement observed between experiment and theory.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Oils in Jinghu sag are abundant with high content of polar compounds and have a low ratio of saturate to aro-matic hydrocarbons and a high ratio of resin to asphaltene. The gross composition of oils in the Jinghu sag suggests typical immature to low mature characteristics. Some compounds with low thermal stability were identified. Light hy-drocarbons, a carbon preference index, an odd even index, n-alkane and hopane maturity parameters show mature fea-tures and little differences in the maturity level among oils. Sterane isomerization parameters indicate an immature to low mature status of oil. Transfer of the sedimentary center during sedimentation has led to different thermal histories among subsags and thus generated oils with different maturities. On the basis of source analyses, four ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase (HSV1-TK) reporter system is being used to directly and indirectly monitor therapeutic gene expression, immune cell trafficking and protein-protein interactions in various living animals. However, the issues of HSV1-TK enzyme stability in living cells and whether this reporter system is optimal for dynamic studies of gene expression events in genetic imaging have not be addressed. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the application of this reporter system in dynamic studies of transcriptional gene regulation. To achieve this purpose, we established two tetracycline-inducible murine sarcoma cell lines, tetracycline-turn-off HSV1-tk-expressing cell line (NG4TL4/tet-off-HSV1-tk) and tetracycline-turn-off Luc-expressing cell line (NG4TL4/tet-off-Luc), to create an artificially regulated gene expression model in vitro. The dynamic transcriptional events mediating a series of doxycycline ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

A large group of diseases, termed protein misfolding disorders, share the common feature of the accumulation of misfolded proteins. The possibility of a common mechanism underlying either the pathogenesis...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

CAAX proteins are widely involved in global cellular functions such as proliferation, differentiation, and carcinogenesis. As an important modulator of biological activity, signal transduction via protein...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The authors have demonstrated that induction of mitogenesis in human T lymphocytes is associated with the tyrosine phosphorylation of a 66KD soluble substrate-TPP 66. Since DMSO has been shown to be a non-specific stimulator of tyrosine protein kinases they have examined the effect of DMSO on both activation and tyrosine phosphorylation in human T cells. Human peripheral blood T lymphocytes were isolated by dextran sedimentation, Ficol/Paque centrifugation and nylon wool filtration. Phosphorylation was performed in cells incubated with ["3"2P] orthophosphate followed by DMSO for 30 min. TPP 66 was identified by 2-D PAGE, autoradiography, and HV electrophoresis of the hydrolyzed protein. Concentrations of DMSO from 1% to 50% induced the tyrosine phosphorylation of TPP 66 with maximal stimulation seen at 20%. DMSO alone did not activate the T cells (measured by ["3H] thymidine incorporation) when tested at high concentrations ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Resistance (R) protein mediated recognition of pathogen avirulence effectors triggers signaling that induces a very robust form of species-specific immunity in plants. The soybean Rpg1-b protein mediates...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Membrane protein structural biology is still a largely unconquered area, given that approximately 25% of all proteins are membrane proteins and yet less than 150 unique structures are available. Membrane...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Synchrotron Resource of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute will be dedicated to structural analyses of biological macromolecules, primarily through crystallography. This facility is under construction at the X4 port of the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and it will comprise three beamlines. The first line to be built has been devised to apply the multiwavelength anomalous diffraction method which provides direct estimates for the phases of reflections. The second line will be devoted to rapid and essentially routine diffraction measurements, mainly through the rotation method. These two experimental stations are contained within refrigerated radiation enclosures that will maintain clean environments, narrowly defined constant temperatures, and protection against biohazard at biosafety level BL-2. At the same time as the second line will be developed, the swath center is planned to first serve as a monitor of the white x-ray beam vertical ...

Science.gov (United States)

We presented a simple approach for in-situ synthesis of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-gold nanoparticles composite film based on the special characteristics of PDMS itself. It is an environmentally safe synthesis method without the requirement of additional reducing/stabilizing agents. The region where the resulting gold nanoparticles distribute (in the matrix or on the surface of the polymer) and the size of the nanoparticles, as well as the colour of the free-standing films, can be simply controlled by adjusting the ratio of curing agent and the PDMS monomer. The chemical and optical properties of these composite films were studied. Using such a method, gold nanoparticle micropatterns on PDMS surfaces can be performed. And based on the gold nanoparticles micropattern, further modification with antibodies, antigens, enzymes and other biomolecules can be achieved. To verify this ability, an immobilized glucose oxidase (GOx) reactor in microchannels was built and ...

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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper is concerned with the application of a new fuzzy inference method to the design of fuzzy power system stabilizer. Based on Truth-Value-Flow-Inference (TVFI), a fuzzy logic controlled power system stabilizer is proposed to enhance the stability of power system with weak or negative damping. The design of the proposed fuzzy power system stabilizer is presented. Numerical simulation results are presented and compared with two other kinds of fuzzy power system stabilizers. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, is conducting a study to determine the natural geochemistry of the Snake River Plain aquifer system at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL), Idaho. As part of this study, a group of geochemical reactions that partially control the natural chemistry of ground water at the INEL were identified. Mineralogy of the aquifer matrix was determined using X-ray diffraction and thin-section analysis and theoretical stabilities of the minerals were used to identify potential solid-phase reactants and products of the reactions. The reactants and products that have an important contribution to the natural geochemistry include labradorite, olivine, pyroxene, smectite, calcite, ferric oxyhydroxide, and several silica phases. To further identify the reactions, analyses of 22 representative water samples from sites tapping the ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Proteins aggregated into spherulite structures of amyloid fibrils have been observed in patients with certain brain diseases such as Alzheimers and Parkinsons. The conditions under which these protein spherulites form and grow are not currently known. In order to illuminate the role of environmental factors on protein spherulites, this research aims to explore the kinetics and mechanisms of spherulite formation and growth, as monitored by optical microscopy, in a range of salt concentrations, and initial protein concentrations for two model proteins: bovine b-lactoglobulin and insulin. These two proteins are significantly different in their size and fibril growth rate, but both of these proteins have been shown previously to form amyloid fibrils and spherulites under low pH conditions. The...

Science.gov (United States)

The present work reports on Raman and Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) vibrational fingerprints of ?-carotene and haemoglobin in fresh whole blood (i.e. right after blood test) with different laser excitations, i.e. visible (514 nm) and near-infrared (NIR, 785 nm). The use of colloidal silver nanoparticles significantly increases the Raman signal, thus providing a clear SERS spectrum of blood. The collected spectra have been examined and marker bands of ?-carotene and of the haem prosthetic group of haemoglobin have been found. In particular, the fundamental features of ?-carotene (514 nm excitation), blood proteins and haem molecules (785 nm excitation) were recognized and assigned. Moreover haemoglobin SERS signals can be identified and related with its oxygenation state (oxy-haemoglobin). The data reported show the prospects of Raman and SERS techniques to detect important bio-molecules in a whole blood sample with no pre-treatment. ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder. Mutations in PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1) are a frequent cause of recessive PD. Autophagy, a pathway for clearance of protein aggregates or impaired organelles, is a newly identified mechanism for PD development. However, it is still unclear what molecules regulate autophagy in PINK1-silenced cells. Here we report that autophagosome formation is promoted in the early phase in response to PINK1 gene silencing by lentivirus transfer vectors expressed in mouse striatum. Reduced PP2A activity and increased phosphorylation of PP2A at Y307 (inactive form of PP2A) were observed in PINK1-knockdown dopaminergic cells and striatum tissues. Treatment with C2-ceramide (an agonist of PP2A) reduced autophagy levels in PINK...

Science.gov (United States)

Glypican-3 (GPC3), a membrane-bound heparan sulfate proteoglycan, is found to be overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The purpose of the present study was to investigate the possible role of GPC3 in the development of HCC. In this study, RNA interference (RNAi) with a GPC3 small hairpin RNA (GPC3 shRNA) was used to identify the effects of GPC3 on the regulation of malignant behaviors of HCC. MHCC97-H, a highly metastatic human HCC cell line in which GPC3 mRNA and protein levels were detected as the highest among the 4 HCC cell lines assessed in this study, and was thus selected as a cell model for in vitro and in vivo experiments. The results showed that down-regulation of GPC3 can significantly inhibit the proliferative and invasive ability of MHCC97-H. Compared with the parental HCC cells, GPC3-silenced cells exhibited attenuated capacities in developing tumors in nude mice, while the growth of tumor xenografts derived from these ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In this paper the concept of a composite power system stabilizer is investigated. This stabilizer comprises a properly designed, robust, conventional power system stabilizer (CPSS) and an auxiliary stabilizer (AS) which can be either a self-tuning stabilizer (ASTS) or a fixed-parameter stabilizer (AFPS). For small disturbances, the CPSS performs satisfactorily over a wide range of operating conditions. When large disturbances occur the auxiliary stabilizer augments the performance of the CPSS. It has been demonstrated that the composite power system stabilizer can significantly improve the dynamic performance of the system when there is a major disturbance such as a short circuit in the system. Because in the case of a single-machine system the parameters of the ASTS do not vary appreciably, it can also be implemented as ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The purpose of our research program is to understand the influence of elastic misfit strain and applied stress on the development of microstructure in two-phase coherent alloys. The long-term goal of our research is to identify those material parameters that promote microstructural stability in multiphase systems at elevated temperatures. Our efforts since the last progress report in February 1991 have been twofold. First, we have continued performing coarsening simulations of elastically and diffusionally interacting particles in an infinite matrix. In addition, we have been performing simulations of unstressed systems during coarsening. Secondly, we have begun to develop an experimental component to the research that would allow a careful comparison between theory, computer simulations and experiment. We have continued to focus our computer simulations of stressed systems on elastically homogeneous and isotropic systems containing ...

CERN Document Server

Phase II collimators will complement the existing system to improve the expected high RF impedance and limited efficiency of Phase I jaws. An international collaborative effort has been launched to identify novel advanced materials responding to the very challenging requirements of the new collimators. Complex numerical calculations simulating extreme conditions and experimental tests are in progress. In parallel, an innovative modular design concept of the jaw assembly is being developed to allow fitting in alternative materials, minimizing the thermally induced deformations, withstanding accidents and accepting high radiation doses. Phase II jaw assembly is made up of a molybdenum back-stiffener ensuring high geometrical stability and a modular jaw split in threes sectors. Each sector is equipped with a high-efficiency independent cooling circuit. Beam position monitors (BPM) are embedded in the jaws to fasten setup time and improve beam ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A method for quick, high-accuracy measurement of lithium isotopes has become necessary in carrying out research on the separation and concentration of lithium isotopes by ion exchange. The present report focuses on the application of a hollow cathode, as excitation source, to emission spectral analysis for lithium isotope measurement. The grating monochromator used incorporates a pressure scanned etalon. With decreased Doppler broadening and pressure broadening, the hollow cathode, used as excitation source, can give narrow spectral lines, permitting good separation among them. To achieve a high accuracy, the emission intensity of the hollow cathode should be maintained as stable as possible relative to time. In particular, the stability of a light source can be affected significantly by the chemical form of the sample. A study is also made here to identify a condition where lithium acetate effluent as-obtained from an ion exchange column can ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A transition from petroleum~derived jet fuels to blends with Fischer-Tropsch (F~T) fuels, and ultimately fully synthetic hydro-isomerized F-T fuels has raised concern about the fate of plasticizers in nitrile-butadiene rubber a-rings that are contacted by the fuels as this transition occurs. The partitioning of plasticizers and fuel molecules between nitrile a-rings and petroleum-derived, synthetic, and additized-synthetic jet fuels has been measured. Thermal desorption of o-rings soaked in the various jet fuels followed by gas chromatographic analysis with a mass spectrometric detector showed many of the plasticizer and stabilizer compounds were removed from the o-rings regardless of the contact fuel. Fuel molecules were observed to migrate into the o-rings for the petroleum-derived fuel as did both the fuel and additive for a synthetic F-T jet fuel additized with benzyl alcohol, but less for the unadditized synthetic fuel. The specific compounds or classes of ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The X-band EPR spectra of unirradiated and "6"0 Co gamma ray irradiated cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum L. Maton, Zingiberaceae), ginger ((Zingiber officinale Rosc., Zingiberaceae), saffron (Crocus sativus L., Iridaceae), and curry have been investigated at room temperature. All unirradiated spices presented a weak resonance line with g-factors around free-electron ones, most probably due to the presence of semiquinones, previously reported to have paramagnetic properties. After gamma ray irradiation at absorbed dose up to 11.3 kGy we have noticed in all spices the presence of complex EPR spectra consisting of a superposition of at last two different paramagnetic species whose amplitude increase monotonously with the absorbed dose. A 100 deg. C isothermal annealing of 11.3 kGy irradiated samples has shown a differential reduction of amplitude of various components that form the initial spectra, but even after 5 h of thermal treatment, the remaining amplitude represents no less than 40% ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper reported on a study in which hydrogen was produced by fermentation of biomass. A continuous process using a non-sterile substrate with a readily available mixed microflora was used on heat treated digested sewage sludge from a wastewater treatment plant. Hydrogen was produced from waste sugar at a pH of 5.2 and a temperature of 37 degrees C. An experimental setup of three 5.5 L working volume continuously stirred tank reactors (CSTR) in different stirring speeds were constructed and operated at 7 different hydraulic retention times (HRTs) and different organic loading rates (OLR). Dissolved organic carbon was examined. The results showed that the stirring speed of 135 rpm had a beneficial effect on hydrogen fermentation. The best performance was obtained in 135 rpm and 8 h of HRT. The amount of gas varied with different OLRs, but could be stabilized on a high level. Methane was not detected when the HRT was less than 16 h. The study ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Coal Quality Engineering Analysis (CQEA) program developed by the New York State Electric and Gas Company (NYSEC) calculates the as-burned cost of burning a specific coal in a specific generation unit. These costs include: maintenance costs for coal and ash handling equipment; ash disposal costs; cost of oil (if required for flame stability and/or derating because of pulverizer capacity limitation); flue gas desulfurization costs; cost of replacement power caused by pulverizer, precipitator fly ash collection and bottom ash capacity limitation; boiler losses due to moisture, hydrogen, dry gas and unburned carbon; power for coal and ash handling equipment; power for coal pulverizers; cost of using excess air to prevent slagging of coal with low ash softening temperatures; and effect of heat rate on coal tonnage required for a desired generation. The use of CQEA to identify areas in which plant operations may be improved is discussed. 7 ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monochromator stabilization (MOSTAB) is a feedback control system to stabilize an x-ray beam of synchrotron radiation. It applies a feedback voltage to a piezo electric transducer attached to a double-crystal monochromator. We developed MOSTAB modules and examined their performances using SPring-8 beamlines. The x-ray beam position stabilization using MOSTAB was realized simultaneously with the x-ray beam intensity stabilization. As an example of its application, we performed EXAFS measurement with MOSTAB. (author)

Science.gov (United States)

PURPOSE: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly virulent malignancy with no effective treatment thus requiring innovative and effective targeted therapies. The oncogene Astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) plays a seminal role in hepatocarcinogenesis and profoundly downregulates insulin-like growth factor binding protein-7 (IGFBP7). The present study focuses on analyzing potential tumor suppressor functions of IGFBP7 in HCC and the relevance of IGFBP7 downregulation in mediating AEG-1 function.EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: IGFBP7 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry in HCC tissue microarray and real-time PCR and ELISA in human HCC cell lines. Dual Fluorescence in situ hybridization was performed to detect loss of heterozygosity at IGFBP7 locus. Stable IGFBP7-overexpressing clones were established in the background of AEG-1-overexpressing human HCC cells and were analyzed for in vitro proliferation and senescence and in vivo tumorigenesis and ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Microdamage naturally occurs in bone tissue as a result of cyclic loading placed on the body from normal daily activities. While it is usually repaired through the bone turnover process, accumulation of microdamage may result in reduced bone quality and increased fracture risk. It is unclear whether certain areas of bone are more susceptible to microdamage than others due to compositional differences. This study examines whether areas of microdamaged bone are chemically different than undamaged areas of bone. Bone samples (L3 vertebrae) were harvested from 15 dogs. Samples were stained with basic fuchsin, embedded in poly-methylmethacrylate, and cut into 5-(micro)m-thick sections. Fuchsin staining was used to identify regions of microdamage, and synchrotron infrared microspectroscopic imaging was used to determine the local bone composition. Results showed that microdamaged areas of bone were chemically different than the surrounding undamaged areas. Specifically, ...

Science.gov (United States)

In vertebrates, the positioning of the internal organs relative to the midline is asymmetric and evolutionarily conserved. A number of molecules have been shown to play critical roles in left-right patterning. Using representational difference analysis to identify genes that are differentially expressed on the left and right sides of the chick embryo, we cloned chick Claudin-1, an integral component of epithelial tight junctions. Here, we demonstrate that retroviral overexpression of Claudin-1, but not Claudin-3, on the right side of the chick embryo between HH stages 4 and 7 randomizes the direction of heart looping. This effect was not observed when Claudin-1 was overexpressed on the left side of the embryo. A small, but reproducible, induction of Nodal expression in the perinodal region on the right side of the embryo was noted in embryos that were injected with Claudin-1 retroviral particles on their right sides. However, no changes in Lefty,Pitx2 or cSnR ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vacuum glazing consists of an evacuated space between two sheets of glass. Vacuum glazing has a large effect on energy savings in houses and buildings. Vacuum glazing can achieve higher insulating performance than conventional insulated glazing. Nippon Sheet Glass has successfully developed conventional vacuum glazing. In this study we investigated an advanced form of vacuum glazing. Its thermal insulation ability is equivalent to 100 mm thick glass wool thermal insulation. This vacuum glazing contained a SnO_2:F low emissivity surface. The influence of the residual gas in a vacuum space on heat flow is important to performance. For long-term thermal stability, it is very important to maintain vacuum stability. To understand this better, we studied the behavior of outgassing from the inside glass surfaces exposed to an external energy source. We have studied the behavior of outgassing from a glass surface using a Nd:YAG laser (operated at 355 ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Known vertebrate GATA proteins contain two zinc fingers and are required in development, whereas invertebrates express a class of essential proteins containing one GATA-type zinc finger. We isolated...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Storage proteins are deposited into protein storage vacuoles (PSVs) during plant seed development and maturation and stably accumulate to high levels; subsequently, during germination the storage...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The homologous sequences observed for many calcium binding proteins such as parvalbumin, troponin C, the myosin light chains, and calmodulin has lead to the hypothesis that these proteins have homologous...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Serum protein and lipid concentrations as well as the serum protein binding of propranolol, diazepam and phenytoin were measured in normal weight and obese volunteers. Concentrations of alpha 1-acid...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Filamin and Cortexillin are F-actin crosslinking proteins in Dictyostelium discoideum allowing actin filaments to form three-dimensional networks. GAPA, an IQGAP related protein, is...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The characterization of the single-chain protein in Chinese-cobra (Naja naja atra) blood serum, which yields strong specific protection against the venom of the same snake, is reported. The protein,...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

It has been sixty years since the Millers first described the covalent binding of carcinogens to tissue proteins. Protein covalent binding was gradually overshadowed by the emergence of DNA...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Cd-binding protein was extracted from tomato roots and purified on QAE-Sephadex A-25 and on Sephadex G-75 in 1 molar KCl buffer. The protein preparation was light brown and contained predominantly Cd...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The nucleocapsid protein (NC) of retroviruses plays a major role in genomic RNA packaging, and some evidence has implicated the matrix protein (MA) of certain retroviruses in viral RNA binding. To further...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Large quantity of reliable protein interaction data are available for model organisms in public depositories (e.g., MINT, DIP, HPRD, INTERACT). Most data correspond to experiments with the proteins...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

End binding proteins (EBs) are highly conserved core components of microtubule plus-end tracking protein networks. Here we investigated the roles of the three mammalian EBs in controlling microtubule...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

PknB is a member of the newly discovered eukaryotic-like protein serine/threonine kinase (PSTK) family of proteins. The pknB gene was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli....Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

During antibiotic drug development, media are frequently spiked with either serum/plasma or protein supplements to evaluate the effect of protein binding. Usually, previously reported serum or plasma...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Zipper-interacting protein kinase (ZIPK) is a member of the death-associated protein kinase family associated with apoptosis in nonmuscle cells where it phosphorylates myosin regulatory light chain...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The Protein Data Bank contains the description of more than 45,000 three-dimensional protein and nucleic-acid structures today. Started to exist as the computer-readable depository of crystallographic...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Chromatographic and electrophoretic studies have shown that the subunits of the crystalloid protein, isolated from mature castor bean (Ricinus communis L. cv Hale) seed endosperm protein...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Recent topics in the theoretical magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) analysis in the heliotron configuration are overviewed. Particularly, properties of three-dimensional equilibria, stability boundary of the interchange mode, effects of the net toroidal current including the bootstrap current and the ballooning mode stability are focused. (author)

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The receptor-associated protein (RAP) is a molecular chaperone that binds tightly to certain newly synthesized LDL receptor family members in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and facilitates their delivery...Full Text Available

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Summary: Protein features are often displayed along the linear sequence of amino acids that make up that protein, but in reality these features occupy a position in the folded proteins 3D space. Mapping sequence features to known or predicted protein structures is useful when trying to deduce the function of those features and when evaluating sequence or structural predictions. To facilitate this goal, we developed PDBpaint, a simple tool that displays protein sequence features gathered from bioinformatics resources on top of protein structures, which are displayed in an interactive window (using the Jmol Java viewer). PDBpaint can be used either with existing protein structures or with novel structures provided by the user. The current version of PDBpaint allows the visualization of annot...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundFunction exertion of specific proteins are key factors in disease progression, thus the systematical identification of those specific proteins is a prerequisite to understand...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This short survey focuses on the main radiation-induced base lesions that have been identified within cellular DNA. For this purpose, sensitive assays that are aimed at measuring a few modifications per 10{sup 7} normal bases were set-up. In that respect high performance liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry (CLHP-MS/MS) was found to be able to single out the formation of 9 oxidized nucleosides and two modified nucleo-bases out of the 70 oxidative base lesions that have been identified in model systems. As a striking result, it was found that in the DNA of {gamma}-irradiated human monocytes, the formamide-pyrimidine derivative of guanine is produced in a higher yield than the ubiquitous 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-guanine damage, both arising from the same radical precursor. However, relatively high doses of ionizing radiation (> 20 Gy) have to be applied in order to detect an increase in the level of the damage. This is due to the low ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The passive continental margin in the northern South China Sea is a weakly active area. It has been found to be favorable for large gas field development and also to be profitable for gas hydrate. The active faults, diapir structure, slump deposits, faults break of slopes, gas chimneys and sandstone of submarine fan, control the concentration of gas hydrate. Gas chimneys are widely distributed in the northern South China Sea. They supply the pathway for migration of deeper gas to gas hydrate stability zones especially in the basin of tectonic inactive zone. This paper discussed the geological structures of gas hydrate occurrence in gas fields and presented a detailed analysis of gas chimneys within the northern slope of the South China Sea. The paper described the geological setting of the Qiongdongnan Basin and provided information on the data description and processing. Two multichannel seismic (MCS) reflection profiles were used for the study. In order to ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper presents a practical design for a power system stabilizer using the differential geometric linearization approach. This stabilizer uses the information at the secondary bus of the step-up transformer as input signals, enabling its application to multi-machine power systems. The stabilizer makes it possible to obtain all necessary information within its own power station without observing an equivalent reactance in other power systems. To evaluate the dynamic performance of this stabilizer, the authors tested it on a multi-machine system model using the computer. The simulation results showed that the stabilizer offered good dynamic performance and robustness compared with conventional power system stabilizers, thus confirming its very effective and practical application in power system stabilization.

Science.gov (United States)

Two hundred eleven references from the period 1951 to 1978 are reviewed in this survey of literature on the thermal stability of jet aircraft fuels.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A technique for designing an adaptive power system stabilizer is presented which improves the dynamic stability of power systems by effectively increasing the damping torque of the synchronous generator in the system. The proposed adaptive stabilizer is optimal in the sense of minimizing a specified performance condition. A characteristic feature of using a Lyapunov techniques is that it leads to stable adaptation loops. The dynamic responses following a step disturbance by digital simulations are obtained by means of three types of stabilizers: the conventional power system stabilizer, a frequency-response-based optimal adaptive stabilizer and the proposed Lyapunov stabilizer. Simulation results on a typical single-machine/infinite-bus system illustrate the superiority of the proposed technique. (author).

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Short communication. 2 figs.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

No abstract prepared.

KoreaScience (Korea)

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J-STORE (Japan)

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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Published in summary form only.

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

ATPase, endoplasmic reticulum, calcium, ischaemia

KoreaScience (Korea)

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British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Assembly of icosahedral capsids of proper size and symmetry is not understood. Residue F170 in bacteriophage P22 coat protein is critical for conformational switching during assembly. Substitutions at this site cause assembly of tubes of hexamerically arranged coat protein. Intragenic suppressors of the ts phenotype of F170A and F170K coat protein mutants were isolated. Suppressors were repeatedly found in the coat protein telokin-like domain at position 285, which caused coat protein to assemble into petite procapsids and capsids. Petite capsid assembly strongly correlated to the side chain volume of the substituted amino acid. We hypothesize that larger side chains at position 285 torque the telokin-like domain, changing flexibility of the subunit and intercapsomer contacts. Thus, a sing...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radioisotopes of Pb(II) have been of some interest in radioimmunotherapy and radioimmunoimaging (RII). However, the absence of a kinetically stable bifunctional chelating agent for Pb(II) has hampered its use for these applications. "2"0"3Pb (T_1_/_2=52.02 h) has application potential in RII, with a #gamma#-emission that is ideal for single photon emission computerized tomography, whereas "2"1"2Pb (T_1_/_2=10 h) is a source of highly cytotoxic #alpha#-particles via its decay to its "2"1"2Bi (T_1_/_2=60 min) daughter. The synthesis of the novel bifunctional chelating agent 2-(4-isothiocyanotobenzyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraaza-1,4,7,10-tetra-(2-carbamoyl methyl)-cyclododecane (4-NCS-Bz-TCMC) is reported herein. The Pb[TCMC]"2"+ complex was less labile to metal ion release than Pb[DOTA]"2"- at pH 3.5 and below in isotopic exchange experiments. In addition to increased stability to Pb"2"+ ion release at low pH, the bifunctional TCMC ligand was found to have many other ...

Science.gov (United States)

Two plasmids which express either nearly intact or truncated filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) from Bordetella pertussis and which are marked with a tetracycline resistance (Tcr) gene were transformed into Salmonella dublin SL1438, an aroA deletion mutant intended for use as an attenuated oral vaccine against salmonellosis. These S. dublin recombinants, when fed to mice, induced serum immunoglobulin, immunoglobulin M (IgM), and sometimes IgA antibody responses to FHA and S. dublin. In addition, IgA antibodies against FHA were found in gut wash fluids. S. dublin carrying pDB2300, a multicopy plasmid encoding truncated FHA protein, induced a better antibody response than did S. dublin carrying pDB2000, a low-copy-number plasmid encoding full-sized FHA. Administration of tetracycline to mice enhanced the stability of recombinant plasmids, and tetracycline-treated mice developed higher anti-FHA titers. Although neither strain examined is suitable for ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Large rigid-body domain movements are critical to GroEL-mediated protein folding, especially apical domain elevation and twist associated with the formation of a folding chamber upon binding ATP and co-chaperonin GroES. Here, we have modeled the anisotropic displacements of GroEL domains from various crystallized states, unliganded GroEL, ATP?S-bound, ADP-AlFx/GroES-bound, and ADP/GroES bound, using translation-libration-screw (TLS) analysis. Remarkably, the TLS results show that the inherent motions of unliganded GroEL, a polypeptide-accepting state, are biased along the transition pathway that leads to the folding-active state. In the ADP-AlFx/GroES-bound folding-active state the dynamic modes of the apical domains become reoriented and coupled to the motions of bound GroES. The ADP/GroES complex exhibits these same motions, but they are increased in magnitude, potentially reflecting the decreased stability of the complex after nucleotide ...

KoreaScience (Korea)

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KoreaScience (Korea)

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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

No abstract prepared.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A micro-computer based fuzzy logic power system stabilizer is applied to a micro-machine system to investigate its efficiency in real time control. The stabilizing signal is determined by using measured speed or real power signals at every sampling time to damp the system oscillations. The results show the proposed stabilizer improves the system damping effectively subject to various types of disturbances.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A mathematical model of the multi machine electric power system to analyse its dynamics has been worked out. The effectivity of the power system stabilizer developed in the one machine system has been tested by means of this model. The influence of the arrangement of the stabilizers on the stability of the electric power system has also been investigated. High damping of electromechanical transient processes has been achieved. 7 refs., 1 tab., 5 figs.

Science.gov (United States)

It is shown that, although accelerometer control systems are not well-posed in the sense of Salamon,

Science.gov (United States)

Impediments to the Creation of a Specialized ... 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Impediments to the Creation of a Specialized Force for Stability Operations ...

KoreaScience (Korea)

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Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The basic function of a Power System Stabilizer (PSS) is to add damping to the generator rotor oscillations by controlling its excitation using auxiliary stabilizing signals. To provide damping, the stabilizer must produce a component of electrical torque in phase with the rotor speed deviations. This paper introduces the hardware specifications and various functions of microprocessor (TMS320C32)-based digital PSS to provide the damping torque. (author). 3 refs., 6 figs.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Slope stability can be a major problem during the construction of surface facilities. Cutting into existing ground disturbs the mechanics of the surrounding area, which can result in landslides and rock falls. This practical reference gives you the comprehensive information you need for slope stability analysis, suitable methods of analysis with and without the use of computers, and examples of common stability problems and stabilization methods for cuts and fills. It includes detailed discussions of methods used in slope stability analysis, including the Ordinary Method of Slices, Simplified Janbu Method, Simplified Bishop Method, Spencer`s Method, other limit equilibrium methods, numerical methods, total stress analysis, effective stress analysis, and the use of computer programs to solve problems. Chapters include: General Slope Stability Concepts; ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In this paper, power system stabilizer design for multi-machine power systems is translated into an equivalent problem of decentralized controller design for Multi-Output Multi-Input (MIMO) control systems. Subject to a condition based on the structured singular values, each stabilizer can be designed independently. Within this general framework, the conventional stabilizer design methodology based on the concept of synchronous and damping torques is used to decide the design details of each stabilizer. The suggested design method is applied to a model of a practical 10 machine power system. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A self-tuning PID (proportional-integral-derivative) power system stabilizer (PSS) is presented for improving the dynamic stability of a multimachine power system over a wide range of operating conditions. In order to maintain good damping characteristic when there is a drastic change in system operating condition, the gain settings are adapted in real time based on the continuously measured system inputs and outputs. The proposed self-tuning stabilizer has a decentralized structure and only local measurements within each generating units are required for the adaptation process. The effectiveness of the proposed stabilizer is demonstrated by an example.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This thesis deals with the evaluation of Solar Grade Silicon (SoG-Si) purified by different techniques, and also the fabrication and characterization of high efficiency and advanced bifacial solar cells. In the beginning of Chapter 1, various SoG-Si production methods relevant for this work are qualitatively described. The three feedstock materials used in this work are from the Fluidized Bed Reactor (FBR) process, metallurgical feedstock-I and feedstock-II process. In metallurgical feedstock-I, the lifetime of the minority charge carriers in multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) samples at the grain boundaries are found to be higher than the grains themselves possibly due to lower resistivities in the grain boundaries. The efficiency of the best solar cell obtained using the mc-Si metallurgical feedstock-I is 16.1%. It has been identified that the fast light induced degradation, whose magnitude is lower than that of a reference cell suggests the formation of a B-metal ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cell extracts of the thermophile Clostridium thermohydrosulfuricum catalyzed the phosphorylation by (..gamma..-/sup 32/P)ATP of several endogenous proteins with M/sub r/s between 13,000 and 100,000. Serine and tyrosine were the main acceptors. Distinct substrate proteins were found in the soluble (e.g., proteins p66, p63, and p53 of M/sub r/s 66,000, 63,000, and 53,000, respectively) and particulate (p76 and p30) fractions, both of which contained protein kinase and phosphatase activity. The soluble fraction suppressed the phosphorylation of particulate proteins and contained a protein kinase inhibitor. Phosphorylation of p53 was promoted by 10..mu..M fructose 1,6-bisphosphate or glucose 1,6-bisphosphate and suppressed by hexose monophosphates, whereas p30 and p13 were suppressed by 5 ..mu..M brain (but not spinach) calmodulin. Polyamines, including the odd ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A general method for stable-isotope labeling of large proteins is introduced and applied for studies of the E. coli GroE chaperone proteins by solution NMR. In addition to enabling the residue-specific {sup 15}N-labeling of proteins on a highly deuterated background, it is also an efficient approach for uniform labeling. The method meets the requirements of high-level deuteration, minimal cross-labeling and high protein yield, which are crucial for NMR studies of structures with sizes above 150 kDa. The results obtained with the new protocol are compared to other strategies for protein labeling, and evaluated with regard to the influence of external factors on the resulting isotope labeling patterns. Applications with the GroE system show that these strategies are efficient tools for studies of structure, dynamics and intermolecular interactions in large supramolecular complexes, ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

SR proteins are essential splicing factors whose function is controlled by multi-site phosphorylation of a C-terminal domain rich in arginine-serine repeats (RS domain). The protein kinase SRPK1 has been shown to polyphosphorylate the N-terminal portion of the RS domain (RS1) of the SR protein ASF/SF2, a modification that promotes nuclear entry of this splicing factor and engagement in splicing function. Later, dephosphorylation is required for maturation of the spliceosome and other RNA processing steps. While phosphates are attached to RS1 in a sequential manner by SRPK1, little is known about how they are removed. To investigate factors that control dephosphorylation, we monitored region-specific mapping of phosphorylation sites in ASF/SF2 as a function of the protein phosphatase PP1. W...

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It is becoming clear that simple sequence repeats (SSRs) play a significant role in fungal genome organization, and they are a large source of genetic markers for population genetics and meiotic maps. We identified SSRs in the Laccaria bicolor genome by in silico survey and analyzed their distribution in the different genomic regions. We also compared the abundance and distribution of SSRs in L. bicolor with those of the following fungal genomes: Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Coprinopsis cinerea, Ustilago maydis, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus nidulans, Magnaporthe grisea, Neurospora crassa and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using the MISA computer program, we detected 277,062 SSRs in the L. bicolor genome representing 8% of the assembled genomic sequence. Among the analyzed basidiomycetes, L. bicolor exhibited the highest SSR density although no correlation between relative abundance and the genome sizes was observed. In most genomes the short motifs (mono- to ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The authors have localized and characterized 2-125I-iodomelatonin binding sites in the chicken brain using in vitro quantitative autoradiography. Binding sites were widely distributed throughout the chicken brain, predominantly in regions associated with the visual system. The specific binding of 2-125I-iodomelatonin to discrete chicken brain areas was found to be saturable, reversible, and of high affinity. The specific binding of 2-125I-iodomelatonin (75 pm) was quantitated for 40 identifiable brain regions. Eight brain regions were chosen for binding characterization and pharmacological analysis: optic tectum, Edinger-Westphal nucleus, oculomotor nucleus, nucleus rotundus, ventral supraoptic decussation, ventrolateral geniculate nucleus, neostriatum, and ectostriatum. These regions showed no rostral-caudal gradient in 2-125I-iodomelatonin specific binding, and saturation analysis revealed a single class of high-affinity sites with KD values in the range of 33-48 ...

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Laron syndrome (LS) is an autosomal recessively inherited condition characterized by insensitivity to endogenous and exogenous GH. Affected individuals have severe episodes and other characteristic features. GH receptor gene mutations are present in all affected individuals in whom molecular studies have been reported. The GH receptor is a plasma membrane-spanning protein in which the extracellular domain binds circulating GH and the intracellular domain interacts with the JAK-2 kinase and possibly other intracellular signaling molecules. GH receptor dimerization occurs on GH binding and is thought to be required for normal signal transduction. We have studied the GH receptor genes of four unrelated individuals affected with LS from the United States, Italy, Saudi Arabia, and India. We have identified four different missense mutations that alter consecutive amino acids 152 to 155 in or near the dimerization domain of the GH receptor. One of ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The purified integral membrane protein, band 3, from human erythrocytes was inserted into egg lecithin liposomes. The insertion of band 3 was determined from thermal transition data from the analysis of the C-H stretching region bands recorded at temperatures from 25 to -22"oC. Raman spectra show that band 3 considerably broadens and lowers the thermal transition of egg lecithin liposomes, suggesting the insertion of band 3. The band 3-inserted liposomes were irradiated with gamma-rays (40 Gy) and the radiation target groups were determined by the analysis of the structural sensitive Raman bands in the 1600-1700 cm"-"1 (amide I), 1200-1300 cm"-"1 (amide III) and 550-1030 cm"-"1 (side chain amino groups) regions. The radiation-sensitive groups as identified from Raman spectra in the region 550-1030 cm"-"1 are tyrosines and cysteines. The radiation-induced changes in the secondary structure were determined from amide I and III bands. Quantitative ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A rat thyrotropin (thyroid-stimulating hormone, TSH) receptor cDNA was isolated that encoded a protein of 764 amino acids, M_r 86,528. Transfection of the cDNA caused COS-7 cells to develop a TSH-sensitive adenylate cyclase response and the ability to bind "1"2"5I-labeled TSH; both activities were similar to those of rat FRTL-5 thyroid cells and not duplicated by lutropin. The gene represented by the cDNA was assigned to mouse chromosome 12 and human chromosome 14. Northern analyses identified two species of mRNA, 5.6 and 3.3 kilobases, in FRTL-5 thyroid cells; the transcripts appeared to differ only in the extent of their 3' noncoding sequences. There were minimal amounts of the two mRNAs in rat ovary, and neither was detected in RNA preparations from rat testis, liver, lung, brain, spleen, and FRT thyroid cells, which do not have a functional TSH receptor. TSH decreased both mRNA species 3- to 4-fold within 8 hr in FRTL-5 thyroid cells; ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Werner syndrome (WS) is characterized by premature onset of age-associated disorders and predisposition to cancer. The WS protein, WRN, encodes 3′ → 5′ DNA helicase and 3′...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Effector proteins expressed in the esophageal gland cells of cyst nematodes are delivered into plant cells through a hollow, protrusible stylet. Although evidence indicates that effector proteins function...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Amidination of aldolase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, tryptophan synthetase B protein, L-arabinose isomerase, and the catalytic subunit of E. coli aspartate transcarbamylase...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The mini-chromosome maintenance proteins Mcm2–7 are essential for DNA replication. They are loaded onto replication origins during G1 phase of the cell cycle to form a pre-replication complex...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Altered structure, and hence function, of cellular macromolecules caused by oxidation can contribute to loss of physiological function with age. Here, we tested whether the lifespan of bats, which generally...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Previous studies have shown that salicylates and protein-calorie malnutrition independently compromise maturation and growth of infants. In the present study, pregnant rats were fed normal-and low-protein...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Cytosol proteins prepared from castor bean endosperm (4-day-old) seedlings stimulate the exchange of [³H]phosphatidylethanolamine between liposomes and mitochondria. The acceleration of the...Full Text Available