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At least 1,063 records · Page 59Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

The amphiphilic character of glycogenin.

This study describes for the first time the amphiphilicity of the protein moiety of proteoglycogen. Glycogenin but not proteoglycogen associates to phospholipid vesicles and forms by itself stable Gibbs and Langmuir monolayers at the air-buffer interface. The adsorption free energy (-6.7 kcal/mol) and the glycogenin collapse pressure (47 mN/m) are indicative of its high surface activity which can thermodynamically drive and retain the protein at the membrane interface to a maximum equilibrium adsorption surface pressure of 21 mN/m. The marked surface activity of glycogenin is further enhanced by its thermodynamically favorable penetration into zwitterionic and anionic phospholipids with a high cut-off surface pressure point above 30 mN/m. The strong association to phospholipid vesicles and the marked surface activity of glycogenin correspond to a high amphiphilic character which supports its spontaneous association to membrane interfaces, in which the de novo biosynthesis of glycogen was proposed to initiate.

Adsorption↗
PubMed2002

Unique character and metabolism of high density lipoprotein (HDL) in fetus.

Lipid and lipoprotein profiles, and enzymes for the lipid metabolism were compared between cord and adult blood. Consistent with previous reports, the major lipoprotein in cord blood was high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and that in adult blood was low-density lipoprotein (LDL). The level of apolipoprotein E (apo E) in cord blood was almost equivalent to that in adult blood, while other apolipoproteins and lipids were all lower than the adult level. In cord blood, apo E-rich HDL cholesterol represented more than 30% of total HDL cholesterol (around 11% in adult), and the concentration was about twice of that in adult blood. This apo E-rich HDL cholesterol was poorly esterified (E/T 56%) compared with that in adults (93%). The lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) activity in cord blood was extremely low, while the activity and mass of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) were higher than those in adult blood. The apo E genotype did not show influences on total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, total HDL cholesterol, and apo E rich HDL cholesterol levels in cord blood, as opposed to those in adult blood. The association of D442G mutation of the CETP gene with the increased HDL cholesterol in adult blood was not seen in cord blood. Rather, the mutation was associated with low total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels in cord blood. These results indicate that, in fetus, the character and metabolism of HDL, especially of apo E-rich HDL cholesterol, are distinct from those in adults.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Lipophilic character of cardiac glycosides: correlation between RM values and acute toxicity data in different animal species.

The RM for a new series of cardiac glycosides were calculated by means of some of the delta RM values previously derived from another series of compounds. The experimental or calculated RM values of both series of derivatives were correlated with the acute toxicity data (log 1/C). The slopes of the linear equations for cats, dogs, guinea-pigs and frogs are very close, showing that the dependence of toxicity on the lipophilic character is the same in these animal species.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Study of the lipophilic character of a series of beta-carbolines.

The lipophilic character of a series of beta-carbolines has been studied. The RM values were measured by means of a reversed-phase thin-layer chromatographic (TLC) technique and compared with the RM values obtained by high-performance TLC (HPTLC), the log k' obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the log P values. The best equation shows a very good linear relationship between our RM values and the classical log P values obtained using an octanol-water system. The choice of a pH of 13.0 for the TLC system allowed the measurement of the RM values of molecules in their non-ionized form. The deviations from the linear relationship shown by the RM(HPTLC) and log k' values of two compounds were due to the fact that both compounds were at least partially ionized at the pH of 7.0 at which the HPTLC and HPLC determinations were carried out.

Carbolines↗
PubMed2000

Modification of morphological characters and cuticular compounds in worker ants Leptothorax nylanderi induced by endoparasites Anomotaenia brevis.

Anomotaenia brevis (Cestoda, Cyclophyllidea) induces major changes in the morphological characters of the host ant, Leptothorax nylanderi (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): alteration of pigmentation, lowering of adult mean size, reduction of legs, eyes and head, enlargement of petiole. The presence of parasites in adult ants also modifies the quantity of cuticular compounds but not their quality. The parasite induces some changes in the synthesis/release of 13 cuticular hydrocarbons. The higher the number of parasites within a worker, the larger the quantitative changes in four cuticular hydrocarbons in comparison with normal ants. Such modifications (morphology, chemistry, behaviour) may explain the partial intolerance exerted by normal workers against the parasitized ants.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Flavonoid characters contributing to the taxonomic revision of the Hebe parviflora complex.

Comparative flavonoid chemistry is a key element of a multidisciplinary study aimed at a revision of the genus Hebe, New Zealand's largest genus of flowering plants. One aspect of this study has been an investigation of the Hebe parviflora complex. A recent botanical paper on this topic marshalls generalised flavonoid data and morphological characters to support the recognition of two species in this complex, Hebe stenophylla and Hebe parviflora, which are clearly distinguishable from each other and from the related Hebe traversii and Hebe strictissima. A detailed study of the flavonoid chemistry and the distributional data used to support these conclusions are presented here. Six new compounds have been isolated in this study, including 6-hydroxyapigenin-7-O-beta-[2-O-beta-xyloxyloside] and-7-O-beta-[2-O-beta-xyloglucoside], 6-hydroxyluteolin-7-O-beta-[2-O-beta-xyloxyloside] and, luteolin-, 6-hydroxyluteolin- and 4'-O-methylluteolin-7-O-beta-[6-O-beta-xyloglucoside]. Other flavonoids include apigenin and luteolin 7- and 4'- mono-, di- and possibly tri-O-glycosides, 8-hydroxyluteolin 7- and 8-O-glucosides, and kaempferol and quercetin 3-O-mono- and di-glycosides. New structure assignments are supported with detailed 1H and 13C NMR data, including HMQC and HMBC measurements.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗
PubMed2005

Resonance Character of Hydrogen-bonding Interactions in Water and Other H-bonded Species.

Hydrogen bonding underlies the structure of water and all biochemical processes in aqueous medium. Analysis of modern ab initio wave functions in terms of natural bond orbitals (NBOs) strongly suggests the resonance-type "charge transfer" (CT) character of H-bonding, contrary to the widely held classical-electrostatic viewpoint that underlies current molecular dynamics (MD) modeling technology. Quantum cluster equilibrium (QCE) theory provides an alternative ab initio-based picture of liquid water that predicts proton-ordered two-coordinate H-bonding patterns, dramatically different from the ice-like picture of electrostatics-based MD simulations. Recent X-ray absorption and Raman scattering experiments of Nilsson and co-workers confirm the microstructural two-coordinate picture of liquid water. We show how such cooperative "unsaturated" ring/chain topologies arise naturally from the fundamental resonance-CT nature of B:cdots, three dots, centeredHA hydrogen bonding, which is expressed in NBO language as n(B)-->sigma(AH)(*) intermolecular delocalization from a filled lone pair n(B) of the Lewis base (B:) into the proximal antibond sigma(AH)(*) of the Lewis acid (HA). Stabilizing n(O)-->sigma(OH)(*) orbital delocalization, equivalent to partial mixing of resonance structures H(2)O:cdots, three dots, centeredHOH H(3)O(+) cdots, three dots, centered(-):OH, is thereby seen to be the electronic origin of general enthalpic and entropic propensities that favor relatively small cyclic clusters such as water pentamers W(5c) in the QCE liquid phase. We also discuss the thermodynamically competitive three-coordinate clusters (e.g., icosahedral water buckyballs, W(24)), which appear to play a role in hydrophobic solvation phenomena. We conclude with suggestions for incorporating resonance-CT aspects of H-bonding into empirical MD simulation potentials in a computationally tractable manner.

Hydrogen Bonding↗
PubMed2004

Characters of dendritic poly(L-lysine) analogues with the terminal lysines replaced with arginines and histidines as gene carriers in vitro.

The development of a non-viral gene delivery system into cells is an important key to realize the safe delivery of therapeutic genes without the side effects often pointed out for viral vectors. We have shown that dendritic poly(L-lysine) of the 6th generation (KG6) shows high transfection efficiency into several cultivated cells with low cytotoxicity. Here, to investigate the effect of substituting terminal cationic groups on the gene delivery into cells, we synthesized KGR6 and KGH6, in which terminal amino acids were replaced by arginines and histidines, respectively. DNA-binding analysis showed that KGR6 could bind to the plasmid DNA as strongly as KG6, whereas KGH6 showed decreased binding ability. KGR6 showed 3- to 12-fold higher transfection efficiency into several cultivated cells than KG6. In contrast, KGH6 showed no transfection efficiency. However, once KGH6 was mixed with the DNA under acidic conditions (pH 5.0), DNA-complexes were formed and they showed high transfection efficiency compared to that in KG6-mediated transfection. DNA-complexes of KGH6 formed under acidic conditions were 1-2 microm and spherical, and relatively stable under neutral conditions. The size and spherical shape of the complexes were the same as those of KG6. The unique character of KGH6 will be one of the basic and valuable tools which will enable us to construct a functional gene transfection system in vitro and in vivo.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Acute T-lymphoblastic leukemia relapsed with the character of myeloid/natural killer cell precursor phenotype: a case report.

The leukemic lymphoblasts of a patient expressed CD7, CD13, CD33, CD34, HLA-DR and cytoplasmic CD3varepsilon. He was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and successfully treated with a conventional chemotherapy for ALL. The disease relapsed three times, and the character of the cells gradually altered, i.e. CD56 expression increased and CD13, CD7 and cCD3 epsilon decreased. The phenotype of the relapsed ALL was, therefore, compatible with myeloid/natural killer cell precursor acute leukemia (M/NK-AL). Some of M/NK-AL may be closely related with T/myeloid-biphenotypic pro-T blasts, and both types of acute leukemia may develop a tendency to express myeloid antigens, and they may belong to the category of immature T lymphoid precursors.

Antigens, CD↗
PubMed1998

Measurement of temperament and character in mood disorders: a model of fundamental states as personality types.

BACKGROUND: Personality assessment may allow reliable measurement of risk of mood disorders. METHODS: A group of adults (804) representative of the general population were assessed by questionnaire. Personality types were measured by the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). RESULTS: Specific TCI configurations define personality types that can be described as hyperthymic, cyclothymic, irritable, and depressive. Each type had a unique profile of emotions, suicide attempts, and hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: TCI traits are associated with mood disorders. LIMITATIONS: Different ways of measuring Kraepelinean subtypes may disagree. Whether differences in personality cause psychopathology, or vice versa, remains uncertain. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Personality profiles help in assessing suicidality and planning treatment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

The character and consequences of disturbing sound sensations in retraction type middle ear disease.

OBJECTIVE: Transient sound disturbances are common but neglected symptoms in retraction type middle ear disease (R-MED). The aim of this study was to explore and describe their character, their individual consequences, and their role in the development of tympanic membrane retractions. METHODS: Fifty-three subjects with manifest retractions and experiences of disturbing sound and ear sensations were interviewed. A qualitative method was used for analysis of the transcribed interviews. RESULTS: Two different patterns emerged from the interviews. 1. Too weak sound was the least common and most tolerable disturbance. It occurred in 45% and was eliminated by Valsalva's inflation. 2. Sudden and transient sensations of too loud and piercing sound, and intermittent autophony frequently caused intense and intolerable discomfort, which might in turn cause loss of control of speech and conversation. These types occurred in 74% and 60%, respectively, and were eliminated by evacuating the middle ear, for example by sniffing. Subjects who described too loud sound or intermittent autophony commonly preferred a retracted tympanic membrane position. This may explain why pressure equalization by swallowing, and inflation by Valsalva's manoeuvre often elicited discomfort. CONCLUSIONS: Transient experiences of too loud sound or intermittent autophony may indicate a shift of sound preference towards the sound experienced at negative middle ear pressure, and an unreliable tubal function in the sense that it fails to stay closed to protect the ear from sounds and pressure variations in the nasopharynx. Such experiences of altered sound may trigger evacuation of the middle ear, which eliminates the sound disturbance. It is crucial to identify, interpret, and explain the disturbances correctly in the therapy and prevention of retractions, since habitual evacuation exposes the tympanic membrane to strong negative pressure loads and a subsequent risk of developing retraction.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Inverting character of alpha-glucuronidase A from Aspergillus tubingensis.

Alpha-glucuronidase A from Aspergillus tubingensis was found to be capable of liberating 4-O-methyl-D-glucuronic acid (MeGlcA) only from those beechwood glucuronoxylan fragments in which the acid is attached to the non-reducing terminal xylopyranosyl residue. Reduced aldotetrauronic acid, 4-O-methyl-D-glucuronosyl-alpha-1,2-D-xylopyranosyl-beta-1,4-xylopyranosyl-beta-1,4-xylitol, was found to be a suitable substrate to follow the stereochemical course of the hydrolytic reaction catalyzed by the purified enzyme. The configuration of the liberated MeGlcA was followed in a D(2)O reaction mixture by (1)H-NMR spectroscopy. It was unambiguously established that MeGlcA was released from the substrate as its beta-anomer from which the alpha-anomer was formed on mutarotation. This result represents the first experimental evidence for the inverting character of a microbial alpha-glucuronidase, a member of glycosyl hydrolase family 67 (EC 3.1.1.139).

Aspergillus↗
PubMed2000

Pattern of long-distance projections from fetal hippocampal field CA3 and CA1 cell grafts in lesioned CA3 of adult hippocampus follows intrinsic character of respective donor cells.

Fetal hippocampal grafts transplanted to the lesioned CA3 of adult hippocampus can extend axonal projections to many regions of the host brain. However, the identity of grafted cells that project to specific host regions is unknown. We hypothesize that the pattern of long-distance axonal projections from distinct fetal hippocampal cells grafted to lesioned CA3 is specified by the intrinsic nature of respective donor cells rather than characteristics of the host graft region. We grafted fetal hippocampal CA3 or CA1 cells into kainic acid lesioned CA3 of adult hippocampus at four days post-lesion. Neurons projecting to either the contralateral hippocampus or the ipsilateral septum were then measured in these grafts at four months post-grafting using Fluoro-Gold and DiI tract tracing. CA3 grafts located close to the degenerated CA3 cell layer showed a high propensity for establishing projections into the contralateral hippocampus (commissural projections) compared to similarly located CA1 grafts, which exhibited negligible commissural projections. Similar distinction was observed between the two graft types even when they were located only partially in the lesioned CA3. Among CA3 grafts, those placed near the degenerated CA3 cell layer established significantly greater commissural projections than those placed only partially in the CA3 region. Septal projections, in contrast, were robust from both CA3 and CA1 grafts. This differential projection pattern between CA3 and CA1 grafts resembles projections of CA3 and CA1 cells in intact hippocampus.These results demonstrate that the intrinsic character of grafted fetal cells determines the type of efferent projections from fetal grafts into different targets in the lesioned adult host brain. However, the extent of efferent projections from specific grafts is also influenced by the location of grafted cells within the host region. Thus, graft-mediated appropriate reconstruction of damaged circuitry in the lesioned brain may require grafting of homotopic donor cells. Further, the robust and specific projections observed from CA3 grafts is likely beneficial for functional recovery of hippocampus following CA3 injury and hence of significance towards developing a graft-mediated therapy for human temporal lobe epilepsy.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Characters of Lactobacillus coryniformis, isolated from an Iraqi cheese.

The cultural, physiological, and biochemical characters of 21 strains of Lactobacillus coryniformis, isolated from Iraqi cheese, were investigated. Some of the strains grew at 45 degrees C. All possessed the following characteristics: they did not contain DAP; no growth in 4% taurocholate or in 9% NaCl; growth in 6.5% NaCl; milk mostly coagulated within 3 to 60 days with final activity of 0.85--1.09% and pH 4.05; xylose, (D+)tagatose, inulin, and trehalose not fermented; ribose fermented by only one strain and arabinose by another; pyruvate, malate, and fumarate decomposed in the presence of glucose with formation of carbon dioxide; CO2 was produced from gluconate by 20 out of 21 strains. The mean total amount of lactate, produced after 41 days at 30 degrees C, was 42.6 +/- 2.5 mumoles per ml, of L(+)lactate 17.8 +/- 1.1, and of % L(+)lactate of total lactate 42.3 +/- 1.7. The isolates degraded pyruvate (111 mumoles/ml) in the presence of glucose (55.5 mumoles/ml) with lactate as the major product, together with acetate 5.8%, ethanol 8.15%, acetoin 1.95%, and diacetyl 2.50% yield on a molar basis after 60 days at 30 degrees C. Diacetyl and acetoin could be formed from pyruvate plus glucose, but not from either glucose alone, citrate alone, or from citrate plus glucose. The mean total amount of diacetyl plus acetoin, after 26 days at 30 degrees C, was 1059.6 +/- 24.0 micrograms/ml, of diacetyl 92.8 +/- 2.2, and of % diacetyl of the total diacetyl plus acetoin was 8.8 +/- 0.3. L. coryniformis differs from L. plantarum in morphology, in not containing DAP, in failure to grow in 4% taurocholate, in not fermenting ribose and trehalose, and in not decomposing tartrate.

Carbohydrate Metabolism↗
PubMed2004

[Multidimensional character of asthma severity in the EGEA study].

RATIONALE: The severity of asthma has been defined by various criteria in epidemiology, but their relationships have been rarely studied. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The interrelationships between various asthma severity criteria (clinical severity in the past 12 months) (score 0-7), functional (FEV1), therapy (inhaled steroids used in the past 12 months) and hospitalization during life were studied. Bivariate (OR) and multivariate (factorial analyses, log-linear models) analyses were applied in asthmatic children (n=135) and adults (n=213) recruited in chest clinics for the EGEA study (Epidemiological Study on the Genetics and Environment of Asthma). RESULTS: In asthmatics, the proportion of severe asthma was highly dependent on the definition used. Whatever the statistical method used, FEV1 in children was unrelated to treatment, hospitalization and the clinical score. In adults, the clinical score was not associated with hospitalization, treatment and FEV1, these last three criteria being highly related to each other. CONCLUSION: Results support the hypothesis of the multidimensional character of severity of asthma.

Administration, Inhalation↗
PubMed2000

Dissociation of writing processes: functional magnetic resonance imaging during writing of Japanese ideographic characters.

Dissociation between copying letters and writing to dictation has been reported in the clinical neuropsychological literature. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was conducted in normal volunteers to detect the neurofunctional differences between 'copying Kanji', the Japanese ideographic characters, and 'writing Kanji corresponding to phonological information'. Four tasks were conducted: the copying-Kanji task, the writing-Kanji-corresponding-to-phonogram task, the Kanji-grapheme-puzzle task, and the control task. The right superior parietal lobule was extensively activated during the copying-Kanji task (a model of the copying letters process) and the Kanji-grapheme-puzzle task. These observations suggested that this area was involved in referring the visual stimuli closely related to the ongoing handwriting movements. On the other hand, Broca's area, which is crucial for language production, was extensively activated during the writing-Kanji-corresponding-to-phonogram task (a model of the writing-to-dictation process). The Kanji-grapheme-puzzle task activated the bilateral border portions between the inferior parietal lobule and the occipital lobe, the left premotor area, and the bilateral supplementary motor area (SMA). Since the Kanji-grapheme-puzzle task involved manipulospatial characteristics, these results suggested cooperation between visuospatial and motor executive functions, which may be extensively utilized in demanding visual language processing. The neurofunctional difference between 'copying Kanji' and 'writing Kanji corresponding to phonogram' was efficiently demonstrated by this fMRI experiment.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Phylogeny of Drosophilinae (Diptera: Drosophilidae), with comments on combined analysis and character support.

Drosophilidae (Diptera) is a diverse, cosmopolitan family of flies. Here, we present a combined analysis phylogeny of Drosophilinae, one of the two subfamilies of Drosophilidae, based on data from six different data partitions, including both molecular and morphological characters. Although our data show support for the monophyly of the Hawaiian Drosophilidae, and the subgenus Sophophora, neither the genus Drosophila nor the subgenus Drosophila is monophyletic. Partitioned Bremer support (PBS) indicates that morphological data taken from Grimaldi's monograph (Grimaldi, 1990a), as well as sequences from the mitochondrial (mt) 16S rDNA and the nuclear Adh gene, lend much support to our tree's topology. This is particularly interesting in the case of Grimaldi's data, since his published hypothesis conflicts with ours in significant ways. Our combined analysis cladogram phylogeny reflects the catch-all designation that the name Drosophila has become, in that the cladogram does not support the monophyly of either the genus or subgenus Drosophila.

Animals↗