Molecular mechanism of base excision repair of uracil-containing DNA in yeast cell-free extracts

Base excision repair (BER) constitutes a ubiquitous excision repair mechanism, which is responsible for the removal of multiple types of damaged and inappropriate bases in DNA. We have employed a yeast cell-free system to examine the biochemical mechanism of the BER pathway in lower eukaryotes. Using uracil-containing DNA as a model substrate, we demonstrate that yeast BER requires Apn1 protein, an Escherichia coli endonuclease IV homolog. In extracts of an apn1 deletion mutant, the 5'-incision at AP (apurinic/apyrimidinic) sites is not detectable, supporting the notion that yeast contains only one major 5'-AP endonuclease. The processing of the 5'-deoxyribose phosphate moieties was found to be a rate-limiting step. During BER of uracil-containing DNA, repair patch sizes of 1-5 nucleotides were detected, with single nucleotide repair patches predominant.     

Ethnic differences in the length of the menstrual cycle during the postmenarcheal period

In 1989, 125 African-American and 123 European-American girls aged 12-14 years were enrolled in a 2-year study in which they maintained a menstrual calendar, recording the date and amount of menstrual bleeding. Weight, exercise, and stress during the previous week were recorded at the start of each menstrual cycle. Although only minor ethnic differences were observed in expected cycle length (29.3 vs. 28.8 days for European-American and African-American girls, respectively), more prominent differences were observed in the between-subjects standard deviation of cycle length (2.9 vs. 2.2 days, respectively) and in the odds of having a cycle longer than 45 days (odds ratio=1.86, 95% confidence interval 1.17-2.97) for European-American compared with African-American girls. Low weight for height and high levels of exercise increased the probability of having a cycle longer than 45 days and decreased expected cycle length of 13- to 45-day cycles. Additional investigation of potential ethnic differences in menstrual cycle characteristics is warranted.     

Large-signal phase retardation with a poled electrooptic fiber

A linear electrooptic coefficient of 0.3 pm/V is induced in a germanosilicate fiber by thermal/electric-field poling. Reducing the fiber thickness by simple mechanical polishing following the poling, leads to a half-wave drive voltage of only 75 V for a 12-cm active length with no measurable linear optical loss in the fiber. The induced linear electrooptic coefficient shows no decay at room temperature for over four months, and only a 10% decay after heating to 90/spl deg/C for 1000 h.     

Apoptosis in the early stage of compensatory renal growth following uninephrectomy in the young and old rats

Myostatin (GDF-8) is a member of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily and plays a role in muscle growth and development. Mice having targeted disruption of this gene display marked increases in muscle mass, a phenotype similar to the muscular hypertrophy (mh) in several cattle breeds. Physical mapping data developed from YAC clones indicate the bovine myostatin gene lies close to the centromere of bovine Chromosome (Chr) 2 (BTA2) at 2q11, indistinguishable from the cytogenetic location of the mh locus. In addition, a polymorphism in the second intron of the gene was used to show that myostatin maps within the interval previously shown to contain mh. These data suggest myostatin may be the gene causing muscular hypertrophy in cattle.     

GABAA, NMDA and AMPA receptors: a developmentally regulated 'ménage à trois'

The main ionotropic receptors (GABAA, NMDA and AMPA) display a sequential participation in neuronal excitation in the neonatal hippocampus. GABA, the principal inhibitory transmitter in the adult CNS, acts as an excitatory transmitter in early postnatal stage. Glutamatergic synaptic transmission is first purely NMDA-receptor based and lacks functional AMPA receptors. Therefore, initially glutamatergic synapses are 'silent' at resting membrane potential, NMDA channels being blocked by Mg2+. However, when GABA and glutamatergic synapses are coactivated during the physiological patterns of activity, GABAA receptors can facilitate the activation of NMDA receptors, playing the role conferred to AMPA receptors later on in development. Determining the mechanisms underlying the development of this 'ménage à trois' will shed light not only on the wide range of trophic roles of glutamate and GABA in the developing brain, but also on the significance of the transition from neonatal to adult forms of plasticity.     

Menadione-induced oxidative stress accelerates onset of Emory mouse cataract in vivo

This article takes issue with procedural reductionism, which is the inclination to reduce all matters of judgement and responsibility to the following of some procedure or rule. Two scenarios provide content for a discussion of professional discretion in the context of accountability. The author shows that in professional life there will always be situations that stand beyond the rules of procedures and require the unique judgement of the professional at the time. While this judgement may be determined by the facts available in a situation of uncertainty, it cannot be reduced to the facts (including facts about rules and procedures). The moral judgement will still have an essential indeterminancy about it.     

Contrast-enhanced magnetisation transfer MRI in metastatic lesions of the brain

Our purpose was to compare prospectively the sensitivity of contrast-enhanced magnetisation transfer (MT) MRI and gradient-echo (GE) T1-weighted images in metastatic disease of the brain. We studied 52 patients with brain metastases, using conventional T1-weighted GE and MT spin-echo (SE) images after the same standard dose of gadolinium. Axial 5-mm reconstructions of GE data were compared with 5-mm MT images in the same plane. Metastases were counted independently by two neuroradiologists. In 12 patients (23%) MT imaging showed more metastases than GE images (P = 0.03). We detected 68 more metastases with the former technique.     

Oscillation of the scattering time in a 2D electron system with oval antidots

Electron scattering by a single barrier is predicted to reveal singularities as the magnetic field is changed, because the number of electron collisions with the barrier dramatically increases as chaotic orbits around the barrier are changed into periodic orbits. To test this experimentally we have measured the magnetoresistance of AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructures with a two-dimensional electron gas and a lateral lattice containing a macroscopic number of oval-shaped antidots fabricated using electron lithography. Reproducible fluctuations in the magnetoresistance are observed at low field, which are due to the oscillations of the number of electron collisions with the antidots. The number of collisions N before the electron escapes from the antidot has been calculated as a function of B in an electric field. The position of the maxima in N(B) obtained from calculations and experiment are in reasonable agreement.     

Sequential discrete multilevel automated system for recording electron-diffraction patterns

This article considers a discrete sequential multilevel automated system for recording electron-diffraction patterns. A comparative analysis is presented, along with experimental results that make it possible to evaluate the effectiveness of the technical decisions on which the device is based. The general design of the system is presented. Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika No. 5, pp. 16–18, May, 1996.