Properties of the regulatory subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase type II from human brain

The regulatory subunit type II (RII) of cAMP-dependent protein kinase purified from human brain was represented by two proteins with apparent molecular masses of 51-52 kD and 54 kD. Dephosphorylation of human RII containing 3 mol phosphate/mol protein did not change the electrophoretic pattern. One-dimensional peptide mapping of 51-52 kD and 54 kD proteins after digestion with St. aureus V8 protease evidenced to their being distinct proteins. The data obtained permit to assume that human RII of neural type is represented by two isoforms.     

The theta rhythm of the infant EEG and the development of the mechanisms of voluntary control of attention in the 2nd half of the first year of life

The neurophysiological basis of attention control was studied in infants at the second half-year of life, i.e. in the period when the capability for voluntary control over behavior fundamentally improves. EEG was recorded in 60 infants aed 8-11 months in three experimental conditions: 1) attention to an object in the visual field (externally controlled attention, or the baseline state), 2) anticipation of a person in the peek-a-boo game (internally controlled attention), 3) attention to the reappeared person in the peek-a-boo game (control condition). The spectral analysis of the EEG data revealed a sharp increase in the EEG theta (3.6-6.0 Hz) during internally controlled attention as compared to the baseline and control conditions. The theta1 (3.6-4.8 Hz) increase was maximal in the frontal derivations. The reactivity of the frontal theta1 during internally controlled attention discriminated infants with different abilities to maintain this type of attention. The reactivity of the theta2 (5.2-6.0 Hz) was maximal in the right temporal derivation (T6) and did not depend on stability of the anticipatory attention. The findings point to different functional significance of the theta1 and theta2 rhythms in infants. It is suggested that synchronization of the frontal theta1 rhythm in infants reflects the activity of the anterior attention system which realizes the executive attention control. The ability to maintain anticipatory attention increased with age, whereas the frontal theta1 synchronization decreased and totally disappeared at the age of 11 months. At the age of 8 months there was a positive correlation between the frontal theta1 synchronization and behavioral index of stability of the internally controlled attention. On the contrary, this correlation was negative at the age of 9 and 10 months. It is suggested that the age-dependent dynamics of the relationship between the frontal theta1 reactivity and attention reflects a leap in maturation of the anterior attention system resulting in its more economic and efficient functioning.     

The use of physiotherapy and antibacterial preparations in urogenital infections

335 patients with obliterative diseases of arteries of the low extremities were examined. Results of motor rehabilitation depend on the severity of post-amputation defect of the extremity and functional condition of the stump. The lower is the level of the amputation the higher is the effectiveness of the rehabilitational measures. Ischemia of femoral stump springs up rarely but its course is mare severe than ischemia of the stump of the shin, which is confirmed by the data of clinical examination, investigation of biochemical parameters of the blood and mortality rate. For prophylaxis of ischemia of the stump it is suggested simultaneously with the amputation of the extremity to perform reconstructive procedures on the arteries, aimed at restoration of blood flow through the profound femoral artery. This policy provides the possibility to form a long functional stump of the extremity and to improve results of motor rehabilitation.     

A knob-associated tandem repeat in maize capable of forming fold-back DNA segments: are chromosome knobs megatransposons?

A class of tandemly repeated DNA sequences (TR-1) of 350-bp unit length was isolated from the knob DNA of chromosome 9 of Zea mays L. Comparative fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed that TR-1 elements are also present in cytologically detectable knobs on other maize chromosomes in different proportions relative to the previously described 180-bp repeats. At least one knob on chromosome 4 is composed predominantly of the TR-1 repeat. In addition, several small clusters of the TR-1 and 180-bp repeats have been found in different chromosomes, some not located in obvious knob heterochromatin. Variation in restriction fragment fingerprints and copy number of the TR-1 elements was found among maize lines and among maize chromosomes. TR-1 tandem arrays up to 70 kilobases in length can be interspersed with stretches of 180-bp tandem repeat arrays. DNA sequence analysis and restriction mapping of one particular stretch of tandemly arranged TR-1 units indicate that these elements may be organized in the form of fold-back DNA segments. The TR-1 repeat shares two short segments of homology with the 180-bp repeat. The longest of these segments (31 bp; 64% identity) corresponds to the conserved region among 180-bp repeats. The polymorphism and complex structure of knob DNA suggest that, similar to the fold-back DNA-containing giant transposons in Drosophila, maize knob DNA may have some properties of transposable elements.     

Use of X-ray diffraction for studying the temperature dependence of the Young modulus of protein crystals

Conventionally, for dental reconstruction after bone grafting of the congenital residual alveolar cleft, a fixed prosthesis or removable partial denture is used. In this paper, residual alveolar cleft reconstruction with an osseointegrated implant following secondary bone grafting is described. The patient underwent secondary bone grafting of the residual alveolar cleft at the age of 18 years. One osseointegrated implant was placed in the bone bridge 8 months after bone grafting. No problems up to 1 year after the fabrication and placement of the fixed prosthesis have been observed.     

The sulfuryl transfer mechanism. Crystal structure of a vanadate complex of estrogen sulfotransferase and mutational analysis

Estrogen sulfotransferase (EST) catalyzes transfer of the 5'-sulfuryl group of adenosine 3'-phosphate 5'-phosphosulfate (PAPS) to the 3alpha-phenol group of estrogenic steroids such as estradiol (E2). The recent crystal structure of EST-adenosine 3', 5'-diphosphate (PAP)- E2 complex has revealed that residues Lys48, Thr45, Thr51, Thr52, Lys106, His108, and Try240 are in position to play a catalytic role in the sulfuryl transfer reaction of EST (Kakuta Y., Pedersen, L. G., Carter, C. W., Negishi, M., and Pedersen, L. C. (1997) Nat. Struct. Biol. 4, 904-908). Mutation of Lys48, Lys106, or His108 nearly abolishes EST activity, indicating that they play a critical role in catalysis. A present 2.2-A resolution structure of EST-PAP-vanadate complex indicates that the vanadate molecule adopts a trigonal bipyramidal geometry with its equatorial oxygens coordinated to these three residues. The apical positions of the vanadate molecule are occupied by a terminal oxygen of the 5'-phosphate of PAP (2.1 A) and a possible water molecule (2. 3 A). This water molecule superimposes well to the 3alpha-phenol group of E2 in the crystal structure of the EST.PAP.E2 complex. These structures are characteristic of the transition state for an in-line sulfuryl transfer reaction from PAPS to E2. Moreover, residues Lys48, Lys106, and His108 are found to be coordinated with the vanadate molecule at the transition state of EST.     

Depletion of a Drosophila homolog of yeast Sup35p disrupts spindle assembly, chromosome segregation, and cytokinesis during male meiosis

This paper addresses the effects of availability and anchoring-and-adjustment on people's beliefs and values concerning environmental issues. The first three studies focus on lay people's perceptions of the causes of large scale environmental risks, the second series of three studies deals with how people value environmental goods and how much they are prepared to pay to mitigate environmental risks. In studies 1-3 we investigate the effects of availability and anchoring-and-adjustment on estimating the contribution of various factors to large scale environmental risks. Highly complex risks such as acid rain and global warming tend to be associated with multiple causes, and our results show that estimating the role of these causes is clearly affected by availability and anchoring-and-adjustment. Both have sizeable effects and persist over time. Moreover, corrective procedures only seem to have a limited effect. Availability and anchoring-and-adjustment not only play a role in judging the possible causes of risks; they also play a role in research attempting to assess the public's willingness to pay (WTP) to protect our environment. The outcomes of WTP surveys are often used as a tool to help policy decision making. In the second part of this article we present three studies on this issue. Results provide further evidence of the impact of the two heuristics on the outcomes of WTP research. Implications for research and practice are briefly discussed.