Influence of cross-correlation between dipolar and chemical shift anisotropy relaxation mechanisms upon the transverse relaxation rates of 15N in macromolecules

Heteronuclear multiple-quantum coherence relaxation rate are calculated for the individual transitions of the S spin in an AIS nuclear spin system assuming that the heteronucleus (S spin) has relaxation contributions from both intramolecular dipole-dipole and chemical shift anisotropy relaxation. The individual multiplet components of the heteronuclear zero- and double-quantum coherences are shown to have different transverse relaxation rates. The cross-correlation between the two relaxation mechanisms is shown to be the dominant cause of the calculated differential line broadening. Experimental data are presented using as an example a uniformly 15N labelled sample of human epidermal growth factor.

Cross-field gas breakdown in a coaxial cylinder geometry

Sparking potentials in a coaxial cylinder geometry in oxygen and dry air were measured in crossed electric and magnetic fields. From the data effective collision frequencies were calculated using the equivalent pressure concept. It is shown that the equivalent pressure concept holds good for deriving the effective collision frequencies in non-uniform electric fields.

Attitudes towards suicide among Master’s degree students: a cross-cultural comparison between China and Finland

Attitudes towards suicide among Master’s degree students in Chang Sha (China) and Helsinki (Finland) were compared in order to explore possible cross-cultural differences. The sample included 206 Master’s degree students, 101 Chinese and 105 Finnish. Data were collected using the 30-item Multi-Attitudes Suicide Tendency Scale (MAST) and a demographic information form. According to the results, both Chinese and Finnish students held positive attitudes towards life, they held contradictory attitudes towards suicide, with Finnish students having more permissive and liberal attitudes towards suicide than their Chinese counterparts. In addition, three socio-demographic characteristics, namely religion, family structure, and economic status, associated with attitudes towards suicide among the Chinese Master’s degree students; meanwhile, all socio-demographic characteristics, including gender, religion, major subject, family structure, economic status, and received social support related to attitudes towards suicide among the Finnish Master’s degree students. However, after examining the interaction effect between socio-demographics and cultural backgrounds on attitudes towards suicide, the attitudes of Chinese students were more related to gender, marital status, family economic status, and received social support, whereas Finnish students were more influenced by religion. These findings suggest that culture plays an important role in shaping country-specific differences in attitudes towards suicide and their association with socio-demographic characteristics. Understanding individual attitudes towards suicide could help in intervention to prevent the development of suicidal ideation and in providing appropriate psychological counseling to reduce mental problems. Therefore, these cross-cultural differences may provide indications on how to conduct suicide prevention programs while considering culture-specific contexts.

Allergenic Cross-Reactivity between Parthenium and Ragweed Pollen Allergens

Cross-reactivity of allergens from the pollen of the Compositae weeds, Parthenium hysterophorus (American feverfew) and Ambrosia (ragweed), in 2 groups of patients with different geographic distributions was studied. Parthenium-sensitive Indian patients, who were never exposed to ragweed, elicited positive skin reactions with ragweed pollen extracts. A significant correlation in the RAST scores of Parthenium and ragweed-specific IgE was observed with the sera of Parthenium and ragweed-sensitive Indian and US patients, respectively. RAST inhibition experiments demonstrated that the binding of IgE antibodies in the sera of ragweed-sensitive patients to short (Wl) and giant (W3) ragweed allergen discs could be inhibited by up to 94% by Parthenium pollen extracts. Similar inhibition (up to 82%) was obtained when the sera of Parthenium rhinitis patients were incubated with ragweed allergen extracts. A dose-dependent proliferation of lymphocytes from a Parthenium-sensitive rhinitis patient with elevated levels of both Parthenium and ragweed-specific IgE was observed when incubated with Parthenium and ragweed pollen extracts. A 1.6-fold higher proliferation, however, was observed with Parthenium pollen extract at a concentration of 100 µg/ml. These results suggest that shared epitopes present on Parthenium and ragweed pollen allergens are recognized by both Indian and US patients sensitized by exposure to Parthenium and ragweed pollen, respectively. The high degree of cross-reactivity between Parthenium and ragweed pollen allergens suggests that individuals sensitized to Parthenium may develop type-I hypersensitivity reactions to ragweed and vice versa when they travel to regions infested with the weed to which they had not been previously exposed.

Architecture of Physalis Mottle Tymovirus as Probed by Monoclonal Antibodies and Cross-Linking Studies

Physalis mottle tymovirus (previously named belladonna mottle virus, Iowa strain) RNA was cross-linked to its coat protein by exposure of the intact virus to ultraviolet light. The site of cross-linking of the coat protein with the RNA was identified as Lys-10 by sequencing the oligonucleotide-linked tryptic peptide obtained upon HPLC separation subsequent to enzymetic digestion of the cross-linked and dissociated virus. Three monoclonal antibodies PA3B2, PB5G9, and PF12C9, obtained using denatured coat protein as antigen, cross-reacted effectively with the intact virus indicating that the epitopes recognized by these monoclonals are on the surface of the virus. Using the peptides generated by digestion with CNBr, clostripain, V-8 protease, or trypsin and a recombinant protein lacking the N-terminal 21 residues expressed from a cDNA clone, it was shown that PA3B2 recognizes the sequence 22-36 on the coat protein while PB5G9 and PF12C9 recognize region 75-110. These results suggest that Lys-10 is one of the specific sites through which the RNA interacts in the intact virus. The polypeptide segment (region 22-36) following this buried portion as well as the epitope within the region 75-110 are exposed in the intact virus. These observations are consistent with the canonical β-barrel structure observed in certain other plant viruses.

Influence of Raman scattering on the cross phase modulation in optical fibers

The effect of Raman scattering on co-propagation of two short optical pulses is considered. The intra pulse Raman scattering causes the self-frequency shift of each pulse. The effect of the inter pulse Raman scattering is to enhance the frequency shift while the stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) term suppresses (enhances) the frequency shift if the center frequency difference between the optical pulses falls to the right (left) of the Raman gain peak. An expression for the frequency shift as a function of the propagation distance is obtained.

Role of GDNF and its Cross-Talk with Other Growth Factors in the Dopaminergic System

Parkinson´s Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative movement disorder resulting from loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in substantia nigra (SN). Possible causative treatment strategies for PD include neurotrophic factors, which protect and in some cases restore the function of dopaminergic neurons. Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) family of neurotrophic factors have been to date the most promising candidates for treatment of PD, demonstrating both neuroprotective and neurorestorative properties. We have investigated the role of GDNF in the rodent dopaminergic system and its possible crosstalk with other growth factors. We characterized the GDNF-induced gene expression changes by DNA microarray analysis in different neuronal systems, including in vitro cultured Neuro2A cells treated with GDNF, as well as midbrains from GDNF heterozygous (Hz) knockout mice. These microarray experiments, resulted in the identification of GDNF-induced genes, which were also confirmed by other methods. Further analysis of the dopaminergic system of GDNF Hz mice demonstrated about 40% reduction in GDNF levels, revealed increased intracellular dopamine concentrations and FosB/DeltaFosB expression in striatal areas. These animals did not show any significant changes in behavioural analysis of acute and repeated cocaine administration on locomotor activity, nor did they exhibit any changes in dopamine output following treatment with acute cocaine. We further analysed the significance of GDNF receptor RET signalling in dopaminergic system of MEN2B knock-in animals with constitutively active Ret. The MEN2B animals showed a robust increase in extracellular dopamine and its metabolite levels in striatum, increased tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopamine transporter (DAT) protein levels by immunohistochemical staining and Western blotting, as well as increased Th mRNA levels in SN. MEN2B mice had increased number of DA neurons in SN by about 25% and they also exhibited increased sensitivity to the stimulatory effects of cocaine. We also developed a semi-throughput in vitro micro-island assay for the quantification of neuronal survival and TH levels by computer-assisted methodology from limited amounts of tissue. This assay can be applied for the initial screening for dopaminotrophic molecules, as well as chemical drug library screening. It is applicable to any neuronal system for the screening of neurotrophic molecules. Since our microarray experiments revealed possible GDNF-VEGF-C crosstalk we further concentrated on studying the neurotrophic effects of VEGF-C. We showed that VEGF-C acts as a neurotrophic molecule for the DA neurons both in vitro and in vivo, however without additive effect when used together with GDNF. The neuroprotective effect for VEGF-C in vivo in rat 6-OHDA model of PD was demonstrated. The possible signalling mechanisms of VEGF-C in the nervous system were investigated - infusion of VEGF-C to rat brain induced ERK activation, however no direct activation of RET signalling in vitro was found. VEGF-C treatment of rat striatum lead to up-regulation of VEGFR-1-3, indicating that VEGF-C can regulate the expression level of its own receptor. VEGF-C dopaminotrophic activity in vivo was further supported by increased vascular tissue in the neuroprotection experiments.

Conformational analysis and design of cross-strand disulfides in antiparallel beta-sheets

Cross-strand disulfides bridge two cysteines in a registered pair of antiparallel beta-strands. A nonredundant data set comprising 5025 polypeptides containing 2311 disulfides was used to study cross-strand disulfides. Seventy-six cross-strand disulfides were found of which 75 and 1 occurred at non-hydrogen-bonded (NHB) and hydrogen-bonded (HB) registered pairs, respectively. Conformational analysis and modeling studies demonstrated that disulfide formation at HB pairs necessarily requires an extremely rare and positive chi(1) value for at least one of the cysteine residues. Disulfides at HB positions also have more unfavorable steric repulsion with the main chain. Thirteen pairs of disulfides were introduced in NHB and HB pairs in four model proteins: leucine binding protein (LBP), leucine, isoleucine, valine binding protein (LIVBP), maltose binding protein (MBP), and Top7. All mutants LIVBP T247C V331C showed disulfide formation either on purification, or on treatment with oxidants. Protein stability in both oxidized and reduced states of all mutants was measured. Relative to wild type, LBP and MBP mutants were destabilized with respect to chemical denaturation, although the sole exposed NHB LBP mutant showed an increase of 3.1 degrees C in T-m. All Top7 mutants were characterized for stability through guanidinium thiocyanate chemical denaturation. Both exposed and two of the three buried NHB mutants were appreciably stabilized. All four HB Top7 mutants were destabilized (Delta Delta G(0) = -3.3 to -6.7 kcal/mol). The data demonstrate that introduction of cross-strand disulfides at exposed NHB pairs is a robust method of improving protein stability. All four exposed Top7 disulfide mutants showed mild redox activity. Proteins 2011; 79: 244-260. (C) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Pulsatile flow of a viscous fluid in elliptical pipe of variable cross-section

The pulsatile flow of an incompressible viscous fluid in an elliptical pipe of slowly varying cross-section is considered. Asymptotic series solutions for the velocity distribution and pressure gradient are obtained in terms of Mathieu functions for a low Reynold number flow in which the volume flux is prescribed. An expression for shear stress on the boundary is derived. The physically significant quantities governing the flow are computed numerically and analysed for different types of constrictions. The effect of eccentricity and Womerslay parameter on the flow is discussed.

Formation of a single, rotated-Brass (1 1 0)< 5 5 6 > texture by hot cross-rolling of an Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Zr alloy

The present work describes the evolution of a strong, single-component rotated-Brass ((1 1 0) < 5 5 6 >) texture in an Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Zr alloy by an uneven hot cross-rolling with frequent interpass annealing. This texture development is unique because hot rolling of aluminum alloys results in orientation distribution along the ``beta-fibre''. It has been demonstrated that the deformation by cross-rolling of a partially recrystallized grain structure having rotated-Cube and Goss orientations, and the recrystallization resistance of near-Brass-oriented elongated grains play a critical role in development of this texture. (C) 2010 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.