A novel polymorphism in the coding region of the vasopressin type 2 receptor gene

Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI) is a rare disease characterized by renal inability to respond properly to arginine vasopressin due to mutations in the vasopressin type 2 receptor (V2(R)) gene in affected kindreds. In most kindreds thus far reported, the mode of inheritance follows an X chromosome-linked recessive pattern although autosomal-dominant and autosomal-recessive modes of inheritance have also been described. Studies demonstrating mutations in the V2(R) gene in affected kindreds that modify the receptor structure, resulting in a dys- or nonfunctional receptor have been described, but phenotypically indistinguishable NDI patients with a structurally normal V2(R) gene have also been reported. In the present study, we analyzed exon 3 of the V2(R) gene in 20 unrelated individuals by direct sequencing. A C®T alteration in the third position of codon 331 (AGC®AGT), which did not alter the encoded amino acid, was found in nine individuals, including two unrelated patients with NDI. Taken together, these observations emphasize the molecular heterogeneity of a phenotypically homogeneous syndrome

Tabula Asiae VI : Arabia Felix

Julkaisussa: Geographia universalis, vetus et nova, complectens Claudii Ptolemaei Alexandrini enarrationis libros VIII

Tabulae Peutingerianae segmentum V : a Sarmatis Hamaxobiis usque ad Roxulanas ; Segmentum VI : a Sarmatis Roxulanis usque ad Parnacos

Julkaisussa: Accuratissima orbis antiqui delineatio, sive, geographia vetus, sacra & profana

The brain decade in debate: VI. Sensory and motor maps: dynamics and plasticity

This article is an edited transcription of a virtual symposium promoted by the Brazilian Society of Neuroscience and Behavior (SBNeC). Although the dynamics of sensory and motor representations have been one of the most studied features of the central nervous system, the actual mechanisms of brain plasticity that underlie the dynamic nature of sensory and motor maps are not entirely unraveled. Our discussion began with the notion that the processing of sensory information depends on many different cortical areas. Some of them are arranged topographically and others have non-topographic (analytical) properties. Besides a sensory component, every cortical area has an efferent output that can be mapped and can influence motor behavior. Although new behaviors might be related to modifications of the sensory or motor representations in a given cortical area, they can also be the result of the acquired ability to make new associations between specific sensory cues and certain movements, a type of learning known as conditioning motor learning. Many types of learning are directly related to the emotional or cognitive context in which a new behavior is acquired. This has been demonstrated by paradigms in which the receptive field properties of cortical neurons are modified when an animal is engaged in a given discrimination task or when a triggering feature is paired with an aversive stimulus. The role of the cholinergic input from the nucleus basalis to the neocortex was also highlighted as one important component of the circuits responsible for the context-dependent changes that can be induced in cortical maps.

Adenylyl cyclase types I and VI but not II and V are selectively inhibited by nitric oxide

Adenylyl cyclase (AC) isoforms catalyze the synthesis of 3',5'-cyclic AMP from ATP. These isoforms are critically involved in the regulation of gene transcription, metabolism, and ion channel activity among others. Nitric oxide (NO) is a gaseous product whose synthesis from L-arginine is catalyzed by the enzyme NO synthase. It has been well established that NO activates the enzyme guanylyl cyclase, but little has been reported on the effects of NO on other important second messengers, such as AC. In the present study, the effects of sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a nitric oxide-releasing compound, on COS-7 cells transfected with plasmids containing AC types I, II, V and VI were evaluated. Total inhibition (~98.5%) of cAMP production was observed in COS-7 cells transfected with the AC I isoform and previously treated with SNP (10 mM) for 30 min, when stimulated with ionomycin. A high inhibition (~76%) of cAMP production was also observed in COS-7 cells transfected with the AC VI isoform and previously treated with SNP (10 mM) for 30 min, when stimulated with forskolin. No effect on cAMP production was observed in cells transfected with AC isoforms II and V.

Vem är jag, vem är vi, vem är vem i vårt land? : kontextens betydelse för gruppidentifikation och stereotypier bland svensk- och finskspråkiga i Finland och Sverige

Anna Henning-Lindblomin väitöskirja Vem är jag, vem är vi, vem är vem i vårt land? : kontextens betydelse för gruppidentifikation och stereotypier bland svensk- och finskspråkiga i Finland och Sverige (Helsingin yliopisto 2012).

Karta öfver Frövi-Falu, eller, Svenska Central Jernvägen

Kartta kuuluu A. E. Nordenskiöldin kokoelmaan

Ethnographisk kart over Finmarken n:o 3 : præstegjældene : I Alten, II Koutokæino, III Hammerfest og en deel af IV Skjærvö, V Loppen og VI Maasö

Kartta kuuluu A. E. Nordenskiöldin kokoelmaan

Comparative sequence analysis of the P-, M- and L-coding region of the measles virus CAM-70 live attenuated vaccine strain

Measles virus is a highly contagious agent which causes a major health problem in developing countries. The viral genomic RNA is single-stranded, nonsegmented and of negative polarity. Many live attenuated vaccines for measles virus have been developed using either the prototype Edmonston strain or other locally isolated measles strains. Despite the diverse geographic origins of the vaccine viruses and the different attenuation methods used, there was remarkable sequence similarity of H, F and N genes among all vaccine strains. CAM-70 is a Japanese measles attenuated vaccine strain widely used in Brazilian children and produced by Bio-Manguinhos since 1982. Previous studies have characterized this vaccine biologically and genomically. Nevertheless, only the F, H and N genes have been sequenced. In the present study we have sequenced the remaining P, M and L genes (approximately 1.6, 1.4 and 6.5 kb, respectively) to complete the genomic characterization of CAM-70 and to assess the extent of genetic relationship between CAM-70 and other current vaccines. These genes were amplified using long-range or standard RT-PCR techniques, and the cDNA was cloned and automatically sequenced using the dideoxy chain-termination method. The sequence analysis comparing previously sequenced genotype A strains with the CAM-70 Bio-Manguinhos strain showed a low divergence among them. However, the CAM-70 strains (CAM-70 Bio-Manguinhos and a recently sequenced CAM-70 submaster seed strain) were assigned to a specific group by phylogenetic analysis using the neighbor-joining method. Information about our product at the genomic level is important for monitoring vaccination campaigns and for future studies of measles virus attenuation.

Pressurized hot water flow-through extraction of birch wood

Effective processes to fractionate the main compounds in biomass, such as wood, are a prerequisite for an effective biorefinery. Water is environmentally friendly and widely used in industry, which makes it a potential solvent also for forest biomass. At elevated temperatures over 100 °C, water can readily hydrolyse and dissolve hemicelluloses from biomass. In this work, birch sawdust was extracted using pressurized hot water (PHWE) flow-through systems. The hypothesis of the work was that it is possible to obtain polymeric, water-soluble hemicelluloses from birch sawdust using flow-through PHW extractions at both laboratory and large scale. Different extraction temperatures in the range 140–200 °C were evaluated to see the effect of temperature to the xylan yield. The yields and extracted hemicelluloses were analysed to obtain sugar ratios, the amount of acetyl groups, furfurals and the xylan yields. Higher extraction temperatures increased the xylan yield, but decreased the molar mass of the dissolved xylan. As the extraction temperature increased, more acetic acid was released from the hemicelluloses, thus further decreasing the pH of the extract. There were only trace amounts of furfurals present after the extractions, indicating that the treatment was mild enough not to degrade the sugars further. The sawdust extraction density was increased by packing more sawdust in the laboratory scale extraction vessel. The aim was to obtain extracts with higher concentration than in typical extraction densities. The extraction times and water flow rates were kept constant during these extractions. The higher sawdust packing degree decreased the water use in the extractions and the extracts had higher hemicellulose concentrations than extractions with lower sawdust degrees of packing. The molar masses of the hemicelluloses were similar in higher packing degrees and in the degrees of packing that were used in typical PHWE flow-through extractions. The structure of extracted sawdust was investigated using small angle-(SAXS) and wide angle (WAXS) x-ray scattering. The cell wall topography of birch sawdust and extracted sawdust was compared using x-ray tomography. The results showed that the structure of the cell walls of extracted birch sawdust was preserved but the cell walls were thinner after the extractions. Larger pores were opened inside the fibres and cellulose microfibrils were more tightly packed after the extraction. Acetate buffers were used to control the pH of the extracts during the extractions. The pH control prevented excessive xylan hydrolysis and increased the molar masses of the extracted xylans. The yields of buffered extractions were lower than for plain water extractions at 160–170 °C, but at 180 °C yields were similar to those from plain water and pH buffers. The pH can thus be controlled during extraction with acetate buffer to obtain xylan with higher molar mass than those obtainable using plain water. Birch sawdust was extracted both in the laboratory and pilot scale. The performance of the PHWE flow-through system was evaluated in the laboratory and the pilot scale using vessels with the same shape but different volumes, with the same relative water flow through the sawdust bed, and in the same extraction temperature. Pre-steaming improved the extraction efficiency and the water flow through the sawdust bed. The extracted birch sawdust and the extracted xylan were similar in both laboratory and pilot scale. The PHWE system was successfully scaled up by a factor of 6000 from the laboratory to pilot scale and extractions performed equally well in both scales. The results show that a flow-through system can be further scaled up and used to extract water-soluble xylans from birch sawdust. Extracted xylans can be concentrated, purified, and then used in e.g. films and barriers, or as building blocks for novel material applications.

A novel hot-plate test sensitive to hyperalgesic stimuli and non-opioid analgesics

It is widely accepted that the classical constant-temperature hot-plate test is insensitive to cyclooxygenase inhibitors. In the current study, we developed a variant of the hot-plate test procedure (modified hot-plate (MHP) test) to measure inflammatory nociception in freely moving rats and mice. Following left and right hind paw stimulation with a phlogogen and vehicle, respectively, the animals were placed individually on a hot-plate surface at 51ºC and the withdrawal latency for each paw was determined simultaneously in measurements performed at 15, 60, 180, and 360 min post-challenge. Plantar stimulation of rats (250 and 500 µg/paw) and mice (125-500 µg/paw) with carrageenan led to a rapid hyperalgesic response of the ipsilateral paw that reached a plateau from 15 to 360 min after challenge. Pretreatment with indomethacin (4 mg/kg, ip) inhibited the phenomenon at all the times analyzed. Similarly, plantar stimulation of rats and mice with prostaglandin E2 (0.5 and 1 µg/paw) also resulted in rapid hyperalgesia which was first detected 15 min post-challenge. Finally, we observed that the MHP test was more sensitive than the classical Hargreaves' test, being able to detect about 4- and 10-fold lower doses of prostaglandin E2 and carrageenan, respectively. In conclusion, the MHP test is a simple and sensitive method for detecting peripheral hyperalgesia and analgesia in rats and mice. This test represents a low-cost alternative for the study of inflammatory pain in freely moving animals.

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[Topografičeskaâ karta 1:42000]. VII-53, VII-54, VI-53, VI-54, Vyborg. gub., Peter. i Èurâp. uĕzd.

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[Topografičeskaâ karta 1:42000]. VII-55, VII-56, VI-55, VI-56, S. Peterburg. i Vyborg. gub., Peterburg. uĕzd.

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[Topografičeskaâ karta 1:42000]. VII-50, VI-50, Vyb. gub., Strandsk. u.

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