735 research outputs found

    Identification of a protein encoded in the EB-viral open reading frame BMRF2

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    Using monospecific rabbit sera against a peptide derived from a potential antigenic region of the Epstein-Barr viral amino acid sequence encoded in the open reading frame BMRF2 we could identify a protein-complex of 53/55 kDa in chemically induced B95-8, P3HR1 and Raji cell lines. This protein could be shown to be membrane-associated, as predicted by previous computer analysis of the secondary structure and hydrophilicity pattern, and may be a member of EBV-induced membrane proteins in lytically infected cells

    High (but Not Low) Urinary Iodine Excretion Is Predicted by Iodine Excretion Levels from Five Years Ago

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    Background: It has not been investigated whether there are associations between urinary iodine (UI) excretion measurements some years apart, nor whether such an association remains after adjustment for nutritional habits. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relation between iodine-creatinine ratio (ICR) at two measuring points 5 years apart. Methods: Data from 2,659 individuals from the Study of Health in Pomerania were analyzed. Analysis of covariance and Poisson regressions were used to associate baseline with follow-up ICR. Results: Baseline ICR was associated with follow-up ICR. Particularly, baseline ICR >300 mu g/g was related to an ICR >300 mu g/g at follow-up (relative risk, RR: 2.20; p < 0.001). The association was stronger in males (RR: 2.64; p < 0.001) than in females (RR: 1.64; p = 0.007). In contrast, baseline ICR <100 mu g/g was only associated with an ICR <100 mu g/g at follow-up in males when considering unadjusted ICR. Conclusions: We detected only a weak correlation with respect to low ICR. Studies assessing iodine status in a population should take into account that an individual with a low UI excretion in one measurement is not necessarily permanently iodine deficient. On the other hand, current high ICR could have been predicted by high ICR 5 years ago. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base

    Dynamics of initial carbon allocation after drought release in mature Norway spruce—Increased belowground allocation of current photoassimilates covers only half of the carbon used for fine‐root growth

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    After drought events, tree recovery depends on sufficient carbon (C) allocation to the sink organs. The present study aimed to elucidate dynamics of tree-level C sink activity and allocation of recent photoassimilates (Cnew_{new}) and stored C in c. 70-year-old Norway spruce (Picea abies) trees during a 4-week period after drought release. We conducted a continuous, whole-tree 13^{13}C labeling in parallel with controlled watering after 5 years of experimental summer drought. The fate of Cnew_{new} to growth and CO2_{2} efflux was tracked along branches, stems, coarse- and fine roots, ectomycorrhizae and root exudates to soil CO2_{2} efflux after drought release. Compared with control trees, drought recovering trees showed an overall 6% lower C sink activity and 19% less allocation of Cnew_{new} to aboveground sinks, indicating a low priority for aboveground sinks during recovery. In contrast, fine-root growth in recovering trees was seven times greater than that of controls. However, only half of the C used for new fine-root growth was comprised of Cnew_{new} while the other half was supplied by stored C. For drought recovery of mature spruce trees, in addition to Cnew_{new}, stored C appears to be critical for the regeneration of the fine-root system and the associated water uptake capacity

    Attitudes towards digital treatment for depression: A European stakeholder survey

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    The integration of digital treatments into national mental health services is on the agenda in the European Union. The E-COMPARED consortium conducted a survey aimed at exploring stakeholders' knowledge, acceptance and expectations of digital treatments for depression, and at identifying factors that might influence their opinions when considering the implementation of these approaches. An online survey was conducted in eight European countries: France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and The United Kingdom. Organisations representing government bodies, care providers, service-users, funding/insurance bodies, technical developers and researchers were invited to participate in the survey. The participating countries and organisations reflect the diversity in health care infrastructures and e-health implementation across Europe. A total of 764 organisations were invited to the survey during the period March–June 2014, with 175 of these organisations participating in our survey. The participating stakeholders reported moderate knowledge of digital treatments and considered cost-effectiveness to be the primary incentive for integration into care services. Low feasibility of delivery within existing care services was considered to be a primary barrier. Digital treatments were regarded more suitable for milder forms of depression. Stakeholders showed greater acceptability towards blended treatment (the integration of face-to-face and internet sessions within the same treatment protocol) compared to standalone internet treatments. Organisations in countries with developed e-health solutions reported greater knowledge and acceptability of digital treatments. Mental health stakeholders in Europe are aware of the potential benefits of digital interventions. However, there are variations between countries and stakeholders in terms of level of knowledge about such interventions and their feasibility within routine care services. The high acceptance of blended treatments is an interesting finding that indicates a gradual integration of technology into clinical practice may fit the attitudes and needs of stakeholders. The potential of the blended treatment approach, in terms of enhancing acceptance of digital treatment while retaining the benefit of cost-effectiveness in delivery, should be further explored. The E-COMPARED project has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under grant agreement no. 603098

    The Q2Q^2-dependence of the generalised Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn integral for the deuteron, proton and neutron

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    The Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn (GDH) sum rule connects the anomalous contribution to the magnetic moment of the target nucleus with an energy-weighted integral of the difference of the helicity-dependent photoabsorption cross sections. The data collected by HERMES with a deuterium target are presented together with a re-analysis of previous measurements on the proton. This provides a measurement of the generalised GDH integral covering simultaneously the nucleon-resonance and the deep inelastic scattering regions. The contribution of the nucleon-resonance region is seen to decrease rapidly with increasing Q2Q^2. The DIS contribution is sizeable over the full measured range, even down to the lowest measured Q2Q^2. As expected, at higher Q2Q^2 the data are found to be in agreement with previous measurements of the first moment of g1g_1. From data on the deuteron and proton, the GDH integral for the neutron has been derived and the proton--neutron difference evaluated. This difference is found to satisfy the fundamental Bjorken sum rule at Q2=5Q^2 = 5 GeV2^2.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure

    Evidence for Quark-Hadron Duality in the Proton Spin Asymmetry A1A_1

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    Spin-dependent lepton-nucleon scattering data have been used to investigate the validity of the concept of quark-hadron duality for the spin asymmetry A1A_1. Longitudinally polarised positrons were scattered off a longitudinally polarised hydrogen target for values of Q2Q^2 between 1.2 and 12 GeV2^2 and values of W2W^2 between 1 and 4 GeV2^2. The average double-spin asymmetry in the nucleon resonance region is found to agree with that measured in deep-inelastic scattering at the same values of the Bjorken scaling variable xx. This finding implies that the description of A1A_1 in terms of quark degrees of freedom is valid also in the nucleon resonance region for values of Q2Q^2 above 1.6 GeV2^2.Comment: 5 pages, 1 eps figure, table added, new references added, in print in Phys. Rev. Let

    LY 294002 inhibits adenosine receptor activation by a mechanism independent of effects on PI-3 kinase or casein kinase II

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    Adenosine reduces both evoked and spontaneous calcium-dependent acetylcholine (ACh) release through a mechanism downstream of calcium entry at amphibian motor nerve endings (Silinsky EM. J Physiol 1984; 346: 243-6). LY 294002 (2-(4-morpholinyl)-8-phenyl-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one), an inhibitor of both phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI-3 kinase) and casein kinase II, has been reported to increase spontaneous ACh release reflected in miniature endplate potential (MEPP) frequencies independently of intraterminal calcium at the frog neuromuscular junction (Rizzoli SO, Betz WJ. J Neurosci 2002; 22: 10680-). It has been suggested that the increase in MEPP frequency caused by LY 294002, is mediated through an action on synaptotagmins, vesicle associated calcium sensors believed to trigger synaptic vesicle exocytosis. We thus examined the effects of adenosine on MEPP frequencies and evoked ACh release reflected as endplate potentials (EPPs) in order to determine if the presumed calcium-independent ACh release is affected by adenosine. We also wanted to determine if PI-3 kinase or casein kinase II is involved in mediating or modulating the inhibitory effects of adenosine. To these ends, we examined the effects of adenosine in the presence of LY 294002, wortmannin (a highly selective the PI-3 kinase inhibitor), or DRB (5,6-dichlorobenzimidazole riboside, an inhibitor of casein kinase II). LY 294002 reduced the sensitivity of both MEPP frequencies and the nerve-evoked calcium dependent EPPs to adenosine. The occlusive effects of LY 294002 on the actions of adenosine on MEPPs and EPPs were overcome by increasing adenosine concentration. Neither wortmannin nor DRB had any effect on the sensitivity of the EPPs to adenosine indicating that neither PI-3 kinase nor casein kinase II inhibition mediates the reduction in motor-nerve terminal sensitivity to adenosine produced by LY 294002. The results indicate a competitive relationship between LY 294002 and adenosine at A1 receptors at the frog neuromuscular junction. This effect is independent of the previously described effects of LY 294002 on the exocytotic process, and is also independent of PI-3 kinase or casein kinase II

    The Q^2-Dependence of Nuclear Transparency for Exclusive ρ0\rho^0 Production

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    Exclusive coherent and incoherent electroproduction of the ρ0\rho^0 meson from 1^1H and 14^{14}N targets has been studied at the HERMES experiment as a function of coherence length (lcl_c), corresponding to the lifetime of hadronic fluctuations of the virtual photon, and squared four-momentum of the virtual photon (Q2-Q^2). The ratio of 14^{14}N to 1^1H cross sections per nucleon, known as nuclear transparency, was found to increase (decrease) with increasing coherence length for coherent (incoherent) ρ0\rho^0 electroproduction. For fixed coherence length, a rise of nuclear transparency with Q2Q^2 is observed for both coherent and incoherent ρ0\rho^0 production, which is in agreement with theoretical calculations of color transparency.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

    Single-spin Azimuthal Asymmetries in Electroproduction of Neutral Pions in Semi-inclusive Deep-inelastic Scattering

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    A single-spin asymmetry in the azimuthal distribution of neutral pions relative to the lepton scattering plane has been measured for the first time in deep-inelastic scattering of positrons off longitudinally polarized protons. The analysing power in the sin(phi) moment of the cross section is 0.019 +/- 0.007(stat.) +/- 0.003(syst.). This result is compared to single-spin asymmetries for charged pion production measured in the same kinematic range. The pi^0 asymmetry is of the same size as the pi^+ asymmetry and shows a similar dependence on the relevant kinematic variables. The asymmetry is described by a phenomenological calculation based on a fragmentation function that represents sensitivity to the transverse polarization of the struck quark.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, replaced to correct eprint author field, 2nd replacement to correct figure; upper limit of model predictions are corrected. No correction to data or conclusion
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