Development of Chemical Strategies for Specifically Probing and Identifying Sulfur Carrier Proteins and Vitamin B6-Dependent Enzymes in Bacteria

Activity based protein profiling (ABPP) is a functional proteomic technology that uses chemical probes to detect mechanistically related classes of enzymes. Chemically probing a certain class of proteins helps to understand their biological function as a group, and discover new biosynthetic pathways for drug design. This research describes two activity based proteomic methods that have been developed to probe and identify sulfur carrier proteins and vitamin B6 dependent proteins, respectively. Sulfur carrier proteins are small proteins (<10 kDa) involved in pathways for efficient sulfur delivery. A chemical probe with sulfonyl-azide functional group was designed to label and identify the sulfur carrier proteins through a thioacid-azide reaction. This method identified a new sulfur carrier protein in Streptomyces coelicolor. Further study of its biological function led to the discovery and characterization of a new pathway of homocysteine formation, which is probably another direct sulfurylation of methionine biosynthesis. Vitamin B6 dependent proteins are a class of enzymes that cover a wide range of cellular functions such as transamination, racemization, and decarboxylation. Also, vitamin B6 dependent proteins have a critical role in human disease and the metabolic pathways of pathogens and plants. We used Escherichia coli as a model system to develop both radioactive and nonradioactive based methods to probe and identify vitamin B6 containing proteins in the bacterial proteome. This technique was then used to study how vitamin B6 proteins are regulated in response to cellular stress

Stability of core/shell quantum dots-role of pH and small organic ligands

The improvement of knowledge about the toxicity and even processability, and stability of quantum dots (QD) requires the understanding of the relationship between the QD binding head group, surface structure, and interligand interaction. The scanned stripping chronopotentiometry and absence of gradients and Nernstian equilibrium stripping techniques were used to determine the concentration of Cd dissolved from a polyacrylate-stabilized CdTe/CdS QD. The effects of various concentrations of small organic ligands such as citric acid, glycine, and histidine and the roles of pH (4.5–8.5) and exposure time (0–48 h) were evaluated. The highest QD dissolution was obtained at the more acidic pH in absence of the ligands (52 %) a result of the CdS shell solubility. At pH 8.5 the largest PAA ability to complex the dissolved Cd leads to a further QD solubility until the equilibrium is reached (24 % of dissolved Cd vs.4 % at pH 6.0). The citric acid presence resulted in greater QD dissolution, whereas glycine, an amino acid, acts against QD dissolution. Surprisingly, the presence of histidine, an amino acid with an imidazole functional group, leads to the formation of much strong Cd complexes over time, which may be non-labile, inducing variations in the local environment of the QD surface

Led into Temptation? Rewarding Brand Logos Bias the Neural Encoding of Incidental Economic Decisions

Human decision-making is driven by subjective values assigned to alternative choice options. These valuations are based on reward cues. It is unknown, however, whether complex reward cues, such as brand logos, may bias the neural encoding of subjective value in unrelated decisions. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we subliminally presented brand logos preceding intertemporal choices. We demonstrated that priming biased participants' preferences towards more immediate rewards in the subsequent temporal discounting task. This was associated with modulations of the neural encoding of subjective values of choice options in a network of brain regions, including but not restricted to medial prefrontal cortex. Our findings demonstrate the general susceptibility of the human decision making system to apparently incidental contextual information. We conclude that the brain incorporates seemingly unrelated value information that modifies decision making outside the decision-maker's awareness

Neuromarketing and consumer neuroscience:contributions to neurology

Background: 'Neuromarketing' is a term that has often been used in the media in recent years. These public discussions have generally centered around potential ethical aspects and the public fear of negative consequences for society in general, and consumers in particular. However, positive contributions to the scientific discourse from developing a biological model that tries to explain context-situated human behavior such as consumption have often been neglected. We argue for a differentiated terminology, naming commercial applications of neuroscientific methods 'neuromarketing' and scientific ones 'consumer neuroscience'. While marketing scholars have eagerly integrated neuroscientific evidence into their theoretical framework, neurology has only recently started to draw its attention to the results of consumer neuroscience.Discussion: In this paper we address key research topics of consumer neuroscience that we think are of interest for neurologists; namely the reward system, trust and ethical issues. We argue that there are overlapping research topics in neurology and consumer neuroscience where both sides can profit from collaboration. Further, neurologists joining the public discussion of ethical issues surrounding neuromarketing and consumer neuroscience could contribute standards and experience gained in clinical research.Summary: We identify the following areas where consumer neuroscience could contribute to the field of neurology:. First, studies using game paradigms could help to gain further insights into the underlying pathophysiology of pathological gambling in Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal dementia, epilepsy, and Huntington's disease.Second, we identify compulsive buying as a common interest in neurology and consumer neuroscience. Paradigms commonly used in consumer neuroscience could be applied to patients suffering from Parkinson's disease and frontotemporal dementia to advance knowledge of this important behavioral symptom.Third, trust research in the medical context lacks empirical behavioral and neuroscientific evidence. Neurologists entering this field of research could profit from the extensive knowledge of the biological foundation of trust that scientists in economically-orientated neurosciences have gained.Fourth, neurologists could contribute significantly to the ethical debate about invasive methods in neuromarketing and consumer neuroscience. Further, neurologists should investigate biological and behavioral reactions of neurological patients to marketing and advertising measures, as they could show special consumer vulnerability and be subject to target marketing

Reduction of noise in medullary renograms from dynamic MR images

Dynamic magnetic resonance images of the kidney can be used to acquire separate renograms of the cortex and medulla, A high-quality cortical renogram can be determined directly from a region of interest (ROI) placed in the cortex. Due to partial volume effects, part of the signal from a ROI placed in the medulla is caused by cortical tissue, By subtracting a fraction of the cortical signal from the cortico-medullary signal, a purer medullary renogram can be obtained. A side effect of this subtraction is an increase in noise level. The noise level increases with larger partial volume fractions. Using a matched image filter, it is possible to exclude those areas from the ROI that have a high partial volume content, thus reducing the amount of cortical signal that has to be separated from the medullary signal, Noise reductions of up to 50% have been achieved in the medullary renogram, with an average reduction of 23%. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.</p