Membrane fusion induced by the major lipid-binding domain of the cytoskeletal protein talin

Secondary structure predictions have led to the identification of a major membrane-anchoring domain of the cytoskeletal protein talin spanning from amino acid 385 to 406. Using a synthetically derived peptide of this region, researchers have shown that it inserts into POPC/POPG phospholipid membranes with a partition coefficient of K-app = 1.1 +/- 0.2 x 10(5) M-1 and has an average molar reaction enthalpy of DeltaH = -2.5 kcal/mol. as determined by monolayer expansion technique and isothermic titration calorimetry [J. Biol. Chem. 275, 17954]. We applied resonance energy transfer (RET) assays to analyze the fusogenic properties of this peptide by lipid mixing and used liposomes containing carboxyfluorescein to measure the contents leakage. We directly Visualized talin peptide-induced vesicle membrane fusion using cryo-electron microscopy. This is the first example of a cytoskeletal protein domain that can trigger membrane fusion that might be of importance for understanding membrane targeting and motile events at the leading edge of the cell. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved

Waste disposal site location, Piedmont Region, Italy, 1:500,000 scale inSpecial purpose mapping for waste disposal sites Report of IAEG Commission 1: Engineering Geological Maps

This report results from work that was first proposed to a meeting of the International Association of Engineering Geology (IAEG), Commission No.1 held in Bratislava (Slovakia) in 1992. Following the publication of the Commission’s report on Engineering Geological Maps (Engineering geological maps (1976) and reports on the description and classification of rock and soil and on recommended symbols for engineering geological mapping (Bull. Int. Assoc. Eng. Geol. 24 (1981) 235; see also 227), a period of consolidation ensued in which the approaches suggested in those reports were implemented. The decision to prepare an additional report reflected the increasing need to apply these approaches to a range of specific activities. The background to the report was provided in a paper by two of the authors presented at the IAEG conference in Athens in 1997 (Proc Int. Symp. Int. Assoc. Eng. Geol. Environ. 2 (1997) 2103)