Topic and focus : two structural positions associated with logical functionsin the left periphery of the Hungarian sentence

The paper explicates the notions of topic, contrastive topic, and focus as used in the analysis of Hungarian. Based on distributional criteria, topic and focus are claimed to represent distinct structural positions in the left periphery of the Hungarian sentence, associated with logical rather than discourse functions. The topic is interpreted as the logical subject of predication. The focus is analyzed as a derived main predicate, specifying the referential content of the set denoted by the backgrounded post-focus section of the sentence. The exhaustivity associated with the focus and the existential presupposition associated with the background are shown to be properties following from their specificational predication relation

Új, potenciálisan bioaktív szénhidrátok: szintetikus és NMR kutatások = Novel carbohydrates with potential biological activity: synthetic and NMR investigations

Új típusú, 3-kötéses glikozidos hidat (3KGH: -S-S-, -S-C- ) tartalmazó glikomimetikumokat szintetizáltunk. Monoszacharidokat egy központi aromás gyűrűre SS-kötéssel kapcsolva szimmetrikus oligovalens struktúrákat nyertünk. Tioéter (4->6', -S-C-) interglikozidos kiépítésével új típusú pszeudo-diszacharidokat konstruáltunk. A nem hidrolizálható kötés miatt utóbbiak a glikozilhidroláz enzimek potenciális inhibitorai. Új NMR módszereket fejlesztettünk ki a kémiai szerkezet és dinamika hatékonyabb vizsgálatára. Izotópszelektív (15N) telítés alkalmazása az STD NMR kísérletben (15N GS-STD) teljes jelátfedés esetén is lehetővé teszik fehérje-ligandum kölcsönhatások vizsgálatát. Többkötéses heteronukleáris (H,X)-, valamint 13C-13C skaláris csatolási állandók meghatározására új, hatékony 2D NMR módszereket, ill. érzékeny, 1H-detektáláson alapuló kísérleteket (CPMG-HSQMBC, ill. IPAP-DEPT-INADEQUATE és RINEPT-INADEQUATE) javasoltunk. A mért csatolási állandók és egyéb NMR adatok (NOESY/ROESY) felhasználásával elméleti molekulamodellezési módszerekkel határoztuk meg diglikozil-diszulfidok és egyéb szénhidrát-származékok konformációs preferenciáit oldatban. Szilárd fázisban röntgendiffrakciós és kiroptikai (CD) módszereket alkalmaztunk. Az aromás, oligovalens mannozil-diszulfid származékok specifikusan kötődnek a Concanavalin-A lektin-fehérjéhez. A fehérje-ligandum komplexek termodinamikai paramétereit mikrokalorimetriai (ITC), szerkezetüket STD-NMR mérésekkel határoztuk meg. | Novel glycomimetics were synthesized containing three-bond interglycosidic linkages (3BIGL, -S-S-, -S-C-). Glycopyranosyl units were attached to an aromatic scaffold through SS-linkages to obtain symmetric oligovalent structures. Non-glycosidic, 4,6'-thioether (-S-C-) -linked pseudodisaccharides were constructed via highly diastereoselective synthesis; these are potential inhibitors of glycosylhydrolases. Efficient NMR techniques were developed for in-depth studies of molecular structures and dynamics. Extension of the STD NMR experiment with an isotope selective (15N) saturation sequence allows exploration of protein-ligand interactions even in case of complete signal overlap. Novel 2D NMR methods were devised for more accurate measurement of long-range heteronuclear couplings (CPMG-HSQMBC), including sensitive 1H-detection schemes for 13C-13C scalar couplings at natural abundance (DEPT-INADEQUATE, RINEPT-INADEQUATE). Complete sets of experimental coupling constants and NOESY/ROESY data supplemented with molecular modelling allowed determination of conformational preferences of diglycosyl disulfides and other carbohydrate derivatives in solution. X-ray and chiroptical (CD) methods were applied for solid state studies. Aromatic, oligovalent mannosyl disulfides were shown to bind specifically to Concanavalin A, a plant lectin. The thermodynamic parameters and structures of the protein-ligand complexes were determined by microcalorimetry (ITC) and STD-NMR, respectively

Bovine abortion associated with Neospora caninum in Hungary

The authors report the first case of bovine neosporosis in Hungary based on investigations made on an aborted fetus. The diagnostic methods included traditional as well as molecular techniques. This record extends further the geographic range of the disease

Cloning, expression, and characterization of a Coxiella burnetii Cu/Zn Superoxide dismutase

BACKGROUND: Periplasmically localized copper-zinc co-factored superoxide dismutase (SodC) enzymes have been identified in a wide range of Gram-negative bacteria and are proposed to protect bacteria from exogenously produced toxic oxygen radicals, which indicates the potential significance of a Coxiella burnetii SodC. RESULTS: Assays for SOD activity demonstrated that the cloned C. burnetii insert codes for a SOD that was active over a wide range of pH and inhibitable with 5 mM H(2)O(2) and 1 mM sodium diethyldithiocarbamate, a characteristic of Cu/ZnSODs that distinguishes them from Fe or Mn SODs. The sodC was expressed by C. burnetii, has a molecular weight of approximately 18 kDa, which is consistent with the predicted molecular weight, and localized towards the periphery of C. burnetii. Over expression of the C. burnetii sodC in an E. coli sodC mutant restored resistance to H(2)O(2) killing to wild type levels. CONCLUSIONS: We have demonstrated that C. burnetii does express a Cu/ZnSOD that is functional at low pH, appears to be excreted, and was able to restore H(2)O(2) resistance in an E. coli sodC mutant. Taken together, these results indicate that the C. burnetii Cu/ZnSOD is a potentially important virulence factor

Role of the N-terminal transmembrane domain in the endo-lysosomal targeting and function of the human ABCB6 protein.

ABCB6 is a homodimeric ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter present in the plasma membrane and in intracellular organelles. The intracellular localization of ABCB6 has been a matter of debate, as it has been suggested to reside in the mitochondria and the endo-lysosomal system. Using a variety of imaging modalities including confocal and electron microscopy we confirm the endo-lysosomal localization of ABCB6 and show that the protein is internalized from the plasma membrane through endocytosis, to be distributed to multivesicular bodies and lysosomes. In addition to the canonical nucleotide binding (NBD) and transmembrane domains (TMD), ABCB6 contains a unique N-terminal transmembrane domain (TMD0), which does not show sequence homology to known proteins. We investigated the functional role of these domains through the molecular dissection of ABCB6. We find that the folding, dimerization, membrane insertion and ATP binding/hydrolysis of the core ABCB6 complex devoid of TMD0 is preserved. However, in contrast to the full-length transporter, the core ABCB6 construct is retained at the plasma membrane, and does not appear in Rab5-positive endosomes. TMD0 is directly targeted to the lysosomes, without a passage to the plasma membrane. Collectively, our results reveal that TMD0 represents an independently folding unit, which is dispensable for catalysis, but has a crucial role in the lysosomal targeting of ABCB6

Inhibition of protein phosphatase-1 and -2A by ellagitannins: structure-inhibitory potency relationships and influences on cellular systems

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Successful surgical intervention in a case of spontaneous chylothorax in an infant unresponsive to conservative therapy

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Human tribbles-1 controls proliferation and chemotaxis of smooth muscle cells via MAPK signaling pathways

Migration and proliferation of smooth muscle cells are key to a number of physiological and pathological processes, including wound healing and the narrowing of the vessel wall.Previous work has shown links between inflammatory stimuli and vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration through mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation, though the molecular mechanisms of this process are poorly understood. Here we report that tribbles-1, a recently described modulator of MAPK activation controls vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and chemotaxis via the Jun Kinase pathway. Our findings demonstrate that this regulation takes place via direct interactions between tribbles-1 and MKK4/SEK1, a Jun activator kinase. The activity of this kinase is dependent on tribbles-1 levels, whilst the activation and the expression of MKK4/SEK1 is not. In addition, tribbles-1 expression is elevated in human atherosclerotic arteries compared to non-atherosclerotic controls, suggesting that this protein may pay a role in disease in vivo. In summary, the data presented here suggest an important regulatory role for trb-1 in vascular smooth muscle cell biology