Temperature dependence of the primary electron transfer in photosynthetic reaction centers from Rhodobacter sphaeroides

The primary electron transfer (ET) in reaction centers (RC) of Rhodobacter sphaeroides is investigated as a function of temperature with femtosecond time resolution. For temperatures from 300 to 25 K the ET to the bacteriopheophytin is characterized by a biphasic time dependence. The two time constants of τ1=3.5±0.4 ps and τ2=1.2±0.3 ps at T=300 K decrease continously with temperature to values of τ1=1.4±0.3 ps and τ2=0.3±0.15 ps at 25 K. The experimental results indicate that the ET is not thermally activated and that the same ET mechanisms are active at room and low temperatures. All observations are readily rationalized by a two-step ET model with the monomeric bacteriochlorophyll as a real electron carrier

The relationship between sensory sensitivity and autistic traits in the general population.

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) tend to have sensory processing difficulties (Baranek et al. in J Child Psychol Psychiatry 47:591–601, 2006). These difficulties include over- and under-responsiveness to sensory stimuli, and problems modulating sensory input (Ben-Sasson et al. in J Autism Dev Disorders 39:1–11, 2009). As those with ASD exist at the extreme end of a continuum of autistic traits that is also evident in the general population, we investigated the link between ASD and sensory sensitivity in the general population by administering two questionnaires online to 212 adult participants. Results showed a highly significant positive correlation (r = .775, p < .001) between number of autistic traits and the frequency of sensory processing problems. These data suggest a strong link between sensory processing and autistic traits in the general population, which in turn potentially implicates sensory processing problems in social interaction difficulties

Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy as a Candidate Disease-Modifying Strategy in Parkinson's Disease and Multiple System Atrophy

Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA) are neurodegenerative diseases representative of α-synucleinopathies characterized pathologically by α-synuclein-abundant Lewy bodies and glial cytoplasmic inclusions, respectively. Embryonic stem cells, fetal mesencephalic neurons, and neural stem cells have been introduced as restorative strategies in PD animals and patients, but ethical and immunological problems as well as the serious side effects of tumorigenesis and disabling dyskinesia have limited clinical application of these stem cells. Meanwhile, cell therapy using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is attractive clinically because these cells are free from ethical and immunological problems. MSCs are present in adult bone marrow and represent <0.01% of all nucleated bone marrow cells. MSCs are themselves capable of multipotency, differentiating under appropriate conditions into chondrocytes, skeletal myocytes, and neurons. According to recent studies, the neuroprotective effect of MSCs is mediated by their ability to produce various trophic factors that contribute to functional recovery, neuronal cell survival, and stimulation of endogenous regeneration and by immunoregulatory properties that not only inhibit nearly all cells participating in the immune response cell-cell-contact-dependent mechanism, but also release various soluble factors associated with immunosuppressive activity. However, the use of MSCs as neuroprotectives in PD and MSA has seldom been studied. Here we comprehensively review recent advances in the therapeutic roles of MSCs in PD and MSA, especially focusing on their neuroprotective properties and use in disease-modifying therapeutic strategies

Neutrophil elastase and myeloperoxidase regulate the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps

Neutrophil elastase escapes azurophilic granules, translocates to the nucleus, and degrades histones to promote chromatin decondensation necessary for NET formation

The effects of generation and gender on the joint distributions of lipid and apolipoprotein phenotypes in the population at large

The generation and gender effects on the joint distributions of total plasma cholesterol (Total-C), 1n triglycerides (1nTrig), HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), apolipoproteins AI (Apo AI), AII (Apo AII), and E (1nApo E) were studied in 184 male grandparents (MGP), 242 female grandparents (FGP), 237 male parents (MP), 235 female parents (FP), 202 male children (MC), and 200 female children (FC). Homogeneity of variance tests revealed that lipid variances were gender and/or generation specific while apolipoprotein variances were homogeneous across strata. In the absence of heterogeneity of variance, significant heterogeneity in LDL:1nTrig and 1nTrig:Apo AII covariation was found between genders in the parental generation. In the presence of heterogeneity of variance, significant heterogeneity of correlation between genders and/or across generations was found for the HDL-C: LDL-C, Total-C:LDL-C, Total-C: 1nTrig, 1nTrig:LDL-C, Total-C: 1nApo E and HDL-C:1nApo E bivariate distributions. Analyses of principal components revealed that the generation and gender specific cohorts have similar eigenvalues but distinct eigenvectors for the first two principal components underlying the seven dimensional lipid and apolipoprotein distribution. We conclude that the amount of variability explained by the first two principal components is the same across cohorts but how the interindividual variability is distributed among the lipid and apolipoprotein traits is generation and gender specific. This study documents the role that variance and covariance might play in determining risk of disease for special subgroups of the population at large. It also demonstrates how variances and covariances between risk factors traits characterize life processes of aging and sexual dimorphism. This study argues that future biometrical genetic and epidemiological studies of coronary artery disease must take into account age and gender effects on interindividual variability and covariability of risk factors.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/28926/1/0000763.pd

Public access to research data in language documentation: Challenges and possible strategies

The Open Access Movement promotes free and unfettered access to research publications and, increasingly, to the primary data which underly those publications. As the field of documentary linguistics seeks to record and preserve culturally and linguistically relevant materials, the question of how openly accessible these materials should be becomes increasingly important. This paper aims to guide researchers and other stakeholders in finding an appropriate balance between accessibility and confidentiality of data, addressing community questions and legal, institutional, and intellectual issues that pose challenges to accessible dat

An overview of tissue engineering approaches for management of spinal cord injuries

Severe spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to devastating neurological deficits and disabilities, which necessitates spending a great deal of health budget for psychological and healthcare problems of these patients and their relatives. This justifies the cost of research into the new modalities for treatment of spinal cord injuries, even in developing countries. Apart from surgical management and nerve grafting, several other approaches have been adopted for management of this condition including pharmacologic and gene therapy, cell therapy, and use of different cell-free or cell-seeded bioscaffolds. In current paper, the recent developments for therapeutic delivery of stem and non-stem cells to the site of injury, and application of cell-free and cell-seeded natural and synthetic scaffolds have been reviewed