Changes in sulfhydryl groups of honeybee glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase associated with generation of the intermediate plateau in its saturation kinetics

Honeybee and rabbit muscle GPDH were studied to obtain information at the chemical level regarding anomolous saturation kinetics of the honeybee enzyme. Results demonstrate that the enzyme's sulfhydryl groups are implicated in the process. Measured by DTNB titration, native honeybee GPDH has one less active SH than the native rabbit muscle enzyme and displays changes in overall sulfhydryl reactivity after preincubation with G-3-P or G-3-P plus NAD+. The total DTNB reactive sulfhydryls of rabbit muscle GPDH are not changed by preincubation with NAD+ or G-3-P; honeybee GPDH, under certain conductions of preincubation with these ligands, shows a decrease of two total DTNB reactive SH groups. This difference has been confirmed by an independent experiment in which the two enzymes were carboxymethylated with C-14 bromoacetic acid

Atomic Logic: US Non-Proliferation Initiatives and Presidential Decision-Making, 1961-1974

This project examines how successive American administrations confronted the international spread of nuclear weapons. The focus is on the decision-making processes of presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon when confronting atomic weapons development in Israel and India. It seeks to identify influences on presidential perceptions of the phenomenon of nuclear proliferation. These include initiatives at the United Nations, reportage from the intelligence community, the advice of administration officials, and the positioning of foreign governments. The American response to the Israeli and Indian cases prior to 1974 played a formative role in the development of non-proliferation policy in subsequent decades. The decisions made by presidents primarily sought to address challenges raised by the non-proliferation initiatives of their predecessors. Through historical analysis of these cases, seemingly disjointed reactions can provide insight into presidential decision-making and the second wave of nuclear weapons development—that of non-Security Council nations

The room temperature phosphine-free synthesis of near-infrared emitting HgSe quantum dots

Luminescent mercury selenide (HgSe) quantum dots have been synthesised by a phosphine-free method using oleic acid as a capping agent. The modification of experimental conditions such as temperature resulted in particles of various sizes (15–100 nm) and morphologies not previously seen in HgSe, with emission tuneable between 1000 nm and 1350 nm

The universe dynamics in the tachyon cosmology with non-minimal coupling to matter

Recently, the tachyon cosmology has been represented as dark energy model to support the current acceleration of the universe without phantom crossing. In this paper, we study the dynamics of the tachyon cosmology in which the field plays the role of tachyon field and also non--minimally coupled to the matter lagrangian. The model shows current universe acceleration and also phantom crossing in the future. Two cosmological tests are also performed to validate the model; the difference in the distance modulus and the model independent Cosmological Redshift Drift (CRD) test.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figure

Plasma oxidized LDL: a predictor for acute myocardial infarction?

Objectives. Oxidized LDL has been attributed a key role in the development of atherosclerosis. Previous studies have demonstrated increased plasma levels of oxidized LDL in patients with established coronary artery disease. The aim of the present study was to investigate if plasma oxidized LDL also predicts risk for development of coronary heart disease (CHD). Design. We used a nested case-control design to study the association between plasma levels of oxidized LDL and risk for development of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and/or death by CHD. Subjects. Oxidized LDL was analysed by ELISA in cases (n = 26), controls (n = 26) and controls with LDL cholesterol >5.0 mmol L-1 (n = 26). Results. Oxidized LDL correlated with total plasma and LDL cholesterol in both cases (r = 0.72, P < 0.01, r = 0.69, P < 0.01, respectively) and controls (r = 0.71, P < 0.01, r = 0.77, P < 0.01, respectively). The oxidized LDL/plasma cholesterol ratio was higher amongst cases (13.5, range 10.7-19.8) than in controls (12.6, range 9.5-15.8, P < 0.05) and hypercholesterolaemic controls (12.2, range 8.0-16.0, P < 0.01). Conclusions. These findings identify high plasma oxidized LDL/total cholesterol ratio as a possible indicator of increased risk for AMI

CELLULAR AND HUMORAL RESPONSE TO TRANSPLANTATION ANTIGENS : I. DEVELOPMENT OF ALLOANTIBODY-FORMING CELLS AND CYTOTOXIC LYMPHOCYTES IN THE GRAFT-VERSUS-HOST REACTION

After transfer into heavily-irradiated allogeneic mice, spleen cells were found to produce two types of effector cells directed against the recipient alloantigens, namely alloantibody plaque-forming cells (PFC) and cytotoxic lymphocytes (CL). Both types of effector cells were detectable in vitro by virtue of their lytic effect on target cells carrying the recipient alloantigens. Alloantibody PFC activity was dependent on the presence of an exogenous source of complement and could be inhibited by the addition of heterologous antisera to mouse µ-chain or Fab fragment in the assay system. CL activity was independent of added complement, was not affected by anti-immunoglobulin antisera, but was inhibited by the addition of antibody against target cell alloantigens. Treatment of the transferred spleen cells with anti-θ-serum and complement before in vitro assays for PFC and CL completely abolished the CL activity but had no effect on alloantibody-plaque formation. These results indicate that the two types of effector cells can be differentiated in vitro by virtue of their susceptibility to anti-θ-serum and the mechanisms by which they cause cell lysis

Fecal microbiota transplantation in human metabolic diseases: From a murky past to a bright future?

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is gaining considerable traction as a therapeutic approach to influence the course of a plethora of chronic conditions, ranging from metabolic syndrome and malignancies to auto-immune and neurological diseases, and helped to establish the contribution of the gut microbiome to these conditions. Although FMT procedures have yielded important mechanistic insights, their use in clinical practice may be limited due to practical objections in the setting of metabolic diseases. While its applicability is established to treat recurrent Clostridiodes difficile, FMT is emerging in ulcerative colitis and various other diseases. A particularly new insight is that FMTs may not only alter insulin sensitivity but may also alter the course of type 1 diabetes by attenuating underlying auto-immunity. In this review, we will outline the major principles and pitfalls of FMT and where optimization of study design and the procedure itself will further advance the field of cardiometabolic medicine.Peer reviewe