His84 rather than His35 is the active site histidine in the corrinoid protein MtrA of the energy conserving methyltransferase complex from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum

AbstractThe energy conserving corrinoid containing MtrA-H complex from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum is composed of eight different subunits of which MtrA harbors the corrinoid prosthetic group, the corrinoid being bound in the base-off/His-on configuration. Based on sequence comparisons it was recently proposed that His35 of MtrA is the active site histidine. We report here that His84 rather than His35 is the axial ligand to the cobamide in MtrA

Parallel BioScape: A Stochastic and Parallel Language for Mobile and Spatial Interactions

BioScape is a concurrent language motivated by the biological landscapes found at the interface of biology and biomaterials. It has been motivated by the need to model antibacterial surfaces, biofilm formation, and the effect of DNAse in treating and preventing biofilm infections. As its predecessor, SPiM, BioScape has a sequential semantics based on Gillespie's algorithm, and its implementation does not scale beyond 1000 agents. However, in order to model larger and more realistic systems, a semantics that may take advantage of the new multi-core and GPU architectures is needed. This motivates the introduction of parallel semantics, which is the contribution of this paper: Parallel BioScape, an extension with fully parallel semantics.Comment: In Proceedings MeCBIC 2012, arXiv:1211.347

Framing prostitution policies. A comparision of Slovenia and Austria

In the article, the authors explore how prostitution policies as explicitly gendered policies are framed in two countries, Austria and Slovenia. These countries share many elements of historical, cultural and religious setting even if their political systems and cultures developed in different ways. The background of prostitution policies, policy environment and actors in both countries is outlined. The authors then present the frames found in the two countries and compare them. In the last part of the paper, first comparative explanations for differences and similarities in framing and policy outcome are given. The main argument is that frames on prostitution have undergone considerable changes in both countries, but conceptualisations of women as the «Other» and of «voluntary versus forced» prostitution are central to the debates in both countries.In the article, the authors explore how prostitution policies as explicitly gendered policies are framed in two countries, Austria and Slovenia. These countries share many elements of historical, cultural and religious setting even if their political systems and cultures developed in different ways. The background of prostitution policies, policy environment and actors in both countries is outlined. The authors then present the frames found in the two countries and compare them. In the last part of the paper, first comparative explanations for differences and similarities in framing and policy outcome are given. The main argument is that frames on prostitution have undergone considerable changes in both countries, but conceptualisations of women as the «Other» and of «voluntary versus forced» prostitution are central to the debates in both countries

Bacteria Present in Carotid Arterial Plaques Are Found as Biofilm Deposits Which May Contribute to Enhanced Risk of Plaque Rupture

Atherosclerosis, a disease condition resulting from the buildup of fatty plaque deposits within arterial walls, is the major underlying cause of ischemia (restriction of the blood), leading to obstruction of peripheral arteries, congestive heart failure, heart attack, and stroke in humans. Emerging research indicates that factors including inflammation and infection may play a key role in the progression of atherosclerosis. In the current work, atherosclerotic carotid artery explants from 15 patients were all shown to test positive for the presence of eubacterial 16S rRNA genes. Density gradient gel electrophoresis of 5 of these samples revealed that each contained 10 or more distinct 16S rRNA gene sequences. Direct microscopic observation of transverse sections from 5 diseased carotid arteries analyzed with a eubacterium-specific peptide nucleic acid probe revealed these to have formed biofilm deposits, with from 1 to 6 deposits per thin section of plaque analyzed. A majority, 93%, of deposits was located proximal to the internal elastic lamina and associated with fibrous tissue. In 6 of the 15 plaques analyzed, 16S rRNA genes from Pseudomonas spp. were detected. Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms have been shown in our lab to undergo a dispersion response when challenged with free iron in vitro. Iron is known to be released into the blood by transferrin following interaction with catecholamine hormones, such as norepinephrine. Experiments performed in vitro showed that addition of physiologically relevant levels of norepinephrine induced dispersion of P. aeruginosa biofilms when grown under low iron conditions in the presence but not in the absence of physiological levels of transferrin. IMPORTANCE The association of bacteria with atherosclerosis has been only superficially studied, with little attention focused on the potential of bacteria to form biofilms within arterial plaques. In the current work, we show that bacteria form biofilm deposits within carotid arterial plaques, and we demonstrate that one species we have identified in plaques can be stimulated in vitro to undergo a biofilm dispersion response when challenged with physiologically relevant levels of norepinephrine in the presence of transferrin. Biofilm dispersion is characterized by the release of bacterial enzymes into the surroundings of biofilm micro-colonies, allowing bacteria to escape the biofilm matrix. We believe these enzymes may have the potential to damage surrounding tissues and facilitate plaque rupture if norepinephrine is able to stimulate biofilm dispersion in vivo. This research, therefore, suggests a potential mechanistic link between hormonal state and the potential for heart attack and stroke

Capital Social e Espaços Sociais de Crianças e Jovens em Sociedades Multiculturais. Um Estudo Comparativo entre California (EUA) e Baden-Wuerttemberg (Alemanha)

Para falar de desenvolvimento regional nos dias de hoje, deve-se considerar o desenvolvimento da sociedade moderna, isto é, uma sociedade multicultural. Também se deve considerar como, nesta sociedade, se inscrevem a situação atual da integração de crianças e jovens com origem estrangeira e a valorização de seu capital, entre outros o seu capital social. Isso será tratado a seguir através dos casos de desenvolvimento regional de Baden-Württemberg (Alemanha) e de Califórina (USA)

Neue Gesamtkonzeption aus Baden: Leben in Fülle und Würde - Kirche kompetent fürs Alter

Die Evangelische Landeskirche in Baden hat eine neue Konzeption für die soziale und erwachsenenpädagogische Arbeit mit älteren Menschen entwickelt. Eine ausgewertete Umfrage in allen Gemeinden und Diakonischen Werken schaffte hierfür die Grundlage..

An in vitro alveolar macrophage assay for predicting the short-term inhalation toxicity of nanomaterials

Additional file 1: Table S1. Comparison of significant in vitro LOAECs (significant as compared to the negative benchmark material corundum) to NOAECs and LOAECs recorded in rat STISs. Table S2. Bioactivity of four types of CeO2 NMs in rat STISs as compared to cellular effects recorded in the in vitro NR8383 AM assay