Modeling a disease-correlated tubulin mutation in budding yeast reveals insight into MAP-mediated dynein function.

Mutations in the genes that encode α- and β-tubulin underlie many neurological diseases, most notably malformations in cortical development. In addition to revealing the molecular basis for disease etiology, studying such mutations can provide insight into microtubule function and the role of the large family of microtubule effectors. In this study, we use budding yeast to model one such mutation-Gly436Arg in α-tubulin, which is causative of malformations in cortical development-in order to understand how it impacts microtubule function in a simple eukaryotic system.

Potency ranking of triterpenoids as inducers of a cytoprotective enzyme and as inhibitors of a cellular inflammatory response via their electron affinity and their electrophilicity index.

Electron affinity (EA) and electrophilicity index (omega) of 16 synthetic triterpenoids (TP), previously identified as inducers of cytoprotective enzymes and as inhibitors of cellular inflammatory responses, have been calculated by the molecular orbital method. Linear correlations were obtained by plotting the values of EA, as well as those of omega versus (i) the potencies of induction of NAD(P)H quinone reductase (NQO1, EC 1.6.

[Littré hernia as a cause of bowel obstruction].

The authors describe a case of a 60-year-old male with a history of a mass and pain at the right inguinal and epigastric areas. He also reported symptoms of bowel obstruction. Physical examination revealed a mass at right inguinal area, which was not reducible or pulsatile.

Quantification of the 35S promoter in DNA extracts from genetically modified organisms using real-time polymerase chain reaction and specificity assessment on various genetically modified organisms, part I: operating procedure.

A highly sensitive quantitative real-time assay targeted on the 35S promoter of a commercial genetically modified organism (GMO) was characterized (sF/sR primers) and developed for an ABI Prism 7700 Sequence Detection System and TaqMan chemistry. The specificity assessment and performance criteria of sF/sR assay were compared to other P35S-targeted published assays. sF/sR primers amplified a 79 base pair DNA sequence located in a part of P35S that is highly conserved among many caulimovirus strains, i.