The evolution of asymmetric genitalia in spiders and insects.

Asymmetries are a pervading phenomenon in otherwise bilaterally symmetric organisms and recent studies have highlighted their potential impact on our understanding of fundamental evolutionary processes like the evolution of development and the selection for morphological novelties caused by behavioural changes. One character system that is particularly promising in this respect is animal genitalia because (1) asymmetries in genitalia have evolved many times convergently, and (2) the taxonomic literature provides a tremendous amount of comparative data on these organs. This review is an attempt to focus attention on this promising but neglected topic by summarizing what we know about insect genital asymmetries, and by contrasting this with the situation in spiders, a group in which genital asymmetries are rare.

Undibacterium pigrum gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from drinking water.

Two Gram-negative, rod-shaped, oxidase-positive, non-spore-forming, non-motile bacteria (strains CCUG 49009(T) and CCUG 49012), both isolated from drinking water, were characterized. On the basis of chemotaxonomic data [major ubiquinone, Q-8; predominant polyamines, putrescine and 2-hydroxyputrescine; major polar lipids, phosphatidylethanolamine, moderate amounts of diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol and minor amounts of three aminolipids and phosphatidylserine; major fatty acids, C(16 : 0) and summed feature 3 (C(16 : 1) omega 7c/C(15 : 0) iso 2-OH)] and 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities, both strains clearly belong to the family Oxalobacteraceae of the Betaproteobacteria. 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities with members of the most closely related genera of this group (Herminiimonas, Massilia, Duganella, Telluria, Herbaspirillum, Janthinobacterium, Naxibacter and Paucimonas) were less than 96.

Stabilities of multiply charged dimers and clusters of fullerenes.

The authors find even-odd variations as functions of r (...

Nocardia acidivorans sp. nov., isolated from soil of the island of Stromboli.

A Gram-positive, non-spore-forming bacterium (strain GW4-1778(T)) was isolated from soil of the Italian island of Stromboli. 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity studies showed that strain GW4-1778(T) is a member of the genus Nocardia, most closely related to Nocardia pseudobrasiliensis (GenBank accession no. DQ659914; 98.

Description of Pseudochrobactrum kiredjianiae sp. nov.

A Gram-negative, rod-shaped, oxidase-positive, non-spore-forming, non-motile bacterium (strain CCUG 49584(T)), isolated from a seafood processing plant sample in New Zealand, was subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. On the basis of 16S rRNA and recA gene sequence similarities, the isolate was allocated to the genus Pseudochrobactrum. This was confirmed by fatty acid data (major fatty acids: C(18 : 1)omega7c and C(19 : 0) cyclo omega8c), a polar lipid profile exhibiting major characteristics of Pseudochrobactrum (phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine), quinone system Q-10 and a polyamine pattern with the predominant compounds spermidine and putrescine.

Actinoplanes couchii sp. nov.

A Gram-positive bacterium, strain GW8-1761(T), was isolated from soil close to the Marmore waterfalls, Terni, Italy. 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity studies showed that strain GW8-1761(T) belonged to the genus Actinoplanes, being most closely related to Actinoplanes italicus JCM 3165(T) (98.9 %), A.

Structure determination of medium-sized sodium clusters.

Sodium cluster anions Na(n)(-) with n = 39-350 have been studied by low temperature photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT). The highly structured experimental spectra are in excellent agreement with the electronic density of states (DOS) of the DFT lowest energy structures. Even for the largest sizes, a pronounced sensitivity of the DOS on fine geometric details could be observed, allowing for a reliable identification of a specific icosahedral growth motif.

Liquid-liquid phase coexistence in gold clusters: 2D or not 2D?

The thermodynamics of gold cluster anions (AuN-, N=11,...

Clonal diversification in OspA-specific antibodies from peripheral circulation of a chronic Lyme arthritis patient.

Chronic, antibiotic treatment-resistant Lyme arthritis develops in a subset of patients following infection with the tick-borne spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi and persists after apparent microbial clearance. IgG responses to Outer Surface Protein (Osp) A, an abundant spirochetal lipoprotein, correlate with both severity and duration of joint inflammation. Characterization of this OspA-directed antibody response is, therefore, important for understanding some of the mechanisms that sustain persistent pathology.

Increased proliferation of CD8+ T cells in SAP-deficient mice is associated with impaired activation-induced cell death.

Defective signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM)-associated protein (SAP) is responsible for the human X-linked lymphoproliferative syndrome. Defects in T helper 2, natural killer, natural killer T and B cells have been demonstrated in SAP-deficient humans and mice, and increased proliferation of CD8+ T cells has been observed. In the current study, we investigated the properties of CD8+ T cell proliferation and activation-induced cell death (AICD), using OT-I T cell receptor (TCR)-transgenic mice on either wild-type (WT) or SAP-/- background.

Age-associated decline in effective immune synapse formation of CD4(+) T cells is reversed by vitamin E supplementation.

Aging is associated with reduced IL-2 production and T cell proliferation. Vitamin E supplementation, in aged animals and humans, increases cell division and IL-2 production by naive T cells. The immune synapse forms at the site of contact between a T cell and an APC and participates in T cell activation.

Complete extirpation of benign breast lesions with an ultrasound-guided vacuum biopsy system.

Objectives: To investigate whether ultrasound-guided vacuum biopsy (VB) with curative intent is suitable for the complete extirpation of selected sonographically detectable benign lesions of the breast, and to establish the limitations of the method with regard to lesion size and complications, the extent of scar formation and the prognostic value.

Methods: One hundred and nine patients underwent hand-held, ultrasound-guided VB (8G or 11G needle) between June 2000 and September 2003. Of these, 45 (41%) women underwent ultrasound-guided extirpation of 46 lesions, and 42 women with 43 lesions were followed up clinically and sonographically for an average of 5.

Long-term course of epilepsy in a large cohort of intellectually disabled patients.

Unlabelled: This study was designed to describe the course of epilepsy (in terms of seizure frequency) and to assess the variables (antiepileptic therapy regimens and others) correlated to improvement. Seizure frequency (categories: seizure free, more than one seizure/year, monthly seizures, weekly seizures and daily seizures) and antiepileptic medication were retrospectively compared between 1992 and 2002 in a large cohort of 550 inpatients with chronic epilepsy and different degrees of intellectual disability or multiple handicaps.

Results: Seizure frequency decreased significantly (p<0.

[100 years of allergy: Clemens von Pirquet - his idea of allergy and its immanent concept of disease].

Coming from his clinical research in the field of infectiology and immunology the Viennese pediatrician Clemens von Pirquet (1874-1929) introduced the term "allergy" in 1906. With it he wanted to describe in general a change in reactivity of the organism, namely in time, quality and quantity. In contrast to the widely accepted use of the word "allergy" today, where it is restricted to specific immunologic hypersensitivity reactions against harmless foreign antigens, allergy in Pirquets sense comprised as general term likewise increases and decreases of the reactivity and so both "hyper-" and "hyposensitivity reactions".

Size-dependent structural evolution and chemical reactivity of gold clusters.

Ground-state structures and other experimentally relevant isomers of Au(15) (-) to Au(24) (-) clusters are determined through joint first-principles density functional theory and photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. Subsequent calculations of molecular O(2) adsorption to the optimal cluster structures reveal a size-dependent reactivity pattern that agrees well with earlier experiments. A detailed analysis of the underlying electronic structure shows that the chemical reactivity of the gold cluster anions can be elucidated in terms of a partial-jellium picture, where delocalized electrons occupying electronic shells move over the ionic skeleton, whose geometric structure is strongly influenced by the directional bonding associated with the highly localized "d-band" electrons.

Synthesis and activity of a potent, specific azabicyclo[3.3.0]-octane-based DPP II inhibitor.

A cell permeable DPP II [also known as DPP2, DPP7, and quiescent cell proline dipeptidase (QPP)] inhibitor has been synthesized. The azabicyclo[3.3.

Ion-induced biomolecular radiation damage: from isolated nucleobases to nucleobase clusters.

A large number of studies are devoted to the investigation of the biomolecular ionization and fragmentation dynamics underlying biological radiation damage. Most of these studies have been based on gas-phase collisions with isolated DNA building blocks. The radiobiological significance of these studies is often questioned because of the lack of a chemical environment.

Collision-induced dissociation of hydrated adenosine monophosphate nucleotide ions: protection of the ion in water nanoclusters.

Fragmentation of singly charged anions of adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP-) induced by collisions with neutral atoms (Ne, Na) has been studied at a collision energy of 50 keV. The experiments were performed with isolated AMP- as well as with AMP- anions nanosolvated in a cluster with a given number m of water molecules. In the first case, the dominant fragmentation channels concern the loss of adenine, PO3- and H2PO4-.

Molecular pathogenesis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is unique among malignancies since it represents an accumulation of B-lymphocytes resistant to apoptosis. Several factors are thought to confer this unusual feature to a CLL B-cell. Misbalance between cytoplasmic pro-survival and pro-death molecules, such as Bcl-2, Mcl-1 and alike, appears to be one of the key factors defining B-cell longevity.

Murine Vbeta3+ and Vbeta7+ T cell subsets are specific targets for the HERV-K18 Env superantigen.

Superantigens are a class of proteins that are derived from microorganisms and have the unique characteristic of stimulating T cells in a TCR Vbeta-specific manner, causing massive T cell proliferation and immune deregulation. For this reason, superantigens have been implicated in the development of multiple diseases. We have previously identified and cloned an EBV-associated superantigen, human endogenous retrovirus (HERV)-K18 envelope protein (Env).