NADP-malic enzyme and Hsp70: co-purification of both proteins and modification of NADP-malic enzyme properties by association with Hsp70.

Different preparations of antibodies against 62 kDa NADP-malic enzyme (NADP-ME) from purified maize leaves cross-react with a 72 kDa protein from diverse tissues in many species. A 72 kDa protein, suggested to be a non-photosynthetic NADP-ME, has been purified from several plant species. However, to date, a cDNA coding for this putative 72 kDa NADP-ME has not been isolated.

Sequencing and analysis of common bean ESTs. Building a foundation for functional genomics.

Although common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is the most important grain legume in the developing world for human consumption, few genomic resources exist for this species. The objectives of this research were to develop expressed sequence tag (EST) resources for common bean and assess nodule gene expression through high-density macroarrays. We sequenced a total of 21,026 ESTs derived from 5 different cDNA libraries, including nitrogen-fixing root nodules, phosphorus-deficient roots, developing pods, and leaves of the Mesoamerican genotype, Negro Jamapa 81.

Altered T cell differentiation and Notch signaling induced by the ectopic expression of keratin K10 in the epithelial cells of the thymus.

Transgenic mice expressing hK10 under the keratin K5 promoter display several alterations in the epidermis including decreased cell proliferation, and reduced susceptibility to tumor development. Given that K5 promoter is also active in the epithelial cells of the thymus, we explored the possible alterations of the thymus because of K10 transgene expression. We found severe thymic alterations, which affect not only the thymic epithelial cells (TEC), but also thymocytes.

In vitro drug release mechanism and drug loading studies of cubic phase gels.

Glyceryl monooleate/water cubic phase systems were investigated as drug delivery systems, using salicylic acid as a model drug. The liquid crystalline phases formed by the glyceryl monooleate (GMO)/water systems were characterized by polarizing microscopy. In vitro drug release studies were performed and the influences of initial water content, swelling and drug loading on the drug release properties were evaluated.

Acculturation and Latino health in the United States: a review of the literature and its sociopolitical context.

This chapter provides an overview of the concept of acculturation and reviews existing evidence about the possible relationships between acculturation and selected health and behavioral outcomes among Latinos. The effect of acculturation on Latino health is complex and not well understood. In certain areas-substance abuse, dietary practices, and birth outcomes-there is evidence that acculturation has a negative effect and that it is associated with worse health outcomes, behaviors, or perceptions.

Ectoderm-targeted overexpression of the glucocorticoid receptor induces hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia.

Hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia is a human syndrome defined by maldevelopment of one or more ectodermal-derived tissues, including the epidermis and cutaneous appendices, teeth, and exocrine glands. The molecular bases of this pathology converge in a dysfunction of the transcription factor nuclear factor of the kappa-enhancer in B cells (NF-kappaB), which is essential to epithelial homeostasis and development. A number of mouse models bearing disruptions in NF-kappaB signaling have been reported to manifest defects in ectodermal derivatives.

Surgical management of obesity: a review of the evidence relating to the health benefits and risks.

Obesity continues to plague our society in epidemic proportions. Surgery for morbid obesity is considered by many as the most effective therapy for this complex disorder. Today, multiple surgical procedures for the treatment of obesity are available.

A novel thymidine phosphorylase mutation in a Spanish MNGIE patient.

A 29-year-old Spanish man presented with chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction, progressive external ophthalmoplegia, peripheral neuropathy, and diffuse leukoencephalopathy. This combination of clinical features is characteristic of mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy (MNGIE). Genetic analysis revealed a novel 18-base pair (bp) duplication (5044-5061 dup) in exon 8 of the thymidine phosphorylase (TP) gene.

Absence of de novo Y-chromosome microdeletions in male children conceived through intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

Molecular screening for Y-chromosome microdeletions in 96 Spanish male children conceived through intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) was conducted. No microdeletions were detected; these results support the notion that de novo Y-chromosome alterations are rare and unrelated to the ICSI technique itself.

A psycho-educational intervention for depressed women: a qualitative analysis of the process.

Yalom (1995) has stated that psycho-educational interventions could be made more effective by incorporating a focus on the interpersonal process. A qualitative analysis is proposed to investigate the degree of fidelity with which a psycho-educational intervention for women with depressive symptoms was delivered and to identify Yalom's significant therapeutic mechanisms operating in group therapy. The intervention consisted of six 2 two-hour weekly sessions organized around educational material.

[The influence of life events and social support in a psycho-educational intervention for women with depression].

Objective: To investigate the influence of social support and adverse life events on depression symptoms, before and after therapy (15-30 days) and during follow-up (4 months) of a psycho-educational intervention for depression.

Material And Methods: The study population consisted of 254 women with depression symptoms selected among those seeking treatment for their symptoms in three community mental health centers and in one Ministry of Health center, all of them in Mexico City, between January 1998 and December 2000. The intervention has been proved effective previously in reducing depression symptoms.

Dynamics of a single ion in a perturbed Penning trap: octupolar perturbation.

Imperfections in the design or implementation of Penning traps may give rise to electrostatic perturbations that introduce nonlinearities in the dynamics. In this paper we investigate, from the point of view of classical mechanics, the dynamics of a single ion trapped in a Penning trap perturbed by an octupolar perturbation. Because of the axial symmetry of the problem, the system has two degrees of freedom.

Measuring health status and quality of life for US children: relationship to race, ethnicity, and income status.

Objective: Accurately measuring the health of the increasingly diverse population of US children requires instruments that are comparable and valid across cultures, economic background, and language. This paper asks: Has the field of pediatric health status measures reached this level of comprehensiveness?

Methods: Children's health status and quality of life measures commonly used in the United States were reviewed to assess how they have included racial/ethnic minority and low-income groups. Four generic and 2 condition-specific instruments (asthma) were examined for total sample size, percent of sample from racial/ethnic and low-income groups, language availability, translation methods for US-Spanish, reading level, and separately reported psychometric findings and outcomes/scores.

[Female depression viewed from women's subjectivity].

The aim of the study was to explore the way in which depression in women is conceptualized, experienced, and given meaning from the perspective of the women themselves, based on a review of text material on the subject. The focus group technique was used to present the text, which deals with depression, its causes, and coping strategies. Twenty-seven women, divided into four groups, participated in the study.

Functional link between retinoblastoma family of proteins and the Wnt signaling pathway in mouse epidermis.

The retinoblastoma family of proteins (pRb, p107, and p130) modulates cell cycle progression and differentiation of several tissues. We have demonstrated recently that p107 and p130 regulate keratinocyte terminal differentiation and hair follicle morphogenesis and development in vivo. This last aspect appears to be mediated by defective signaling from the mesenchyme and is associated with altered bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP4) -dependent signaling.

Induction of a crassulacean acid-like metabolism in the C(4) succulent plant, Portulaca oleracea L: study of enzymes involved in carbon fixation and carbohydrate metabolism.

The C(4) succulent plant Portulaca oleracea shifts its photosynthetic metabolism to crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) after 23 d of withholding water. This is accounted by diurnal acid fluctuation, net nocturnal but not day CO(2) uptake and drastic changes in phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) kinetic and regulatory properties [Lara et al. (2003) Photosynth: Res.

Immunohistochemical expression of estrogen receptor beta in normal and tumoral canine mammary glands.

To date, two isoforms of estrogen receptors (ER) have been identified, cloned, and characterized from several species, estrogen receptor-alpha (ERalpha) and estrogen receptor-beta (ERbeta). Although the presence of ERalpha has been demonstrated in normal and tumoral canine mammary tissues, the issue of ERbeta expression has not been addressed in the dog. In this study, we have analyzed the expression of ERbeta in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples of nonaltered mammary gland, 30 malignant (six complex carcinoma, 12 simple carcinoma, three carcinosarcoma, and nine carcinoma or sarcoma in benign tumor), and five benign (one fibroadenoma, one complex papilloma, one complex adenoma, and two benign mixed tumors) mammary tumors of the dog by using a polyclonal ERbeta antibody and the avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex immunohistochemical technique.

Akt mediates an angiogenic switch in transformed keratinocytes.

Akt signaling is involved in tumorigenesis via a number of different mechanisms that result in increased proliferation and decreased apoptosis. Previous data have demonstrated that Akt-mediated signaling is functionally involved in keratinocyte transformation. This work investigates the involvement of angiogenesis as a mediator of tumorigenesis in Akt-transformed keratinocytes.

Strategies and trajectories of coral reef fish larvae optimizing self-recruitment.

Like many marine organisms, most coral reef fishes have a dispersive larval phase. The fate of this phase is of great concern for their ecology as it may determine population demography and connectivity. As direct study of the larval phase is difficult, we tackle the question of dispersion from an opposite point of view and study self-recruitment.

Antibodies to non-bilayer phospholipid arrangements induce a murine autoimmune disease resembling human lupus.

Antibodies recognizing non-bilayer phospholipid arrangements (NPA) in membrane models and in cell membranes in vivo, triggered an autoimmune-like disease in mice. This exhibited features similar to human lupus and was induced by injecting mice either with the H308 monoclonal antibody specific to NPA, with sera from mice which already had developed the autoimmune disease, or with liposomes treated with the NPA inductors chlorpromazine or procainamide; or with these NPA inductors alone. All these procedures revealed the involvement of antibodies to non-bilayer phospholipids in inducing this autoimmune-like disease.

Expression, secretion, and glycosylation of the 45- and 47-kDa glycoprotein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Streptomyces lividans.

The gene encoding the 45/47 kDa glycoprotein (Rv1860) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was expressed in Streptomyces lividans under its own promoter and under the thiostrepton-inducible Streptomyces promoter PtipA. The recombinant protein was released into the culture medium and, like the native protein, migrated as a double band at 45 and 47 kDa in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) gels. However, in contrast to the native protein, only the 47-kDa recombinant protein could be labeled with concanavalin A (ConA).