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Important Starting Point (important + starting_point)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Medical Sciences50%

Selected Abstracts

Creutzfeldt,Jakob disease risk and PRNP codon 129 polymorphism: necessity to revalue current data

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 12 2005
E. Mitrová
The polymorphism at codon 129 (M129V) of the prion protein gene (PRNP) is a recognized genetic marker for susceptibility to Creutzfeldt,Jakob disease (CJD) in the Caucasians. The distribution of this polymorphism in healthy individuals provides an important starting point for the evaluation of CJD risk in the general population. Early studies of reference population cohorts demonstrated that methionine/valine heterozygosity was the most frequent genotype. These studies were performed in relatively small numbers of control subjects and do not correspond with the findings of more recent investigations. In this study, we present an analysis of the codon M129V distribution in 613 corneal donors, representing one of the largest control groups examined to date. Methionine homozygotes represented 48.1%, valine homozygotes 8.7% and methionine/valine heterozygotes 43.2%. While age-related difference was not significant, differentiation according to the gender showed significant difference. The observed highest proportion of methionine homozygotes and statistically significant difference between genders as well as comparison with results obtained in other countries underline the need to re-evaluate the generally used reference data on M129V, including consideration of the gender, age and geographical distribution. [source]

Place Annihilation and Urban Reconstruction: The Experience of Four Towns in Brittany, 1940 to 1960

GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2000
Hugh Clout
Devastation, revival and reconstruction form guiding themes in this discussion of annihilated settlements in north-west France. For reasons of deep-water access and strategic location, the German occupiers decided to construct massive submarine bases at Brest, Lorient and Saint-Nazaire. Allied bombardment devastated the towns that surrounded them during the Second World War, while the heavily defended walled port of Saint-Malo was annihilated in 1944. With peace restored, prisoners of war and local labourers cleared mines, removed debris and installed large quantities of temporary housing. Development plans, drawn up in the interwar years, provided an important starting point for subsequent master plans which shaped postwar reconstruction. Working under the guidance of the Ministry of Reconstruction and Urbanism, chief planners, architects and reconstruction cooperatives refashioned property units and engineered the rebuilding of Brest, Lorient and Saint-Nazaire along thoroughly modern lines; by contrast, Saint-Malo was rebuilt much as it had been before the war. Many of the buildings of the 1950s now require refurbishment, and urgent initiatives need to be taken to revitalise the local economies of these reconstructed towns, whose role as naval bases, military arsenals and shipbuilding centres has contracted in the wake of political détente and deindustrialisation. [source]

Enrichment and transplantation of spermatogonial stem cells

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ANDROLOGY, Issue S2 2000
Takashi Shinohara
Spermatogenesis is a complex, highly organized process originated from stem cell spermatogonia. Because there are very few stem cells and they can only be defined by their function, the identification and isolation of these cells has been very difficult. By using a spermatogonial transplantation assay system, we have identified ,6 -and ,1 -integrin expression on stem cells, and cells isolated with these antigens were significantly enriched in stem cells. This is the first demonstration of spermatogonial stem cell-associated antigens. Analysis of two infertile mouse models, Steel/SteelDickie (Sl/Sld) and experimental cryptorchidism, showed that the number of stem cells is reduced in Sl/Sld testis. Whereas cryptorchid testes are greatly enriched for stem cells, and one in 200 cells is a stem cell. These techniques will provide an important starting point for further purification and characterization of spermatogonial stem cells. [source]

Optimization of Allium sativum Solvent Extraction for the Inhibition of in Vitro Growth of Helicobacter Pylori

BIOTECHNOLOGY PROGRESS, Issue 6 2002
Pablo Caņizares
Helicobacter pylori (Hp) is the bacterium responsible for serious gastric diseases such as ulcers and cancer. The work described here involved the study of the inhibitory power of Allium sativum extracts against the in vitro growth of Hp(Hp ivg). We used purple garlic of the "Las Pedroņeras" variety for this study. The effects of two different extraction methods (Soxhlet, stirred tank extractor) and four solvents with different characteristics (water, acetone, ethanol, and hexane) were investigated in terms of the efficiency of the extraction process. Satisfactory results were obtained in most cases in the activity tests, indicating that different extracts gave rise to good inhibitory activity against Hp ivg. The extracts that showed the highest bacteriostatic activities were selected to evaluate the influence of the most important operation variables on the extraction yield: stirring speed, operation time, garlic conditioning, and garlic storage time. The best results were obtained using ethanol and acetone as solvents in a stirred tank. The inhibitory powers of these extracts were compared to those shown by some commercial antibiotics used in the medical treatment of Hp infections. The results of this study show that garlic extracts produce levels of inhibition similar to those of the commercial materials. These extracts were also tested against other common bacteria, and equally satisfactory results were obtained. The research described here represents an important starting point in the fight against and/or prevention of peptic ulcers, as well as other pathologies associated with Hp infections such us gastric cancer. The extracted material can be used by direct application and involves a simple and economical extraction procedure that avoids isolation or purification techniques. [source]