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Large Segments (large + segment)
Selected AbstractsProtein microarray analysis identifies cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase as an interactor of Nogo-ANEUROPATHOLOGY, Issue 1 2010Kenta Sumiyoshi Nogo-A, a neurite outgrowth inhibitor, is expressed exclusively on oligodendrocytes and neurons in the CNS. The central domain of Amino-Nogo spanning amino acids 567,748 in the human Nogo-A designated NIG, mediates persistent inhibition of axonal outgrowth and induces growth cone collapse by signaling through an as yet unidentified NIG receptor. We identified 82 NIG-interacting proteins by screening a high-density human protein microarray composed of 5000 proteins with a recombinant NIG protein as a probe. Following an intensive database search, we selected 12 neuron/oligodendrocyte-associated NIG interactors. Among them, we verified the molecular interaction of NIG with 2,, 3,-cyclic nucleotide 3,-phosphodiesterase (CNP), a cell type-specific marker of oligodendrocytes, by immunoprecipitation and cell imaging analysis. Although CNP located chiefly in the cytoplasm of oligodendrocytes might not serve as a cell-surface NIG receptor, it could act as a conformational stabilizer for the intrinsically unstructured large segment of Amino-Nogo. [source] Slicing a protease: Structural features of the ATP-dependent Lon proteases gleaned from investigations of isolated domainsPROTEIN SCIENCE, Issue 8 2006Tatyana V. Rotanova Abstract ATP-dependent Lon proteases are multi-domain enzymes found in all living organisms. All Lon proteases contain an ATPase domain belonging to the AAA+ superfamily of molecular machines and a proteolytic domain with a serine-lysine catalytic dyad. Lon proteases can be divided into two subfamilies, LonA and LonB, exemplified by the Escherichia coli and Archaeoglobus fulgidus paralogs, respectively. The LonA subfamily is defined by the presence of a large N-terminal domain, whereas the LonB subfamily has no such domain, but has a membrane-spanning domain that anchors the protein to the cytoplasmic side of the membrane. The two subfamilies also differ in their consensus sequences. Recent crystal structures for several individual domains and sub-fragments of Lon proteases have begun to illuminate similarities and differences in structure,function relationships between the two subfamilies. Differences in orientation of the active site residues in several isolated Lon protease domains point to possible roles for the AAA+ domains and/or substrates in positioning the catalytic residues within the active site. Structures of the proteolytic domains have also indicated a possible hexameric arrangement of subunits in the native state of bacterial Lon proteases. The structure of a large segment of the N-terminal domain has revealed a folding motif present in other protein families of unknown function and should lead to new insights regarding ways in which Lon interacts with substrates or other cellular factors. These first glimpses of the structure of Lon are heralding an exciting new era of research on this ancient family of proteases. [source] Globalization, global health, and access to healthcare,INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2003Téa Collins Abstract It is now commonly realized that the globalization of the world economy is shaping the patterns of global health, and that associated morbidity and mortality is affecting countries' ability to achieve economic growth. The globalization of public health has important implications for access to essential healthcare. The rise of inequalities among and within countries negatively affects access to healthcare. Poor people use healthcare services less frequently when sick than do the rich. The negative impact of globalization on access to healthcare is particularly well demonstrated in countries of transitional economies. No longer protected by a centralized health sector that provided free universal access to services for everyone, large segments of the populations in the transition period found themselves denied even the most basic medical services. Only countries where regulatory institutions are strong, domestic markets are competitive and social safety nets are in place, have a good chance to enjoy the health benefits of globalization. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Changing epidemiology of Helicobacter pylori in AsiaJOURNAL OF DIGESTIVE DISEASES, Issue 4 2008Huck J TAN As in developed societies, the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori has declined rapidly in Asia. This has been shown in both seroprevalence-based and endoscopy-based studies. While the decline in the incidence of gastric cancer has now been observed, a decrease in peptic ulcer disease has not been so clearly evident. This apparent paradox can be explained by an increase in non- H. pylori associated ulcers , such as those related to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or idiopathic ulcers. The increase of gastroesophageal reflux disease in Asia has been widely observed and commented on and its relationship to the decline in H. pylori speculated upon. However there have been few conclusive studies from Asia on this subject. While the improved diagnosis and elimination of H. pylori has contributed to its decline, a more basic change involving large segments of the Asian population must be responsible. An improvement in hygiene and living conditions that results from more affluent Asian societies is thought to be a possible cause. [source] Programme and policy issues related to promoting positive early nutritional influences to prevent obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease in later life: a developing countries view,MATERNAL & CHILD NUTRITION, Issue 3 2005Noel W. Solomons MD Abstract Public health policy differs from programme insofar as the former is the expression of goals at a higher decision-making level (international, regional, national or provincial) and the latter involves the execution of intervention measures at the community or individual level. It has recently become fashionable to speak of ,evidence-based' policy. There is now ample evidence to suggest that early nutritional influences on chronic disease risk in later life are contributing to the acceleration of the overall worldwide epidemic of obesity and non-transmissible diseases. In developing countries, in which 80% of the world's population resides, the opportunities for preventive policy must be balanced against needs, cost and effectiveness considerations and the intrinsic limitations of policy execution. Not everyone in the population is at risk of suffering from any given negative condition of interest, nor will everyone at risk benefit from any given intervention. Hence, decisions must be made between universal or targeted policies, seeking maximal cost-efficiency, but without sowing the seeds of either discrimination or stigmatization with a non-universal application of benefits. Moreover, although large segments of the covered population may benefit from a public health measure, it may produce adverse and harmful effects on another segment. It is ethically incumbent on policy makers to minimize unintended consequences of public health measures. With respect to the particular case of mothers, fetuses and infants and long-term health, only a limited number of processes are amenable to intervention measures that could be codified in policy and executed as programmes. [source] On Integrating Immigrants in GermanyPOPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW, Issue 3 2006Article first published online: 8 SEP 200 Immigration to Germany in the decades following World War II made the Federal Republic the host of the largest number of immigrants in Europe. The size of the population with an immigration background is on the order of 15 million, nearly one-fifth of the total population. (Many of these are ethnic German returnees.) Although restrictive policies and a less dynamic economy in recent years slowed the annual number of immigrants and asylum seekers, the interrelated demographic influences of very low fertility, negative natural population increase, and population aging make continuing future immigration likely and, judged by influential domestic interests, desirable. Anxieties about inadequate integration of immigrants in German society are, however, apparently strongly felt by large segments of the native population. The "Grand Coalition" government that took office in November 2005 considers the formation of an effective policy of integration a high priority. On 14 July 2006 an "Integration Summit" was convened in the Chancellery with the active participation of representatives of immigrant groups. Chancellor Angela Merkel called the Summit "an almost historical event." Reproduced below in full is a non-official English translation of a government statement (entitled "Good coexistence,Clear rules") presented to the participants at the opening of the meeting. Intended as a "start of the development of a national integration plan," the statement highlights existing deficiencies of integration, especially problems with second- and third-generation immigrants: lack of mastery of the German language, weaknesses in education and training, high unemployment, lack of acceptance of the basic rules of coexistence, and violation of the law. The importance of these issues is underlined by a demographic fact noted in the statement: by 2010 it is expected that in Germany's large cities 50 percent of the population under age 40 will have an immigrant background. The statement recognizes the government's responsibility to help immigrants learn German and become better informed about the country's laws, culture, history, and political system. In turn, it demands reciprocal efforts from migrants living permanently and lawfully in Germany. The original German text of the statement is available at the Bundeskanzleramt home page: «http://www.bundesregierung.d» [source] Potential utility of actuarial methods for identifying specific learning disabilitiesPSYCHOLOGY IN THE SCHOOLS, Issue 6 2010Nicholas Benson This article describes how actuarial methods can supplant discrepancy models and augment problem solving and Response to Intervention (RTI) efforts by guiding the process of identifying specific learning disabilities (SLD). Actuarial methods use routinized selection and execution of formulas derived from empirically established relationships to make predictions that fall within a plausible range of possible future outcomes. In the case of SLD identification, the extent to which predictions are reasonable can be evaluated by their ability to categorize large segments of the population into subgroups that vary considerably along a spectrum of risk for academic failure. Although empirical comparisons of actuarial methods to clinical judgment reveal that actuarial methods consistently outperform clinical judgment, multidisciplinary teams charged with identifying SLD currently rely on clinical judgment. Actuarial methods provide educators with an empirically verifiable indicator of student need for special education and related services that could be used to estimate the relative effects of exclusionary criteria. This indicator would provide a defensible endpoint in the process of identifying SLD as well as a means of informing and improving the SLD identification process. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] | |||||||||||||