Surrounding Regions (surrounding + regions)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Geographical Aspects of Food Industry FDI in the CEE Countries Geografische Aspekte ausländischer Direktinvestitionen (ADI) in der Lebensmittelindustrie in mittel- und osteuropäischen Ländern Les dimensions géographiques de l'IDE dans l'industrie alimentaire des pays d'Europe centrale et orientale

EUROCHOICES, Issue 1 2009
Csaba Jansik
Summary Geographical Aspects of Food Industry FDI in the CEE Countries Food industry FDI has favoured certain food processing sub-sectors over others and it has also been distributed rather unevenly in geographical terms both between countries and regionally within each country. As for the regional distribution, foreign investors have typically targeted locations with a relatively high density of consumers as opposed for instance to prioritising the proximity of agricultural raw materials. The capital city areas and their surrounding regions have attracted a much higher proportion of total food industry FDI than their contribution to agricultural and food processing output would warrant. FDI has contributed in many ways to the development of the regions and industries which have received capital inflows. There has been some levelling off in FDI between countries more recently, a trend driven by the tendency for multinational enterprises to shift their production capacity across national borders among their CEE subsidiaries in a search for greater economies of scale or cost savings. This realignment has helped certain branches of the food industry in some CEE countries perform better than others in competing for common EU food markets. Positive effects of the recent FDI inflows include rapid productivity improvements and enhancement of food export volumes. L'IDE dans l'industrie alimentaire a privilégié certains sous-secteurs de la transformation alimentaire plutôt que d'autres et sa répartition géographique, à la fois entre pays et entre régions au sein d'un même pays, a été plutôt inégale. En termes de répartition régionale, les investisseurs étrangers ont typiquement ciblé des zones où la densité des consommateurs est assez élevée plutôt que de donner, par exemple, la prioritéà la proximité des produits agricoles primaires. Les capitales et les régions qui les entourent ont attiré une proportion bien plus grande de l'ensemble de l'IDE dans l'industrie alimentaire que ce que leur contribution à la production agricole et alimentaire représenterait. L'IDE a contribué de maintes façons au développement des régions et des industries qui ont reçu des capitaux. Une certaine égalisation de l'IDE s'est produite plus récemment entre pays, ce phénomène étant entraîné par la tendance des entreprises multinationales à transférer leur capacité de production d'un pays à l'autre entre leurs filiales d'Europe centrale et orientale, à la recherche d'économies d'échelle et de coûts. Ce rééquilibrage a aidé certaines branches de l'industrie alimentaire de certains pays d'Europe centrale et orientale à réussir mieux que d'autres dans la compétition sur les marchés alimentaires de l'UE. Parmi les effets positifs des entrées de capitaux d'IDE récentes, figurent des améliorations rapides de la productivité et la croissance en volume des exportations de produits alimentaires. Ausländische Direktinvestitionen (ADI) in der Lebensmittelindustrie haben sich auf bestimmte Teilsektoren konzentriert. Außerdem ist die Konzentration der ADI sowohl geografisch zwischen den Ländern als auch den Regionen einzelner Länder ungleich. Bei der regionalen Konzentration haben die ausländischen Investoren ihre Wahl nicht etwa anhand der Entfernung zu landwirtschaftlichen Rohstoffen getroffen, sondern Orte mit einer relativ hohen Kundendichte bevorzugt. Auf die Hauptstadtregionen entfiel ein viel größerer Anteil an den gesamten ADI als es ihre Beteiligung an der Produktionsmenge in Landwirtschaft und Lebensmittelverarbeitung rechtfertigen würde. ADI haben in vielerlei Hinsicht zur Entwicklung der Regionen und Industrien beigetragen, die einen Kapitalzufluss erfahren haben. In letzter Zeit wurden ADI zwischen den Ländern etwas weniger konzentriert, da multinationale Unternehmen danach streben, ihre Produktionskapazitäten länderübergreifend auf ihre MOE-Tochtergesellschaften zu verlagern, um Skaleneffekte und Kosteneinsparungen besser nutzen zu können. Durch diese Neuorientierung konnten sich bestimmte Lebensmittelindustriezweige in einigen MOEL gegenüber anderen im Wettbewerb um die gemeinsamen Lebensmittelmärkte der EU behaupten. Zu den positiven Auswirkungen von ADI-Zuflüssen zählen eine rasche Steigerung der Produktivität sowie größere Mengen an Lebensmittelexporten. [source]


Physics-based GPS data inversion to estimate three-dimensional elastic and inelastic strain fields

GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2010
Akemi Noda
SUMMARY The Earth's crust is macroscopically treated as a linear elastic body, but it includes a number of defects. The occurrence of inelastic deformation such as brittle fracture at the defects brings about elastic deformation in the surrounding regions. The crustal deformation observed through geodetic measurements is the sum of the inelastic deformation as source and the elastic deformation as effect. On such a basic idea, we created a theory of physics-based strain analysis with general source representation by moment tensor, and developed an inversion method to separately estimate 3-D elastic and inelastic strain fields from GPS data. In this method, first, the optimum distribution of moment density tensor is determined from observed GPS data by using Akaike's information criterion. Then, the elastic and inelastic strain fields are obtained from the optimum moment tensor distribution by theoretical computation and direct conversion with elastic compliance tensor, respectively. We applied the inversion method to GPS horizontal velocity data, and succeeded in separately estimating 3-D elastic and inelastic strain rate fields in the Niigata,Kobe transformation zone, central Japan. As for the surface patterns of total strain, the present results of 3-D physics-based inversion analysis accord with the previous results of 2-D geometric inversion analysis. From the 3-D patterns of the inverted elastic and inelastic strain fields, we revealed that the remarkable horizontal contraction in the Niigata,Kobe transformation zone is elastic and restricted near the surface, but the remarkable shear deformation is inelastic and extends over the upper crust. [source]


Incursion and excursion of Antarctic biota: past, present and future

GLOBAL ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2006
D. K. A. Barnes
ABSTRACT Aim, To investigate the major paradigms of intense isolation and little anthropogenic influence around Antarctica and to examine the timings and scales of the modification of the southern polar biota. Location, Antarctica and surrounding regions. Methods, First, mechanisms of and evidence for long-term isolation are reviewed. These include continental drift, the development of a surrounding deep-water channel and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). They also include levels of endemism, richness and distinctiveness of assemblages. Secondly, evidence for past and modern opportunities for species transport are investigated. Comparative levels of alien establishments are also examined around the Southern Ocean. Discussion, On a Cenozoic time-scale, it is clear that Gondwana's fragmentation led to increasing geographical isolation of Antarctica and the initiation of the ACC, which restricted biota exchange to low levels while still permitting some movement of biota. On a shorter Quaternary time-scale, the continental ice-sheet, influenced by solar (Milankovitch) cycles, has expanded and contracted periodically, covering and exposing terrestrial and continental shelf habitats. There were probably refugia for organisms during each glacial maxima. It is also likely that new taxa were introduced into Antarctica during cycles of ice sheet and oceanic front movement. The current situation (a glacial minimum) is not ,normal'; full interglacials represent only 10% of the last 430 ka. On short (ecological) time-scales, many natural dispersal processes (airborne, oceanic eddy, rafting and hitch-hiking on migrants) enable the passage of biota to and from Antarctica. In recent years, humans have become influential both directly by transporting organisms and indirectly by increasing survival and establishment prospects via climate change. Main conclusions, Patterns of endemism and alien establishment are very different across taxa, land and sea, and north vs. south of the Polar Frontal Zone. Establishment conditions, as much as transport, are important in limiting alien establishment. Three time-scales emerge as important in the modification of Antarctica's biota. The natural ,interglacial' process of reinvasion of Antarctica is being influenced strongly by humans. [source]


Reconfiguring ,post-socialist' regions: cross-border networks and regional competition in the Slovak and Ukrainian clothing industry

GLOBAL NETWORKS, Issue 3 2008
ADRIAN SMITH
Abstract The global garment industry is currently being reshaped in dramatic ways through processes of trade liberalization, delocalization and interfirm and interregional competition. There has been much speculation about the increasing importance of factor (especially labour) costs in fuelling further rounds of de-localization of garment production towards low-cost production locations, such as China and India. However, the extent to which these processes mean the end to garment production in higher factor-cost locations, including those neighbouring the major clothing markets of the USA and the EU, is open to question. In this article we interrogate the interregional shifts in garment sourcing taking place in Europe and its surrounding regions. While factor costs (including labour) are important determinants of the geography of sourcing, a range of other costs (logistical and policy costs) are important in structuring the geographies of global and regional production. Firms in the Slovak Republic are responding to increasing competitive pressures and we assess how trans-border sourcing, subcontracting and FDI are being integrated into strategies to sustain European production networks. We highlight the emergence of cross-border production relocation to Ukraine as one specific strategy. We examine the product specificity of these changes and the ways in which they are embedded within already existing production networks, forms of cross-border contracting and central European trade regimes. In other words, we explore some of the forces that shape the somewhat tentative continuation of garment production for export to EU markets in central Europe despite the ,spectre of China'. [source]


Characteristics, evolution and mechanisms of the summer monsoon onset over Southeast Asia

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 12 2004
Zuqiang Zhang
Abstract Based on the 1979,95 mean pentad reanalysis data from the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction, the climatological characteristics and physical mechanism of the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) onset are investigated. Special focus is given to whether the ASM onset starts earlier over the Indochina Peninsula than over the South China Sea (SCS) and why the ASM is established the earliest over Southeast Asia. An examination of the composite thermodynamic and dynamic quantities confirms that the ASM onset commences earliest over the Indochina Peninsula, as highlighted by active convection and rainfall resulting from the convergence of southwesterly flow from the Bay of Bengal (BOB) vortex and easterly winds associated with the subtropical anticyclone over the SCS. Two other important characteristics not previously noted are also identified: the earliest reversal of meridional temperature gradient throughout the entire troposphere and the corresponding establishment of an easterly vertical wind shear, which are due to upper level warming caused by eddy (convective) transport of latent heat. These changes in the large-scale circulation suggest that, in addition to rainfall, a reversal in the planetary-scale circulation should be included in determining the timing of the ASM onset. With such a consideration, the climatological ASM onset occurs first over southeastern BOB and southwestern Indochina Peninsula in early May, and then advances northeastward to reach the SCS by the fourth pentad of May (16,20 May). The monsoon then covers the entire Southeast Asia region by the end of May. Subsequently, a similar onset process begins over the eastern Arabian Sea, India and western BOB, and the complete establishment of the ASM over India is accomplished in mid June. In the process of the onset of each ASM component, the reversal of the upper level planetary-scale circulation depends strongly on that of the meridional temperature gradient. Over the Indochina Peninsula, the seasonal transition of upper level temperature results from convection-induced diabatic heating, whereas over western Asia it is attributed to subsidence warming induced by the active ascending motion over the former region. The steady increase in surface sensible heating over the Indian subcontinent and the latent heating over the tropical Indian Ocean in April to early May appear to be the major impetus for the development of the cyclonic vortex over the BOB. A similar enhancement over the Arabian Peninsula and the surrounding regions is also identified to be crucial to the development of the so-called onset vortex over the Arabian Sea, and then ultimately to the ASM onset over India. Copyright © 2004 Royal Meteorological Society [source]


Spatial distribution and its seasonality of satellite-derived vegetation index (NDVI) and climate in Siberia

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 11 2001
Rikie Suzuki
Abstract The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) distribution and its seasonal cycle were investigated in relation to temperature and precipitation over Siberia and its surrounding regions. The analyses used 5-year (1987,1991) monthly means. The monthly mean NDVI was calculated from the third-generation monthly Global Vegetation Index (GVI) product; monthly temperature and precipitation at 611 stations were calculated from Global Daily Summary (GDS) data. The 611 stations were classified by cluster analysis into 10 classes based on the NDVI seasonal cycle (March,October). The geographical distribution characteristics of the NDVI cycle were described using temperature, precipitation and Olson's land-cover type. In northern regions, where tundra vegetation prevails and temperatures and precipitation are low, the amplitude of the NDVI seasonal cycle is small. In southern regions, where temperatures are high and there is little precipitation, the seasonal amplitude of the NDVI is small because of the arid land type. Forested regions were split into six classes, each characterized by large amplitudes in the NDVI seasonal cycle. The phenological characteristics of the forest classes were noted. For example, a forest-class localized near Lake Baikal shows higher NDVI values, even with the presence of snow cover in March, compared with other regions. This high NDVI value suggests that the exposed green canopy of the coniferous forest can be observed even when snow is present. In addition, the NDVI peaks at stations near 60°N, where the maximum monthly temperature is around 18°C. This result suggests that the optimum temperature-precipitation environment coincides to the area in Siberia where the maximum monthly temperature is 18°C. Copyright © 2001 Royal Meteorological Society [source]


Heterogeneity in skin treated with low-frequency ultrasound

JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES, Issue 10 2008
Joseph Kushner IV
Abstract Recent experimental evidence using colored, fluorescent permeants suggests that skin treated with low-frequency sonophoresis (LFS) is perturbed in a heterogeneous manner. Macroscopic and microscopic visualization studies, topical penetration studies, transdermal permeability studies, and skin electrical resistivity measurements have shown that discrete domains, referred to as localized transport regions (LTRs), which are formed during LFS treatment of the skin, possess greatly reduced barrier properties, and therefore exhibit increased permeant skin penetration, compared to the surrounding regions of LFS-treated skin. The transformation of LTR formation from a heterogeneous to a homogeneous phenomenon has the potential benefit of increasing the maximum level of transdermal permeability or of reducing the area of skin required to deliver a desired dose of drug transdermally. Future studies, aimed at elucidating both the mechanisms of LTR formation and the limits of nondamaging formation of LTRs in the skin, are required to incorporate these proposed improvements to enhance the efficacy and practical utility of low-frequency sonophoresis. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 97:4119,4128, 2008 [source]


Refined analysis of genetic variability parameters in hepatitis C virus and the ability to predict antiviral treatment response

JOURNAL OF VIRAL HEPATITIS, Issue 8 2008
J. M. Cuevas
Summary., Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects approximately 3% of the world population. The chronicity of hepatitis C seems to depend on the level of genetic variability. We have recently (Torres-Puente et al., J Viral Hepat, 2008; 15: 188) reported genetic variability estimates from a large-scale sequence analysis of 67 patients infected with HCV subtypes 1a (23 patients) and 1b (44 patients) and related them to response, or lack of, to alpha-interferon plus ribavirin treatment.. Two HCV genome regions were analysed in samples prior to antiviral therapy, one compressing the three hypervariable regions of the E2 glycoprotein and another one including the interferon sensitive determining region and the V3 domain of the NS5A protein. Haplotype and nucleotide diversity measures showed a clear tendency to higher genetic variability levels in nonresponder than in responder patients. Here, we have refined the analysis of genetic variability (haplotype and nucleotide diversity, number of haplotypes and mutations) by considering their distribution in each of the biologically meaningful subregions mentioned above, as well as in their surrounding and intervening regions. Variability levels are very heterogeneous among the different subregions, being higher for nonresponder patients. Interestingly, significant differences were detected in the biologically relevant regions, but also in the surrounding regions, suggesting that the level of variability of the whole HCV genome, rather than exclusively that from the hypervariable regions, is the main indicator of the treatment response. Finally, the number of haplotypes and mutations seem to be better discriminators than haplotype and nucleotide diversity, especially in the NS5A region. [source]


Allelic diversity associated with aridity gradient in wild emmer wheat populations

PLANT CELL & ENVIRONMENT, Issue 1 2008
ZVI PELEG
ABSTRACT The association between allelic diversity and ecogeographical variables was studied in natural populations of wild emmer wheat [Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccoides (Körn.) Thell.], the tetraploid progenitor of cultivated wheat. Patterns of allelic diversity in 54 microsatellite loci were analyzed in a collection of 145 wild emmer wheat accessions representing 25 populations that were sampled across naturally occurring aridity gradient in Israel and surrounding regions. The obtained results revealed that 56% of the genetic variation resided among accessions within populations, while only 44% of the variation resided between populations. An unweighted pair-group method analysis (UPGMA) tree constructed based on the microsatellite allelic diversity divided the 25 populations into six major groups. Several groups were comprised of populations that were collected in ecologically similar but geographically remote habitats. Furthermore, genetic differentiation between populations was independent of the geographical distances. An interesting evolutionary phenomenon is highlighted by the unimodal relationship between allelic diversity and annual rainfall (r = 0.74, P < 0.0002), indicating higher allelic diversity in populations originated from habitats with intermediate environmental stress (i.e. rainfall 350,550 mm year,1). These results show for the first time that the ,intermediate-disturbance hypothesis', explaining biological diversity at the ecosystem level, also dominates the genetic diversity within a single species, the lowest hierarchical element of the biological diversity. [source]


Dopamine Receptors in a Songbird Brain

THE JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY, Issue 6 2010
Lubica Kubikova
Dopamine is a key neuromodulatory transmitter in the brain. It acts through dopamine receptors to affect changes in neural activity, gene expression, and behavior. In songbirds, dopamine is released into the striatal song nucleus area X, and the levels depend on social contexts of undirected and directed singing. This differential release is associated with differential expression of activity-dependent genes, such as egr1 (avian zenk), which in mammalian brain are modulated by dopamine receptors. Here we cloned from zebra finch brain cDNAs of all avian dopamine receptors: the D1 (D1A, D1B, D1D) and D2 (D2, D3, D4) families. Comparative sequence analyses of predicted proteins revealed expected phylogenetic relationships, in which the D1 family exists as single exon and the D2 family exists as spliced exon genes. In both zebra finch and chicken, the D1A, D1B, and D2 receptors were highly expressed in the striatum, the D1D and D3 throughout the pallium and within the mesopallium, respectively, and the D4 mainly in the cerebellum. Furthermore, within the zebra finch, all receptors, except for D4, showed differential expression in song nuclei relative to the surrounding regions and developmentally regulated expression that decreased for most receptors during the sensory acquisition and sensorimotor phases of song learning. Within area X, half of the cells expressed both D1A and D2 receptors, and a higher proportion of the D1A-only-containing neurons expressed egr1 during undirected but not during directed singing. Our findings are consistent with hypotheses that dopamine receptors may be involved in song development and social context-dependent behaviors. J. Comp. Neurol. 518:741,769, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Dopamine receptors in a songbird brain

THE JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY, Issue 6 2010
Lubica Kubikova
Abstract Dopamine is a key neuromodulatory transmitter in the brain. It acts through dopamine receptors to affect changes in neural activity, gene expression, and behavior. In songbirds, dopamine is released into the striatal song nucleus Area X, and the levels depend on social contexts of undirected and directed singing. This differential release is associated with differential expression of activity-dependent genes, such as egr1 (avian zenk), which in mammalian brain are modulated by dopamine receptors. Here we cloned from zebra finch brain cDNAs of all avian dopamine receptors: the D1 (D1A, D1B, D1D) and D2 (D2, D3, D4) families. Comparative sequence analyses of predicted proteins revealed expected phylogenetic relationships, in which the D1 family exists as single exon and the D2 family exists as spliced exon genes. In both zebra finch and chicken, the D1A, D1B, and D2 receptors were highly expressed in the striatum, the D1D and D3 throughout the pallium and within the mesopallium, respectively, and the D4 mainly in the cerebellum. Furthermore, within the zebra finch, all receptors, except for D4, showed differential expression in song nuclei relative to the surrounding regions and developmentally regulated expression that decreased for most receptors during the sensory acquisition and sensorimotor phases of song learning. Within Area X, half of the cells expressed both D1A and D2 receptors, and a higher proportion of the D1A-only-containing neurons expressed egr1 during undirected but not during directed singing. Our findings are consistent with hypotheses that dopamine receptors may be involved in song development and social context-dependent behaviors. J. Comp. Neurol. 518:741,769, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Gene Expression of Spag6 in Chick Central Nervous System

ANATOMIA, HISTOLOGIA, EMBRYOLOGIA, Issue 3 2010
T. Hamada
With 5 figures Summary Using a differential display method, we identified sperm-associated antigen 6 (Spag6) as a gene with a dynamic expression profile within the chick embryonic spinal cord. The expression of Spag6 gradually decreased along with spinal cord development. Spag6 expression was detected adjacent to the ventricular zone of the spinal cord at embryonic day (E) 4. At E6, Spag6 was apparent in the ventral ventricular zone adjacent to floor plate and the surrounding region close to the ventricular zone, with additional weak expression at the adjacent region to the ventral horn. At E10, the Spag6 mRNA can be detected slightly in the ventral ventricular zone and surrounding region of dorsal ventricular zone. In the E6 hindbrain, Spag6 was detected in the roof, the ventricular zone adjacent to floor plate and the surrounding regions of the ventricular zones. In the E6 caudal diencephalon, Spag6 expression was detected adjacent to the ventricular zone. As Spag6 was expressed in areas containing ependymal progenitor cells and in the borders of undifferentiated regions, Spag6 may be involved in the development of ependymal cells and in the differentiation process of neuronal cells in chick neural organs. [source]


A fine map for maternal lineage analysis by mitochondrial hypervariable region in 12 Chinese goat breeds

ANIMAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 4 2009
Yan-Ping WU
ABSTRACT As the fast pace of genomic research continues to identify mitochondrial lineages in animals, it has become apparent that many independent studies are needed to support a robust phylogenetic inference. The aim of this study was thus to further characterize the maternal lineage, proposed to originate in southwestern region of China, using a wider survey of diverse goat breeds in China. To this end, we sequenced the mitochondrial hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) of the mtDNA control region in 145 goats of 12 Chinese breeds. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Chinese goats were classified into four distinct lineages (A, B, C and D) as previously reported. A Mantel test and the analysis of Analysis of Molecular Variance (ANOVA) indicated that there was not an obvious geographic structure among Chinese goat breeds. Population expansion analysis based on mismatch distribution and Fu's Fs statistic indicate that two expansion events in Chinese goats occurred respectively at about 11 and 29 mutational time units ago, revealing two star-like subclades in lineage B corresponding to two population expansion events. Moreover, lineage B sequences were presented only in the breeds of southwestern or surrounding regions of China. Multiple lines of evidence from this study and previous studies indicate that for Chinese goats mtDNA lineage B originated from the southwestern region of China. [source]


The agricultural basis of Umm an-Nar society in the northern Oman peninsula (2500,2000 BC)

ARABIAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND EPIGRAPHY, Issue 2 2009
Nasser Said Al-Jahwari
This paper argues that the agricultural aspect of the Umm an-Nar economy has been largely ignored by researchers, due to an overemphasis on copper production and trade. This is true at the level of the smallest rural settlements, villages and settlements whose primary focus was agricultural production. The key social developments of this period have often been explained by linking them to the exploitation of copper ore and its trade with surrounding regions such as Mesopotamia and the Indus. However, this paper will argue , based on quantified pottery analysis , that it is during this time that we see the development, for the first time in the Oman peninsula, of widespread sedentary occupation that was based on small agricultural villages where there is no evidence of copper ore exploitation, thus suggesting that the economic basis of Umm an-Nar society was essentially agricultural. Furthermore, it will be argued that, through the use of a new survey methodology, it is possible to locate such settlements, even where they have left no traces of monuments, such as tombs or round towers. The methodology allows preliminary comparisons to be made between the intensity of occupation in different periods. The paper also argues that the Umm an-Nar period was one of the most intensive periods of occupation in pre-Islamic history. [source]


Isofagomine Induced Stabilization of Glucocerebrosidase

CHEMBIOCHEM, Issue 16 2008
Gregory J. Kornhaber Dr.
Abstract Structurally destabilizing mutations in acid ,-glucosidase (GCase) can result in Gaucher disease (GD). The iminosugar isofagomine (IFG), a competitive inhibitor and a potential pharmacological chaperone of GCase, is currently undergoing clinical evaluation for the treatment of GD. An X-ray crystallographic study of the GCase-IFG complex revealed a hydrogen bonding network between IFG and certain active site residues. It was suggested that this network may translate into greater global stability. Here it is demonstrated that IFG does increase the global stability of wild-type GCase, shifting its melting curve by ,15,°C and that it enhances mutant GCase activity in pre-treated N370S/N370S and F213I/L444P patient fibroblasts. Additionally, amide hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectroscopy (H/D-Ex) was employed to identify regions within GCase that undergo stabilization upon IFG-binding. H/D-Ex data indicate that the binding of IFG not only restricts the local protein dynamics of the active site, but also propagates this effect into surrounding regions. [source]