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Selected AbstractsApocrine Carcinoma, Adenopathies, and Raised TAG-72 Serum Tumor MarkerDERMATOLOGIC SURGERY, Issue 4 2004Jorge Santos-Juanes PHD Background. The detection of tumor-associated glycoprotein-72 in the serum of patients with carcinomas, basically of the colon, has proved to be of great use in the follow-up of these gastrointestinal adenocarcinomas. Results. We report the case of a male patient presenting adenopathies in the right axilla. The histologic study of an adjacent skin tumor enabled the diagnosis of a cutaneous apocrine carcinoma. Among the studies made, the increase in the serum antibody CA72.4 can be highlighted. The tumor marker was negative after the extirpation of the skin tumor and the axillary adenopathies. Conclusion. To our best knowledge, this is the first case in which a tumor serum marker is associated with a cutaneous apocrine carcinoma, a fact that should be confirmed with further patients. Its use in the monitoring of this infrequent skin neoplasia is also noteworthy. [source] Quantitative analysis of total mitochondrial DNA: Competitive polymerase chain reaction versus real-time polymerase chain reactionJOURNAL OF BIOCHEMICAL AND MOLECULAR TOXICOLOGY, Issue 4 2004Hari K. Bhat Abstract An efficient and effective method for quantification of small amounts of nucleic acids contained within a sample specimen would be an important diagnostic tool for determining the content of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in situations where the depletion thereof may be a contributing factor to the exhibited pathology phenotype. This study compares two quantification assays for calculating the total mtDNA molecule number per nanogram of total genomic DNA isolated from human blood, through the amplification of a 613-bp region on the mtDNA molecule. In one case, the mtDNA copy number was calculated by standard competitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique that involves co-amplification of target DNA with various dilutions of a nonhomologous internal competitor that has the same primer binding sites as the target sequence, and subsequent determination of an equivalence point of target and competitor concentrations. In the second method, the calculation of copy number involved extrapolation from the fluorescence versus copy number standard curve generated by real-time PCR using various dilutions of the target amplicon sequence. While the mtDNA copy number was comparable using the two methods (4.92 ± 1.01 × 104 molecules/ng total genomic DNA using competitive PCR vs 4.90 ± 0.84 × 104 molecules/ng total genomic DNA using real-time PCR), both inter- and intraexperimental variance were significantly lower using the real-time PCR analysis. On the basis of reproducibility, assay complexity, and overall efficiency, including the time requirement and number of PCR reactions necessary for the analysis of a single sample, we recommend the real-time PCR quantification method described here, as its versatility and effectiveness will undoubtedly be of great use in various kinds of research related to mitochondrial DNA damage- and depletion-associated disorders. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biochem Mol Toxicol 18:180,186, 2004 Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/jbt.20024 [source] Spatio-temporal dynamics and local hotspots of initial recruitment in vertebrate-dispersed treesJOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2008Arndt Hampe Summary 1Initial recruitment, or the arrival and establishment of propagules, is the most variable period in the life cycle of long-lived plants, and the extent to which studies of initial recruitment can be used to predict patterns of regeneration remains unresolved. 2We investigated the spatio-temporal dynamics of initial recruitment across five populations of three fleshy-fruited tree species from contrasting environments. Among-year variation in total seedfall, dispersed seedfall and seedling distributions was examined using analytical approaches that are new to the field and that explicitly incorporate space and allow comparisons among studies. 3Observed patterns ranged from remarkable across-year consistency in seedfall distributions and strong spatial coupling between seed and seedling stages to extensive variation and almost complete independence of stages. Spatial distributions of frugivore-mediated seedfall were markedly more consistent than those of the total seedfall in two of the five populations. Seedling distributions were generally more variable among years than seedfall distributions. 4All populations showed a positive relationship between the long-term mean density of recruitment at a given microsite and its year-to-year consistency. This relationship remained valid when considering only microsites away from fruiting tree canopies (i.e. those receiving actually dispersed seeds), and was virtually independent of their distance to the nearest fruiting tree. 5Synthesis. Our results point to the existence of some general rules behind the idiosyncratic recruitment dynamics of perennial plant populations, which should help with projecting spatial patterns of plant establishment in long-lived species. In particular, those microsites that combine a great intensity with a high year-to-year consistency of recruitment should represent potential regeneration ,hotspots' whose identification and characterization can be of great use for the management and conservation of naturally regenerating tree populations. [source] INULIN MILK BEVERAGES: SENSORY DIFFERENCES IN THICKNESS AND CREAMINESS USING R-INDEX ANALYSIS OF THE RANKING DATAJOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES, Issue 4 2007BEATRIZ VILLEGAS ABSTRACT Inulin has interesting functional properties, which are linked to the average degree of polymerization of its chains. The aims of this work were to explore the effect of adding different types of inulin (short chain, native and long chain) on the thickness and creaminess of milk-beverage model systems, and to explore the possibility of using each of the three types of inulin as a fat replacer in skimmed-milk beverages. Sensory ranking data were analyzed using the R-index. For the two lots of samples (whole milk and skimmed milk), all samples with added inulin were perceived as significantly thicker and creamier than the samples without inulin. The fat mimetic capacity of inulin depended not only on the chain length, but also on the concentration of added inulin. In order to obtain milk beverages with reduced fat content having similar thickness and creaminess than those perceived in whole milk beverages, it was necessary to add long-chain inulin at concentrations over 8%. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS In most cases, inulin is added to different foods to supplement them in order to increase fiber ingestion, in amounts that vary between 3 and 6 g per portion, or to assure its bifidogenic nature, adding 3,8 g per portion. The results of this work provide information regarding the effects of inulin on the sensory characteristics of milk beverages, and show that applying the R-index analysis helped detect the small perceivable differences in thickness and creaminess among the samples tested, what will be of great use in formulating low-fat milk beverages. [source] A new approach for detecting scientific specialties from raw cocitation networksJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 2 2009Matthew L. Wallace We use a technique recently developed by V. Blondel, J.-L. Guillaume, R. Lambiotte, and E. Lefebvre (2008) to detect scientific specialties from author cocitation networks. This algorithm has distinct advantages over most previous methods used to obtain cocitation "clusters" since it avoids the use of similarity measures, relies entirely on the topology of the weighted network, and can be applied to relatively large networks. Most importantly, it requires no subjective interpretation of the cocitation data or of the communities found. Using two examples, we show that the resulting specialties are the smallest coherent "groups" of researchers (within a hierarchy of cluster sizes) and can thus be identified unambiguously. Furthermore, we confirm that these communities are indeed representative of what we know about the structure of a given scientific discipline and that as specialties, they can be accurately characterized by a few keywords (from the publication titles). We argue that this robust and efficient algorithm is particularly well-suited to cocitation networks and that the results generated can be of great use to researchers studying various facets of the structure and evolution of science. [source] Development of a quantitative tool for the comparison of the prebiotic effect of dietary oligosaccharidesLETTERS IN APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 4 2003R. Palframan Abstract Aims: To develop a quantitative equation [prebiotic index (PI)] to aid the analysis of prebiotic fermentation of commercially available and novel prebiotic carbohydrates in vitro, using previously published fermentation data. Methods: The PI equation is based on the changes in key bacterial groups during fermentation. The bacterial groups incorporated into this PI equation were bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, clostridia and bacteroides. The changes in these bacterial groups from previous studies were entered into the PI equation in order to determine a quantitative PI score. PI scores were than compared with the qualitative conclusions made in these publications. In general the PI scores agreed with the qualitative conclusions drawn and provided a quantitative measure. Conclusions: The PI allows the magnitude of prebiotic effects to be quantified rather than evaluations being solely qualitative. Significance and Impact of the Study: The PI equation may be of great use in quantifying prebiotic effects in vitro. It is expected that this will facilitate more rational food product development and the development of more potent prebiotics with activity at lower doses. [source] Mitochondria and calcium homeostasis: a tale of three luminescent proteinsLUMINESCENCE: THE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL LUMINESCENCE, Issue 2 2001Paulo J. Magalhães Abstract In recent years the jellyfish Aequorea victoria has provided the scientific community with a pair of tools of exceptional usefulness: aequorin and the green fluorescent protein (GFP). Whereas the former has played a major role in the study of calcium signalling, the latter has sparked the imagination of researchers into a myriad of elegant experiments. The firefly Photinus pyralis has also been of great use, providing a third luminescent protein, luciferase, which is mostly known for its role as a reporter protein. Concurrent use of these three proteins provides a powerful means of elucidating biological processes with fine spatio-temporal detail. Here we will illustrate how specific molecular engineering of these three proteins provided a set of biological tools capable of generating important data in the field of calcium homeostasis. First, we will show how the use of specifically targeted aequorin chimeras enabled the measurement of regional Ca2+ concentrations; second, how the use of GFP (and derived chromatic mutants) permitted detailed morphological analyses in living cells; third, how luciferase was used to analyse energetic requirements at the subcellular level. Together, these three experimental approaches have provided important details on how mitochondria participate actively in calcium homeostasis. A final note regarding clinical implications demonstrates the practical usefulness of the data obtained. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] L-histidine decarboxylase as a probe in studies on histamineTHE CHEMICAL RECORD, Issue 6 2002Takehiko Watanabe Abstract Because the Falck-Hillarp formaldehyde fluorescence method, which was superbly applied to identify catecholaminergic and serotonergic neurons, is not applicable to histamine, the first author (T.W.) developed an antibody to L-histidine decarboxylase (HDC) for identification of the histaminergic neuron system in the brain. The anti-HDC antibody was of great use for mapping the location and distribution of this histaminergic neuron system. (S)-,-fluoromethylhistidine, a specific and potent irreversible inhibitor of HDC, was also very useful in studies on functions of the neuron system. The activity of HDC is increased by various agents, treatments, and physiological conditions. We found new compounds that increased HDC activity (i.e., tetradecanoylphobol acetate (TPA), other tumor promoters, and staphylococcal enterotoxin A); and using mast cell-deficient mutant (W/Wv) mice, we obtained evidence that this increase occurred in macrophages. To further characterize the mechanism of increases in HDC activity, the second author (H.O.) cloned human HDC cDNA and a human HDC gene. In studies on the regulation mechanism of the HDC gene, which is expressed only in limited types of cells such as mast cells, enterochromaffin-like cells in the stomach, cells in the tuberomammillary nucleus of the brain, and macrophages, CpG islands in the promoter region of the HDC gene were found to be demethylated in cells expressing the gene, whereas they are methylated in other cells that do not express the HDC gene. In collaboration with many other researchers, we developed HDC knockout mice. The resulting research is producing a lot of interesting findings in our laboratory as well as in others. In summary, HDC has been and will be useful in studies on functions of histamine. © 2002 The Japan Chemical Journal Forum and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Chem Rec 2: 369,376, 2002: Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI 10.1002/tcr.10036 [source] | |||||||||||||