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Relative Quantity (relative + quantity)
Selected AbstractsProtein synthesis and mRNA storage in cattle oocytes maintained under meiotic block by roscovitine inhibition of MPF activityMOLECULAR REPRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2004Céline Vigneron Abstract Roscovitine, a specific inhibitor of MPF kinase activity, has been shown to block efficiently and reversibly the meiotic resumption of oocytes from different species, including cattle. In view to verify that oocytes maintain germinal vesicle like molecular activities under roscovitine treatment, we compared in the present study the M-phase Promoting Factor (MPF) and Mitogen Activated Protein (MAP) kinase activities; protein synthesis and phosphorylation patterns in oocytes and cumulus cells; and CDK1 and Cyclin B messengers storage under control culture and under roscovitine inhibition. We observed that roscovitine induced a full and reversible inhibition of MPF kinase activity and of the activating phosphorylation of both ERK1/2 MAPK. During in vivo maturation, there was a highly significant increase in the relative mRNA level of both cyclin B1 and CDK1 whereas during in vitro culture, the relative amount of CDK1 messenger was reduced. These messengers may be used as markers for the optimization of in vitro maturation treatment. Roscovitine reversibly prevented this drop in relative quantities of CDK1 messenger. Oocytes cultured in the presence of roscovitine maintained a GV like profile of protein synthesis except that two proteins of 48 and 64 kDa specific of matured oocytes also appeared under roscovitine treatment. However, roscovitine did not prevent most of the modifications of protein phosphorylation pattern observed during maturation. In conclusion, results of this study revealed that the use of roscovitine did not prevent all the events related to maturation of bovine oocytes. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 69: 457,465, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Suspended-sediment sources in an urban watershed, Northeast Branch Anacostia River, MarylandHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 11 2010Olivia H. Devereux Abstract Fine sediment sources were characterized by chemical composition in an urban watershed, the Northeast Branch Anacostia River, which drains to the Chesapeake Bay. Concentrations of 63 elements and two radionuclides were measured in possible land-based sediment sources and suspended sediment collected from the water column at the watershed outlet during storm events. These tracer concentrations were used to determine the relative quantity of suspended sediment contributed by each source. Although this is an urbanized watershed, there was not a distinct urban signature that can be evaluated except for the contributions from road surfaces. We identified the sources of fine sediment by both physiographic province (Piedmont and Coastal Plain) and source locale (streambanks, upland and street residue) by using different sets of elemental tracers. The Piedmont contributed the majority of the fine sediment for seven of the eight measured storms. The streambanks contributed the greatest quantity of fine sediment when evaluated by source locale. Street residue contributed 13% of the total suspended sediment on average and was the source most concentrated in anthropogenically enriched elements. Combining results from the source locale and physiographic province analyses, most fine sediment in the Northeast Branch watershed is derived from streambanks that contain sediment eroded from the Piedmont physiographic province of the watershed. Sediment fingerprinting analyses are most useful when longer term evaluations of sediment erosion and storage are also available from streambank-erosion measurements, sediment budget and other methods. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Quantitative Analysis of Cytokine mRNA Expression in Hearts from Patients with Nonischemic Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM)JOURNAL OF CARDIAC SURGERY, Issue 2003Akira Ukimura To evaluate the role of cytokines in nonischemic DCM, we analyzed the relative quantity of cytokine mRNA expression in the hearts from DCM patients with refractory heart failure, using the ABI PRISM7700 real-time PCR system. We used heart tissues resected from 32 DCM patients at the time of elective partial ventriculectomy (PLV), and five biopsy specimens with normal histological findings as control. Results and Discussion: Interleukin (IL)-1,, IL-10, and Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)-, mRNA were expressed at low levels in all normal hearts. The number of IL-10-positive DCM cases was significantly smaller than normal controls (P = 0.0036). One (10%) of 10 DCM patients with IL-10 mRNA expression died after PLV, and 10 (45%) of 22 DCM patients without IL-10 mRNA expression died. IL-1, mRNA was overexpressed (over twice the mean of control subjects) in 15 of 32, and TNF-, mRNA in 10 of 32 patients. We propose the classification of DCM patients into subgroups on the basis of cytokine mRNA expression. Anticytokine therapy or cytokine therapy may have potential in improving the condition of heart failure in certain subgroups of DCM patients. Conclusions: We suggest that DCM patients with heart failure deteriorate without IL-10 mRNA expression in the myocardium. The classification of DCM patients into subgroups on the basis of cytokine mRNA expression may have great value in considering the treatment of this heterogeneous disease state. (J CARD SURG 2003;18 (Suppl 2):S101-S108) [source] Lake morphometry predicts the degree of habitat coupling by a mobile predatorOIKOS, Issue 8 2009Rebecca Dolson Habitat coupling is an ecosystem process whereby semi-discontinuous habitats are connected through the movement of energy and nutrients by chemical, physical or biological processes. One oft-cited example is that of littoral,pelagic coupling in lakes. Theory has argued that such habitat coupling may be critical to food web dynamics, yet there have been few empirical studies that have quantified ecological factors that affect the degree of habitat coupling in ecosystems. Specifically, the degree to which habitat coupling occurs across important physical gradients has largely been ignored. To address this, we investigate the degree of littoral habitat coupling (i.e. the degree to which a top predator lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush, derives energy from the littoral zone) along a gradient of lake shape, where lake shape modifies the relative quantity of coupled epilimnetic benthic and pelagic habitats within each lake. Herein we demonstrate that littoral habitat coupling is intensified in simple circular lakes compared to their reticulate counterparts in seven Canadian Shield lakes. Although the more reticulate lakes had larger areas of epilimnetic benthic habitat, littoral food sources comprised 11% compared to 24% of lake trout diet in reticulate and circular lakes, respectively. This heightened interaction in circular lakes also appears to translate into increased omnivory in more circular lakes compared to reticulate lakes such that lake trout of circular lakes have a significantly lower trophic position than lake trout of reticulate lakes (F1,5=6.71 p=0.05). These results suggest that it is the accessibility of littoral production via thermal refugia, and not the amount of littoral production, that determines the degree to which lake trout couple littoral and pelagic habitats in lakes. [source] Structural analysis of ,-Gal and new non-Gal carbohydrate epitopes from specific pathogen-free miniature pig kidneyPROTEINS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS, Issue 13 2008Yun-Gon Kim Abstract The major barrier in transplantation of pig organs into humans is the presence of surface carbohydrate antigens (e.g., the Gal,1-3Gal,1-4GlcNAc-R (,-Gal) epitope) expressed on pig endothelial cells. In this study, total N -glycans from membrane glycoproteins derived from specific pathogen-free miniature pig kidney are identified by MALDI-TOF, negative ion ESI MS/MS and normal-phase HPLC (NP-HPLC) combined with exoglycosidase digestion. Over 100 N -glycans, including sialylated and neutral types, were identified. As well as the known ,-Gal antigens, some of these glycans contained novel non-Gal carbohydrate antigens such as (Neu5Gc-Gal-GlcNAc) and Gal,1-3Lewisx (Gal-Gal-(Fuc)GlcNAc) which have not been reported before in N -glycans from pig organs. The ability of MALDI, ESI, and HPLC to measure the relative proportions of the glycans was evaluated. The HPLC resolution was insufficient for accurate work and some minor differences were noted in the ionization efficiencies of different glycan groups when measured by the two mass spectrometric techniques. However, the results indicated that the relative quantity of ,-Gal epitope was in the region of 50% of the complex glycans. High-mannose type glycans were also abundant (35,43%) but appeared to be ionized more efficiently than the complex glycans by ESI than by MALDI. [source] | ||||||||||