| 1. |
- Challis, B G, et al.
(författare)
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Mice lacking pro-opiomelanocortin are sensitive to high-fat feeding but respond normally to the acute anorectic effects of peptide-YY(3-36).
- 2004
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424. ; 101:13, s. 4695-700
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Inactivating mutations of the pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) gene in both mice and humans leads to hyperphagia and obesity. To further examine the mechanisms whereby POMC-deficiency leads to disordered energy homeostasis, we have generated mice lacking all POMC-derived peptides. Consistent with a previously reported model, Pomc(-/-) mice were obese and hyperphagic. They also showed reduced resting oxygen consumption associated with lowered serum levels of thyroxine. Hypothalami from Pomc(-/-) mice showed markedly increased expression of melanin-concentrating hormone mRNA in the lateral hypothalamus, but expression of neuropeptide Y mRNA in the arcuate nucleus was not altered. Provision of a 45% fat diet increased energy intake and body weight in both Pomc(-/-) and Pomc(+/-) mice. The effects of leptin on food intake and body weight were blunted in obese Pomc(-/-) mice whereas nonobese Pomc(-/-) mice were sensitive to leptin. Surprisingly, we found that Pomc(-/-) mice maintained their acute anorectic response to peptide-YY(3-36) (PYY(3-36)). However, 7 days of PYY(3-36) administration had no effect on cumulative food intake or body weight in wild-type or Pomc(-/-) mice. Thus, POMC peptides seem to be necessary for the normal response of energy balance to high-fat feeding, but not for the acute anorectic effect of PYY(3-36) or full effects of leptin on feeding. The finding that the loss of only one copy of the Pomc gene is sufficient to render mice susceptible to the effects of high fat feeding emphasizes the potential importance of this locus as a site for gene-environment interactions predisposing to obesity.
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| 2. |
- Alavi, Y., et al.
(författare)
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The dynamics of interactions between Plasmodium and the mosquito : a study of the infectivity of Plasmodium berghei and Plasmodium gallinaceum, and their transmission by Anopheles stephensi, Anopheles gambiae and Aedes aegypti
- 2003
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Ingår i: International Journal of Parasitology. - : Elsevier. - 0020-7519 .- 1879-0135. ; 33:9, s. 933-943
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Knowledge of parasite–mosquito interactions is essential to develop strategies that will reduce malaria transmission through the mosquito vector. In this study we investigated the development of two model malaria parasites, Plasmodium berghei and Plasmodium gallinaceum, in three mosquito species Anopheles stephensi, Anopheles gambiae and Aedes aegypti. New methods to study gamete production in vivo in combination with GFP-expressing ookinetes were employed to measure the large losses incurred by the parasites during infection of mosquitoes. All three mosquito species transmitted P. gallinaceum; P. berghei was only transmitted by Anopheles spp. Plasmodium gallinaceum initiates gamete production with high efficiency equally in the three mosquito species. By contrast P. berghei is less efficiently activated to produce gametes, and in Ae. aegypti microgamete formation is almost totally suppressed. In all parasite/vector combinations ookinete development is inefficient, 500–100,000-fold losses were encountered. Losses during ookinete-to-oocyst transformation range from fivefold in compatible vector parasite combinations (P. berghei/An. stephensi), through >100-fold in poor vector/parasite combinations (P. gallinaceum/An. stephensi), to complete blockade (>1,500 fold) in others (P. berghei/Ae. aegypti). Plasmodium berghei ookinetes survive poorly in the bloodmeal of Ae. aegypti and are unable to invade the midgut epithelium. Cultured mature ookinetes of P. berghei injected directly into the mosquito haemocoele produced salivary gland sporozoites in An. stephensi, but not in Ae. aegypti, suggesting that further species-specific incompatibilities occur downstream of the midgut epithelium in Ae. aegypti. These results show that in these parasite–mosquito combinations the susceptibility to malarial infection is regulated at multiple steps during the development of the parasites. Understanding these at the molecular level may contribute to the development of rational strategies to reduce the vector competence of malarial vectors.
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| 3. |
- Lowder, M, et al.
(författare)
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Effect of starvation and the viable-but-nonculturable state on green fluorescent protein (GFP) fluorescence in GFP-tagged Pseudomonas fluorescens A506
- 2000
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Ingår i: Applied and Environmental Microbiology. - 0099-2240 .- 1098-5336. ; 66:8, s. 3160-3165
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene, gfp, of the jellyfish Aequorea victoria is being used as a reporter system for gene expression and as a marker for tracking prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Cells that have been genetically altered with the gfp gene produce a protein that fluoresces when it is excited by UV light. This unique phenotype allows gth-tagged cells to be specifically monitored by nondestructive means, In this study we determined whether a gfp-tagged strain of Pseudomonas fluorescens continued to fluoresce under conditions under which the cells were starved, viable but nonculturable (VBNC), or dead. Epifluorescent microscopy, flow cytometry, and spectrofluorometry were used to measure fluorescence intensity in starved, VBNC, and dead or dying cells. Results obtained by using how cytometry indicated that microcosms containing VBNC cells, which were obtained by incubation under stress conditions (starvation at 37.5 degrees C), fluoresced at an intensity that mas at least 80% of the intensity of nonstressed cultures, Similarly, microcosms containing starved cells incubated at 5 and 30 degrees C had fluorescence intensities that were 90 to 110% of the intensity of nonstressed cells. VBNC cells remained fluorescent during the entire 6-month incubation period. in addition, cells starved at 5 or 30 degrees C remained fluorescent for at least 11 months. Treatment of the cells with UV light or incubation at 39 or 50 degrees C resulted in a loss of GFP from the cells. There was a strong correlation between cell death and leakage of GFP from the cells, although the extent of leakage varied depending on the treatment, Most dead cells were not GFP fluorescent, but a small proportion of the dead cells retained some GFP at a lower concentration than the concentration in live cells, Our results suggest that gfp-tagged cells remain fluorescent following starvation and entry into the VBNC state but that fluorescence is lost when the cells die, presumably because membrane integrity is lost.
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| 4. |
- Aurora, P., et al.
(författare)
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Multiple breath inert gas washout as a measure of ventilation distribution in children with cystic fibrosis
- 2004
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Ingår i: Thorax. - : BMJ. - 0040-6376. ; 59:12, s. 1068-73
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Multiple breath inert gas washout (MBW) has been suggested as a tool for detecting early cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease. A study was undertaken to compare the relative sensitivity of MBW and spirometry for detecting abnormal lung function in school age children with CF and to compare MBW results obtained from healthy children in the UK with those recently reported from Sweden. METHODS: Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and maximal expiratory flow when 25% of forced vital capacity remains to be expired (MEF25) were compared with the lung clearance index (LCI) derived from sulphur hexafluoride MBW in 22 children with CF aged 6-16 years and in 33 healthy controls. RESULTS: LCI was higher in children with CF than in healthy controls (mean difference 5.1 (95% CI of difference 4.1 to 6.1) and FEV1 and MEF25 z-scores were lower (mean difference -2.3 (95% CI -2.9 to -1.7) and -1.8 (95% CI -2.4 to -1.3), respectively; p<0.001 for all). There was a significant negative correlation between LCI and FEV1 (r2 = 0.62) and MEF25 (r2 = 0.46). However, while normal (> or =-1.96 z-scores) FEV1 and MEF25 results were seen in 11 (50%) and 12 (53%) children with CF, respectively, all but one of these children had an abnormally increased LCI. LCI was repeatable in both groups (within subject CV for three measurements 6% for CF and 5% for healthy children). In healthy subjects LCI was independent of age and virtually identical in the British and Swedish children (mean difference 0.1 (95% CI -0.1 to 0.4), p = 0.38) CONCLUSIONS: MBW is reproducible between laboratories, generates normal ranges which are constant over childhood, and is more frequently abnormal than spirometry in children with CF.
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| 5. |
- Bengone, Oliver, et al.
(författare)
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Electronic structure and transport properties of CrAs/GaAs/CrAs trilayers from first principles theory
- 2004
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Ingår i: Physical Review B. Condensed Matter and Materials Physics. - 1098-0121 .- 1550-235X. ; 70:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a theoretical study of the transport properties of a CrAs/GaAs/CrAs trilayer. The theory was based on a first principles method for calculating the electronic structure, in combination with a Kubo-Landauer approach for calculating the transport properties in a current perpendicular to the plane geometry. We have also investigated the electronic structure and the magnetic properties of this trilayer, with special focus on electronic and magnetic properties at the CrAs/GaAs interface. Finally, we have studied the effects of chemical disorder on the transport properties, in particular the influence of As antisites at both the Cr and Ga sites.
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| 6. |
- Bengone, Oliver, et al.
(författare)
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Origin of the negative giant magnetoresistance effect in Co1-xCrx/Cu/Co (111) trilayers
- 2004
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Ingår i: Physical Review B. Condensed Matter and Materials Physics. - 1098-0121 .- 1550-235X. ; 69:9, s. 092406-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a theoretical study on Co1-xCrx/Cu/Co (111) trilayers, where a transition from positive to negative giant magnetoresistance effect has been observed experimentally, with increasing thickness of the alloyed layer. The theory, based on a recently implemented conductance calculation, reproduces quantitatively this observation, and the effect is found to be caused by alloying effects, due to a virtual bound Cr d state in the majority spin channel of the Co-Cr layer.
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| 7. |
- Billker, Oliver, et al.
(författare)
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Determination of mosquito bloodmeal pH in situ by ion-selective microelectrode measurement : implications for the regulation of malarial gametogenesis
- 2000
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Ingår i: Parasitology. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 0031-1820 .- 1469-8161. ; 120, s. 547-551
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Malarial gametocytes circulate in the peripheral blood of the vertebrate host as developmentally arrested intra-erythrocytic cells, which only resume development into gametes when ingested into the bloodmeal of the female mosquito vector. The ensuing development encompasses sexual reproduction and mediates parasite transmission to the insect. In vitro the induction of gametogenesis requires a drop in temperature and either a pH increase from physiological blood pH (ca pH 7.4) to about pH 8.0, or the presence of a gametocyte-activating factor recently identified as xanthurenic acid (XA). However, it is unclear whether either the pH increase or XA act as natural triggers in the mosquito bloodmeal. We here use pH-sensitive microelectrodes to determine bloodmeal pH in intact mosquitoes. Measurements taken in the first 30 min after ingestion, when malarial gametogenesis is induced in vivo, revealed small pH increases from 7.40 (mouse blood) to 7.52 in Aedes aegypti and to 7.58 in Anophĕles stephensi. However, bloodmeal pH was clearly suboptimal if compared to values required to induce gametogenesis in vitro. Xanthurenic acid is shown to extend the pH-range of exflagellation in vitro in a dose-dependent manner to values that we have observed in the bloodmeal, suggesting that in vivo malarial gametogenesis could be further regulated by both these factors.
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| 8. |
- Brandau, Oliver, et al.
(författare)
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Chondromodulin I Is Dispensable during Enchondral Ossification and Eye Development.
- 2002
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Ingår i: Molecular and Cellular Biology. - 0270-7306. ; 22:18, s. 6627-6635
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Chondromodulin I (chm-I), a type II transmembrane protein, is highly expressed in the avascular zones of cartilage but is downregulated in the hypertrophic region, which is invaded by blood vessels during enchondral ossification. In vitro and in vivo assays with the purified protein have shown chondrocyte-modulating and angiogenesis-inhibiting functions. To investigate chm-I function in vivo, we generated transgenic mice lacking chm-I mRNA and protein. Null mice are viable and fertile and show no morphological changes. No abnormalities in vascular invasion and cartilage development were detectable. No evidence was found for a compensating function of tendin, a recently published homologue highly expressed in tendons and also, at low levels, in cartilage. Furthermore, no differences in the expression of other angiogenic or antiangiogenic factors such as transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-beta1), TGF-beta2, TGF-beta3, fibroblast growth factor 2, and vascular endothelial growth factor were found. The surprising lack of phenotype in the chm-I-deficient mice suggests either a different function for chm-I in vivo than has been proposed or compensatory changes in uninvestigated angiogenic or angiogenesis-inhibiting factors. Further analysis using double-knockout technology will be necessary to analyze the function of chm-I in the complex process of enchondral ossification.
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| 9. |
- Feng, Xinbin, et al.
(författare)
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Modified on-line monitoring of total gaseous mercury in flue gases using a Semtech 2000 Analyzer
- 2000
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Ingår i: Fresenius Journal of Analytical Chemistry. - 0937-0633. ; 368:5, s. 528-533
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Semtech Hg 2000 analyzer continuously monitors the Hg0 content in flue gas. An on-line measurement method of total gaseous mercury in flue gas developed in our laboratory is described, which uses the absorption cell of the Semtech Hg Analyzer connected to a converter that is located in a furnace heated up to 650 °C. The converter can be heated up to 800 °C by both the furnace and an extra heating of a Ni-Cr alloy heating wire. Both the absorption cell and the converter are made of quartz. All gaseous Hg2+ species in flue gas are thermally reduced to Hg0 by the converter and detected by the Semtech Hg 2000 analyzer. The thermal reduction efficiencies of different conversion materials, which were filled in the converter, such as quartz chips, granular MgO, Ni and CoO powder, were tested using different flue gas conditions. Studies have shown that HCl is the major factor to inhibit the thermal reduction of Hg2+ to Hg0, and in the converter and the absorption cell Hg0 will react readily with HCl to form HgCl2. Both MgO and Ni could be used in the converter to absorb HCl in the flue gas, but Ni has better absorption efficiency. By using an original Semtech and a modified one, both Hg0 and total gaseous Hg contents in flue gas could be monitored simultaneously and continuously.
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| 10. |
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
- Oliver, K R, et al.
(författare)
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Immunohistochemical localization of calcitonin receptor-like receptor and receptor activity-modifying proteins in the human cerebral vasculature
- 2002
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Ingår i: Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism. - : SAGE Publications. - 1559-7016 .- 0271-678X. ; 22:5, s. 620-629
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Calcitonin gene-related peptide and adrenomedullin belong to a structurally related neuropeptide family and are potent vasodilators expressed in the trigeminovascular system. The molecular identity of receptors for these proteins has only recently been elucidated. Central to functional binding of these neuropeptides is the G-protein-coupled receptor, the calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CRLR), Whose cell surface expression and pharmacology is determined by coexpression of a receptor activity-modifying protein (RAMP). CRLR combined with RAMP1 binds calcitonin gene-related peptide With high affinity. whereas CRLR coexpression with RAMP2 or -3 confers, high-affinity binding of adrenomedullin. The authors investigated the expression of these receptor components in human cerebral vasculature to further characterize neuropeptide receptor content and the potential functions of these receptors. Localization has been carried out using specific antisera raised against immunogenic peptide sequences that were subsequently applied using modern immunohistochemical techniques and confocal microscopy. The results are the first to show the presence of these receptor component proteins in human middle meningeal, middle cerebral. pial, and superficial temporal vessels, and confirm that both calcitonin gene-related peptide and adrenomedullin receptors may arise from the coassembly of RAMPs with CRLR in these vessel type,,. These novel data advance the understanding of the molecular function of the trigeminovascular system, its potential role in vascular headache disorders such as migraine. and may lead to possible Ways in which future synthetic ligands may be applied to manage these disorders.
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| 14. |
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