A compendium of reviews in biochemistry and molecular biology published in the second half of 1993

• 1.1. A compendium of reviews and mini-reviews in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology published in the second half of 1993 is presented. In all 1063 titles are listed from 127 different publications.
• 2.2. This compendium presents the references Journal by Journal. Keyword and author cross-reference indexes are not included but are available in the computer database that is the companion to this paper version. The electronic form contains details of reviews published since 1990 as listed in this and earlier compendia. Anyone wishing to receive this database should contact the author: it can be distributed either via Internet or on MS-DOS formatted flopppy disks in either Reference Manager or Medline format. Please contact the author for details of the number of pre-formatted floppy disks required.

     

A compendium of reviews in biochemistry and molecular biology published in the first half of 1990

A compendium of reviews and minireviews in biochemistry and molecular biology published in the first half of 1990 is presented. The 316 titles from 72 different publications are presented sorted by author and sorted by journal.     

A compendium of reviews in biochemistry and molecular biology published in the first half of 1992.

1. A compendium of reviews and mini-reviews in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology published in the first half of 1992 is presented. In all 499 titles are listed from 95 different publications. 2. This compendium presents the references by Journal Name. Keywords have been included with each reference to increase the value of the collection. Keyword and author cross-reference indexes are not included but are available in the electronic database from which this version was constructed. Should anyone wish to have this information in electronic form it can be distributed on MS-DOS formatted floppy disks in either Reference Manager or Medline format. The author should be contacted for details of the number of preformatted floppy disks required.     

A compendium of reviews in biochemistry and molecular biology published in the first half of 1991.

1. A compendium of reviews and minireviews in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology published in the first half of 1991 is presented. In all there are 380 titles from 81 different publications. The compendium includes the main keywords associated with each review; over 2500 different keywords are used.     

A compendium of reviews in biochemistry and molecular biology published in the second half of 1991.

A compendium of reviews and mini-reviews in biochemistry and molecular biology published in the second half of 1991 is presented. In all 880 titles are listed from 108 different publications. This compendium presents the references by journal name--the most suitable format for a hardcopy of this information. Keywords have been included with each reference to increase the value of the collection. Keyword and author cross-reference indexes are not included but are available in the electronic database from which this version was constructed. Should anyone wish to have this information in electronic form it can be distributed on MS-DOS formatted floppy disks in either Reference Manager or Medline format. The author should be contacted for details of the number of pre-formatted floppy disks required.     

A compendium of reviews in biochemistry and molecular biology published in the second half of 1990.

• 1.1. A compendium of reviews and minireviews in biochemistry and molecular biology published in the second half of 1990 is presented. In all, there are 849 titles from 106 different publications.

     

Aspartylglycosaminuria: biochemistry and molecular biology

Aspartylglucosaminuria (AGU, McKusick 208400) is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disease caused by defective degradation of Asn-linked glycoproteins. AGU mutations occur in the gene (AGA) for glycosylasparaginase, the enzyme necessary for hydrolysis of the protein oligosaccharide linkage in Asn-linked glycoprotein substrates undergoing metabolic turnover. Loss of glycosylasparaginase activity leads to accumulation of the linkage unit Asn-GlcNAc in tissue lysosomes. Storage of this fragment affects the pathophysiology of neuronal cells most severely. The patients notably suffer from decreased cognitive abilities, skeletal abnormalities and facial grotesqueness. The progress of the disease is slower than in many other lysosomal storage diseases. The patients appear normal during infancy and generally live from 25 to 45 years. A specific AGU mutation is concentrated in the Finnish population with over 200 patients. The carrier frequency in Finland has been estimated to be in the range of 2.5-3% of the population. So far there are 20 other rare family AGU alleles that have been characterized at the molecular level in the world's population. Recently, two knockout mouse models for AGU have been developed. In addition, the crystal structure of human leukocyte glycosylasparaginase has been determined and the protein has a unique alphabetabetaalpha sandwich fold shared by a newly recognized family of important enzymes called N-terminal nucleophile (Ntn) hydrolases. The nascent single-chain precursor of glycosylase araginase self-cleaves into its mature alpha- and beta-subunits, a reaction required to activate the enzyme. This interesting biochemical feature is also shared by most of the Ntn-hydrolase family of proteins. Many of the disease-causing mutations prevent proper folding and subsequent activation of the glycosylasparaginase.     

Epoxide hydrolases: biochemistry and molecular biology

Epoxides are organic three-membered oxygen compounds that arise from oxidative metabolism of endogenous, as well as xenobiotic compounds via chemical and enzymatic oxidation processes, including the cytochrome P450 monooxygenase system. The resultant epoxides are typically unstable in aqueous environments and chemically reactive. In the case of xenobiotics and certain endogenous substances, epoxide intermediates have been implicated as ultimate mutagenic and carcinogenic initiators Adams et al. (Chem. Biol. Interact. 95 (1995) 57-77) Guengrich (Properties and Metabolic roles 4 (1982) 5-30) Sayer et al. (J. Biol. Chem. 260 (1985) 1630-1640). Therefore, it is of vital importance for the biological organism to regulate levels of these reactive species. The epoxide hydrolases (E.C. 3.3.2. 3) belong to a sub-category of a broad group of hydrolytic enzymes that include esterases, proteases, dehalogenases, and lipases Beetham et al. (DNA Cell Biol. 14 (1995) 61-71). In particular, the epoxide hydrolases are a class of proteins that catalyze the hydration of chemically reactive epoxides to their corresponding dihydrodiol products. Simple epoxides are hydrated to their corresponding vicinal dihydrodiols, and arene oxides to trans-dihydrodiols. In general, this hydration leads to more stable and less reactive intermediates, however exceptions do exist. In mammalian species, there are at least five epoxide hydrolase forms, microsomal cholesterol 5,6-oxide hydrolase, hepoxilin A(3) hydrolase, leukotriene A(4) hydrolase, soluble, and microsomal epoxide hydrolase. Each of these enzymes is distinct chemically and immunologically. Table 1 illustrates some general properties for each of these classes of hydrolases. Fig. 1 provides an overview of selected model substrates for each class of epoxide hydrolase.     

A comparison of recently published biology textbooks for first examinations

This examination of characteristics of recently published biology textbooks for first examinations shows the very wide range of approaches adopted. Aims, content, and methods of presentation are compared. The ways in which questions are employed in the books are examined in detail. In the discussion the characteristics of the books are related to the variety of approaches to the teaching of biology in schools.