Temperature-induced expression of proteins in Leishmania mexicana amazonensis. A 22-kDa protein is possibly localized in the mitochondrion

Temperature increase is an integral part of Leishmania life cycle, and plays a major role in stage transformation. Analysis of the temperature-dependent pattern of protein synthesis on two-dimensional gel electrophoresis shows that, in addition to the conserved heat-shock type of response in which expression of the major 70-kDa and 83-kDa heat-shock proteins is observed, a group of low-molecular-mass (17-40 kDa) proteins is induced in promastigotes of Leishmania mexicana amazonensis at elevated temperatures. Immuno-gold labelling with antibodies raised against the heat-induced 22-kDa proteins was localized mainly in the mitochondrion of Leishmania parasites, though labelling was observed also in the nucleus. The correlation of this finding with various reports on induction of mitochondrial enzymes in response to temperature stress in other organisms is discussed.     

Ethnic groups and high sensitivity C-reactive protein in Israel

Abstract

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) is a biomarker that correlates with atherothrombotic risk and outcome. hs-CRP is influenced by various modifiable and non-modifiable factors. We studied the relationship between ethnic background and hs-CRP level, among the Jewish population in Israel. A total of 3659 men and 2180 women were divided into two ethnic groups (Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews), based on the knowledge of Jewish immigration patterns throughout the centuries. Mean hs-CRP levels were calculated for each group and were adjusted for various factors known to influence hs-CRP. Sephardic Jews were found to have higher adjusted mean hs-CRP levels (2.0 mg l^?1 for men and 3.9 mg l^?1 for women) compared with Ashkenazi Jews (1.5 mg l^?1 for men and 2.9 mg l^?1 for women). Ethnic background emerged as an independent significant predictor of hs-CRP levels. We demonstrated that ethnicity is an important factor when considering hs-CRP as a marker of atherothrombotic risk.     

The Role of Culture/Ethnicity in Communicating with Cancer Patients About Mental Health Distress and Suicidality

Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry - To explore the role of culture in communicating with cancer patients about mental health distress and suicidality. The Grounded Theory method of data collection...     

Analyzing the Long Term Cohesive Effect of Sector Specific Driving Forces

Financial markets are partially composed of sectors dominated by external driving forces, such as commodity prices, infrastructure and other indices. We characterize the statistical properties of such sectors and present a novel model for the coupling of the stock prices and their dominating driving forces, inspired by mean reverting stochastic processes. Using the model we were able to explain the market sectors’ long term behavior and estimate the coupling strength between stocks in financial markets and the sector specific driving forces. Notably, the analysis was successfully applied to the shipping market, in which the Baltic dry index (BDI), an assessment of the price of transporting the major raw materials by sea, influences the shipping financial market. We also present the analysis of other sectors—the gold mining market and the food production market, for which the model was also successfully applied. The model can serve as a general tool for characterizing the coupling between external forces and affected financial variables and therefore for estimating the risk in sectors and their vulnerability to external stress.     

Comparative life cycle sustainability assessment of urban water reuse at various centralization scales

Purpose

Population growth and urbanization lead to increasing water demand, putting significant pressure on natural water sources. The rising amounts of domestic wastewater (WW) in urban areas may be treated to serve as an alternative water source that may alleviate this pressure. This study examines sustainability of utilizing reclaimed domestic wastewater in urban households for toilet flushing and garden irrigation. It models a city characterized by water scarcity, using a coal-based electricity mix.

Methods

Four approaches were compared: (0) Business-as-usual (BAU) alternative, where the central WW treatment plant effluent is discharged to nature; (1) central WW treatment and urban reuse of the effluent produced; (2) semi-distributed greywater treatment and reuse, at cluster scale; (3) Distributed greywater treatment and reuse, at building scale. Environmental life cycle assessment (LCA), social LCA (S-LCA), and life cycle costing (LCC) were applied to the system model of the above scenarios, with seawater desalination as the source for potable water. System boundaries include water supply, WW collection, and treatment facilities. Analytical hierarchy process (AHP), a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) methodology, was integrated into the life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) framework as a means for weighting sustainability criteria through judgment elicitation from a panel of 20 experts.

Results and discussion

Environmentally and socially, the two distributed alternatives perform better in most impact categories. Socially, semi-distributed (cluster scale) reuse is somewhat advantageous over the fully distributed alternative (building scale), due to the benefits of community engagement. Economically, the cluster-level scenario is the most preferable, while the building-scale scenario is the least preferable. A hierarchical representation of the problem’s criteria was constructed, according to the principals of AHP. Each criterion was weighted and those of extreme low importance were eliminated, while maintaining the integrity of the experts’ judgments. Weighted and aggregated sustainability scores revealed that cluster level reclamation, under modeled conditions, is the most sustainable option and the BAU scenario is the least sustainable. The other two alternatives, centralized and fully distributed reclamation, obtained similar intermediate scores.

Conclusions

Distributed urban water reuse was found to be more sustainable than current practice. Different alternative solutions are advantageous in different ways, but overall, the reclamation and reuse of greywater at the cluster level seems to be the best option among the three reuse options examined in this assessment. AHP proved an effective method for aggregating the multiple sustainability criteria. The hierarchical view maintains transparency of all local weights while leading to the final weight vector.

     

Hydrophobic complementarity in protein-protein docking

Formation of hydrophobic contacts across a newly formed interface is energetically favorable. Based on this observation we developed a geometric-hydrophobic docking algorithm that estimates quantitatively the hydrophobic complementarity at protein-protein interfaces. Each molecule to be docked is represented as a grid of complex numbers, storing information regarding the shape of the molecule in the real part and information regarding the hydropathy of the surface in the imaginary part. The grid representations are correlated using fast Fourier transformations. The algorithm is used to compare the extent of hydrophobic complementarity in oligomers (represented by D2 tetramers) and in hetero-dimers of soluble proteins (complexes). We also test the implication of hydrophobic complementarity in distinguishing correct from false docking solutions. We find that hydrophobic complementarity at the interface exists in oligomers and in complexes, and in both groups the extent of such complementarity depends on the size of the interface. Thus, the non-polar portions of large interfaces are more often juxtaposed than non-polar portions of small interfaces. Next we find that hydrophobic complementarity helps to point out correct docking solutions. In oligomers it significantly improves the ranks of nearly correct reassembled and modeled tetramers. Combining geometric, electrostatic and hydrophobic complementarity for complexes gives excellent results, ranking a nearly correct solution < 10 for 5 of 23 tested systems, < 100 for 8 systems and < 1000 for 19 systems.     

Physical map of 1p36, placement of breakpoints in monosomy 1p36, and clinical characterization of the syndrome

Monosomy 1p36 is the most common terminal deletion syndrome. This contiguous gene deletion syndrome is presumably caused by haploinsufficiency of a number of genes. We have constructed a contig of overlapping large-insert clones for the most distal 10.5 Mb of 1p36, evaluated the deletion sizes in 61 subjects with monosomy 1p36 from 60 families, and created a natural deletion panel. We found pure terminal deletions, interstitial deletions, derivative chromosomes, and more complex rearrangements. Breakpoints were "binned" into 0.5-Mb regions. Analyses revealed some clustering of breakpoints but no single common breakpoint. Determination of the parental origin showed that 60% of de novo 1p36 terminal deletions arose from the maternally inherited chromosome. Of the 61 subjects, 30 were examined systematically through a protocol at the Texas Children's Hospital General Clinical Research Center. Specifically, we report hearing evaluations, palatal and ophthalmological examinations, echocardiograms, neurological assessments, and thyroid function tests. To our knowledge, this systematic molecular and clinical characterization of monosomy 1p36 is the largest and most comprehensive study of this deletion syndrome to date. Many cytogenetically visible, apparent terminal deletions are more complex than anticipated by cytogenetics, as revealed at the molecular level by our study. Our clinical findings allow for the more accurate recognition of the syndrome and for proper medical evaluation.