The Xenopus origin recognition complex is essential for chromosomal DNA replication in cell-free extracts. We have immunopurified the Xenopus origin recognition complex with anti-Xorc2 antibodies and analyzed its composition and properties. Xorc2 (p63) is specifically associated with Xorc1 (p115) and up to four additional polypeptides (p81, p78, p45, and p40). The cDNA encoding p81 is highly ho...

A gene encoding a major secreted antigen, SagA, was identified in Enterococcus faecium by screening an E. faecium genomic expression library with sera from patients with E. faecium-associated endocarditis. Recombinant SagA protein showed broad-spectrum binding to extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, including fibrinogen, collagen type I, collagen type IV, fibronectin, and laminin. A fibrinogen-...

In the context of the Large Binocular Telescope project, we present the results of force actuator calibrations performed on an adaptive secondary prototype called P45, a thin deformable glass with magnets glued onto its back. Electromagnetic actuators, controlled in a closed loop with a system of internal metrology based on capacitive sensors, continuously deform its shape to correct the distor...

A 3' terminal RNA uridylyltransferase was purified from mitochondria of Leishmania tarentolae and the gene cloned and expressed from this species and from Trypanosoma brucei. The enzyme is specific for 3' U-addition in the presence of Mg(2+). TUTase is present in vivo in at least two stable configurations: one contains a approximately 500 kDa TUTase oligomer and the other a approximately 700 kD...

Nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2 (NF-E2), a heterodimer composed of p45 and p18, is a transcriptional activator in hematopoietic progenitors. The transcriptional activity of NF-E2 is not only upregulated by SUMOylation but also stimulated by the cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA). However, the relationship between SUMOylation and phosphorylation in the activation of NF-E2 is unclear. In th...

This short note describes a development of the traditional Pythagorean tree fractal to produce interesting three-dimensional structures based on cubes rather than squares. Adding a 90˚rotation at each bifurcation encourages three-dimensional growth, creating increasingly artistic shapes as the branching angle decreases. 1. Pythagorean box trees The Pythagorean tree is a plane fractal constructe...

BACKGROUND We have investigated whether an acute metabolic damage to astrocytes during the neonatal period may critically disrupt subsequent brain development, leading to neurodevelopmental disorders. Astrocytes are vulnerable to glutaric acid (GA), a dicarboxylic acid that accumulates in millimolar concentrations in Glutaric Acidemia I (GA-I), an inherited neurometabolic childhood disease char...