In the SuperMACHO project, we have imaged the bar of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) repeatedly and used an automated pipeline to subtract point-spread function matched template images from the recent epoch images. The resulting difference images are remarkably clean of the constant stellar background and are ideal for searching for variable objects. Using these difference images, we have mapp...

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the transformation of a medical vocabulary based on a Semantic Network (SN) model into a vocabulary based on an Object-Oriented Database (OODB) model helps in the maintenance of the vocabulary. We describe an OODB schema which captures the overall structure of the vocabulary in a compact form and uncovers some errors and inconsistencies made in th...

The structural and dynamic organization and basic physicochemical features of 1,2dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) lipid bilayers were characterized upon the presence of two OxPLs, 1-palmitoyl-2-(9’-oxo-nonanoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (PoxnoPC) and 1-palmitoyl-2-glutaryyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (PGPC). The hydration behaviour of these systems was also studied by using th...

Parkinson's disease pathogenesis proceeds through several phases, culminating in the loss of dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra (SN). Although the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) model of oxidative SN injury is frequently used to study degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in mice and non-human primates, an understanding of the temporal sequence of molecular events ...

Irinotecan hydrochloride, a camptothecin derivative, is one of the most effective drugs for colorectal cancer, and SN-38 is its main active metabolite. Development of resistance is a major obstacle to the clinical application of this drug. We established an SN-38-resistant subline from DLD-1 human colon cancer cells by continuous exposure to SN-38 and studied the mechanisms of resistance. The r...

Long-term predictions on the mobility and the fate of radionuclides and contaminants in cementitious waste repositories require a molecular-level understanding of the geochemical immobilization processes involved. In this study, the use of X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) for chemical speciation of trace elements in cementitious materials will be outlined presenting two examples relevant for...

Mutation of the parkin gene, which encodes an E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase, is the major cause of autosomal recessive juvenile parkinsonism (ARJP). Although various substrates for parkin have been identified, the mechanisms that regulate the ubiquitin ligase activity of parkin are poorly understood. Here we report that 14-3-3eta, a chaperone-like protein present abundantly in neurons, could bind...

If/ is an irreducible character of Sn, these functions are known as immanants; if/ is an irreducible character of some subgroup G of Sn (extended trivially to all of Sn by defining /(vv) = 0 for w$G), these are known as generalized matrix functions. Note that the determinant and permanent are obtained by choosing / to be the sign character and trivial character of Sn, respectively. We should po...

In the title tetra-nuclear tin(IV) complex, [Sn(4)(CH(3))(8)(C(20)H(22)N(2)O(4))Cl(2)O(2)], there are three completely different tin-atom coordinations. One metal atom (site symmetry 2) adopts a distorted penta-gonal-bipyramidal SnC(2)N(2)O(3) coordination arising from the N,N',O,O'-tetra-dentate deprotonated Schiff base, two methyl groups in the axial sites and a μ(3)-O atom that also bonds to...

The amygdaloid complex (AC) was found highly vulnerable to alpha-synuclein (alphaS) pathology in both familial and sporadic Alzheimer disease (AD), and recently, incidental Lewy bodies (LBs) were identified primarily in the lower brainstem. This challenges the traditional view that the substantia nigra (SN) is the region that is predominately affected in the spectrum of LB disorders. We examine...