A biochemical analysis of glycoprotein C (gC of herpes simplex virus was undertaken to further characterize the structure of the glycoprotein and to determine its disulfide bond arrangement. We used three recombinant forms of gC, gC1(457t), gC1(delta33-123t), and gC2(426t), each truncated prior to the transmembrane region. The proteins were expressed and secreted by using a baculovirus expressi...

Synonymous codon usage (SCU) bias in oil-tea camellia cpDNAs was determined by examining 13 South Chinese samples and performing bioinformatics analysis using GenBank sequence information, revealing conserved among the samples. GC content at third position (GC3) lowest, with a preference for A or T, suggesting weak SCU bias. The contents first two positions (GC1 GC2) were extremely significantl...

We present a formal model for the coordination of interactions in service-oriented systems. This model provides a declarative semantics for the language SRML that is being developed under the FET-GC2 project SENSORIA for modelling and reasoning about complex services at the abstract business level. In SRML, interactions are conversational in the sense that they involve a number of correlated ev...

Background The NO/cGMP signaling cascade has been proposed to play a role in long-term potentiation (LTP) and the modulation of synaptic transmission. Nitric oxide is formed enzymatically by NO synthases (NOS); two NOS, the endothelial and neuronal isoform (eNOS, nNOS) produce NO as a signalling molecule. Functionally, NO has been reported to act as a retrograde messenger that is generated post...

BACKGROUND Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) is a key factor in determining monocyte induction of the antimicrobial protein cathelicidin, which requires intracrine conversion of 25OHD to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)(2)D]. Both vitamin D metabolites circulate bound to vitamin D-binding protein (DBP), but the effect of this on induction of monocyte cathelicidin remains unclear. METHODS Hum...

This paper aims to evaluate the efficiency of three inactive vaccines against contagious agalactia prepared with samples of Mycoplasma agalactiae isolated in Brazil and different adjuvants. Vaccine 1 adsorbed with aluminum hydroxide was administered in 23 goats (Gc1) and 13 sheep (Gov1); vaccine 2 containing Montanide IMS-2215-VG was administered in 22 goats (Gc2) and 12 sheep (Gov2) and vaccin...

Staphylococcus epidermidis is a ubiquitous colonizer of human skin and a common cause of medical device-associated infections. The extent to which the population genetic structure of S. epidermidis distinguishes commensal from pathogenic isolates is unclear. Previously, Bayesian clustering of 437 multilocus sequence types (STs) in the international database revealed a population structure of si...

The marine dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum has been associated with paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) outbreaks in Portuguese waters for many years. PSP syndrome is caused by consumption of seafood contaminated with paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs), a suite of potent neurotoxins. Gymnodinium catenatum was frequently reported along the Portuguese coast throughout the late 1980s and early...

OBJECTIVE To determine the relationship between serum total 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), directly measured free 25(OH)D and calculated free 25(OH)D with regard to vitamin D-binding protein (DBP) phenotypes, sex, BMI, age and season, and their interrelationship to vitamin D supplementation. DESIGN, PATIENTS AND INTERVENTIONS A randomized controlled trial with 20 000 IU of vitamin D3 per week...

Epidemiological studies support the importance of adequate vitamin D status for the maintenance of pulmonary health and function; low levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 are associated with an increased incidence or poor control of asthma, respiratory infection and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Vitamin D is proposed to support respiratory health through promoting antimicrobial ...