Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder affecting millions of people. Both environmental and genetic factors play important roles in its causation and development. Genetic analysis has shown that over 100 genes are correlated with the etiology and pathology of PD. However, accessing genetic information in a consistent and fruitful way is not an easy task. T...

Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder caused by a deficiency of arylsulphatase A (ARSA) (EC 3.1.6.8). MLD involves progressive demyelination, resulting in a variety of neurological symptoms varying in severity (Kolodny and Fluharty, 1995). The ARSA gene consists of eight exons encoding the 507 amino acid enzyme (Stein et al, 1989). It is transcr...

Transcription of the genomic region involved in gas vesicle formation in Halobacterium salinarum (p-vac) and Haloferax mediterranei (mc-vac) is driven by two divergent promoters, P(A) and P(D), separated by only 35 nt. Both promoters are activated by the transcription activator GvpE which in the case of P(mcA) requires a 20-nt sequence (UAS) consisting of two conserved 8-nt sequence portions lo...

The Pd(OAc)(2)/pyridine catalyst system is one of the most convenient and versatile catalyst systems for selective aerobic oxidation of organic substrates. This report describes the catalytic mechanism of Pd(OAc)(2)/pyridine-mediated oxidation of benzyl alcohol, which has been studied by gas-uptake kinetic methods and (1)H NMR spectroscopy. The data reveal that turnover-limiting substrate oxida...

Tiara-like thiolated group 10 transition metal (Ni, Pd, Pt) nanoclusters have attracted extensive interest due to their fundamental scientific significance and potential application in a number of fields. However, the properties (e.g. the absorption) evolution with the ring size's increase was not investigated so far to our best knowledge, due to the challenge of obtaining a series of nanoclust...

P arkinson’s disease (PD; OMIM #168600) is a common neurodegenerative disorder characterised by bradykinesia, resting tremor, muscle rigidity, and postural instability. The pathological features include loss of dopaminergic neurones, in particular within the substantia nigra pars compacta, and eosinophilic, cytoplasmic inclusions termed Lewy bodies. Although rare, familial forms of parkinsonism...

BACKGROUND Hypovitaminosis D has a high prevalence among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). AIM To determine the prevalence of 25 hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH) D) insufficiency and deficiency in pediatric patients on dialysis and kidney transplantation. MATERIAL AND METHODS Serum calcium and phosphorus, parathormone (PTH), alkaline phosphatases and 25 (OH)D were measured in 13 children...

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a chronic, progressive, neurodegenerative disorder with motor and non-motor signs and symptoms. PD is caused by idiopathic degeneration of dopamine-producing cells in the substantia nigra, located in the midbrain. Recently, Trace elements have been recognized to play an important role in the development of Parkinson’s disease (PD). The aim of this review ...