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Antigenic variation in microbial surface proteins represents an apparent paradox, because the variable region must retain an important function, while exhibiting extensive immunological variability. We studied this problem for a group of streptococcal M proteins in which the similar to 50-residue hypervariable regions (HVRs) show essentially no residue identity but nevertheless bind the same ligan

SoPIP2;1 is one of the major integral proteins in spinach leaf plasma membranes. In the Xenopus oocyte expression system its water channel activity is regulated by phosphorylation at the C terminus and in the first cytosolic loop. To assess its structure, SoPIP2;1 was heterologously expressed in Pichia pastoris as a His-tagged protein and in the non-tagged form. Both forms were reconstituted into

α-Galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.22) and β-mannosidase (EC 3.2.1.25) participate in the hydrolysis of complex plant saccharides such as galacto(gluco)mannans. Here we report on the cloning and characterization of genes encoding an α-galactosidase (AglC) and a β-mannosidase (MndA) from Aspergillus niger. The aglC and mndA genes code for 747 and 931 amino acids, respectively, including the eukaryotic signa

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) belongs to the Hepacivirus genus in the Flaviviridae family. Among the least known viral proteins in this family is the nonstructural protein NS4B, which has been suggested to be a part of the replication complex. Hydrophobicity plots indicate a common profile among the NS4B proteins from different members of the Flaviviridae family, suggesting a common function. In order t

The lucanid beetle Ceruchus chrysomelinus Hochenwarth inhabits forests with a high density of moist red-rotten logs of both coniferous and deciduous trees. This habitat is very rare in Swedish forests of today and so is the species in itself. There are no recent records from the Swedish provinces of Skane, Halland, Vastergotland, Ostergotland and Halsingland, but new localities have recently been

Vietnam's increased integration into the global market economy entails rapid and dynamic changes that foster new ways of acting, interacting and rendering the world meaningful. This article addresses the ways in which an ongoing process of transformation in contemporary Vietnam is epitomised by the ambivalence and ambiguity with which female sexuality is imbued. Female sexuality is ideally restric

BACKGROUND: The clinically important Kidd (JK) blood group antigens are carried by the urea transporter in red cells. The rare Jk(a-b-) phenotype can be caused by homozygosity at the JK locus for a silent allele, JK: This phenotype has been recorded in many ethnic groups, but it is most abundant among people originating from the Polynesian Islands and Finland. The molecular basis for Jk(a-b-) is u

The most important issue in this dissertation will be a discussion concerning metal age flint use in Scania. Since flint tools from the Bronze and Iron Ages and Medieval times have rarely been examined, there are few general guidelines in typology or morphology. It is quite clear that conversions of existing Stone Age typological schemes are unsuitable when one intends to study the often simple an

The human genome harbors numerous distinct families of so-called human endogenous retroviruses (HERV) which are remnants of exogenous retroviruses that entered the germ line millions of years ago. We describe here the hitherto little-characterized betaretrovirus HERV-K(HML-5) family (named HERVK22 in Repbase) in greater detail. Out of 139 proviruses, only a few loci represent full-length proviruse

The role of protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms in the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM)-mediated neurite outgrowth was tested using a co-culture system consisting of fibroblasts with or without NCAM expression upon which either primary cerebellar granular neurones (CGN) or pheochromocytoma (PC12-E2) cells were grown. The latter transiently expressed various PKC isoforms and domains derived from se

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the accessibility to public buildings for wheelchair users in Al Ain, the fourth largest city of the United Arab Emirates. Method: Data were collected at 17 buildings, randomly chosen using the local telephone book as source. The instrument used was a survey form covering eight accessibility areas: parking, ramps, entrances, accessible routes, toile

Ideals and visions of a Library 2.0 have in recent years been widely discussed in public library research and practice. Influenced by the Web 2.0 discourse, the Library 2.0 rhetoric has to a large extent been coloured by utopian and revolutionary overtones, identifying social media as key to transforming the public library institution. While previous research has primarily addressed this developme

Boreal forests play a key role in the global carbon cycle and are facing rapid shifts in nitrogen availability with poorly understood consequences for ecosystem function and global climate change. We quantified the effects of increasing nitrogen availability on carbon fluxes from a relatively understudied component of these forests - the forest floor - at three intervals over the summer growing pe