The purpose of this evaluation was to assess the extent and quality of implementing the Reaching Every Distrtic (RED) approach in North Sudan and its impact on immunization coverage. The evaluation was conducted in all 70 districts of North Sudan, excluding Darfur. District RED implementation data for 2006 were collected ...

The presence of excess Pb(2+) in the building block consisting of RNA-mediated PbSe QDs induces polarization in PbSe resulting in an increased red fluorescence associated with enhanced charge separation and supramolecular interactions between different building blocks to produce nanotubular morphology in self-assembly.

As more and more studies utilize cell-penetrating peptides to deliver pharmacologically interesting substances, there is a growing need to understand their effect on the plasma membrane. If a cell-penetrating peptide together with its cargo is to be used as a drug, it is necessary to understand how the conjugate interacts ...

We describe a procedure for the labeling of membranous vesicular purified subcellular fractions, to image them, typically by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Being intracellular organelles, these fractions, once purified cannot be attached to glass slides as for cells. Fractions are labeled "in batch" without prior embedding or freezing. Each labeling ...

T-type calcium channels play a pivotal role in regulating neural membrane excitability in the nervous system. However, the precise subcellular distributions of T-type channel subunits and their implication for membrane excitability are not well understood. Here we investigated the subcellular distribution of the α1G subunit of the calcium channel which ...

To compare and contrast standard and alternative versions of refractor head (phoropter)-based charts used to determine reading addition. Forty one presbyopic subjects aged between 42 and 60 years were tested. Tentative additions were determined using a red-green background letter chart, and 4 cross-grid charts (with white, red, green, or red-green ...

The amniotic membrane encloses the amniotic fluid and plays roles in the regulation of amniotic fluid flux through the intramembranous pathway during pregnancy. Aquaporins (AQPs) 1, 3, 8, and 9 are expressed in amniotic membranes. AQPs are water channel proteins that facilitate the rapid flux of water or small molecules ...

Paraoxonase-1 (PON1) is a high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-associated serum enzyme thought to make a major contribution to the antioxidant capacity of the lipoprotein. In previous studies, we proposed that HDL promoted PON1 secretion by transfer of the enzyme from its plasma membrane location to HDL transiently anchored to the hepatocyte. This ...

Extracellular redox (reduction-oxidation) state is a factor that serves as an important regulator of cell-microenvironmental interactions and is determined by several known variables; including redox-modulating proteins that are located on the plasma membrane or outside of cells, extracellular thiol/disulfide couples, and reactive oxygen species (ROS)/reactive nitrogen species (RNS) that are ...

High blood lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] concentration is a risk factor for a thrombotic event. Annexin A5 is involved in anticoagulation on the endothelial surface. How Lp(a) affects the annexin A5 function is not clear. This study investigates annexin A5 binding on the cell membrane in the presence of Lp(a). Lp(a) ...

Plasma membrane-derived vesicles (PMVs) or microparticles are vesicles (0.1-1mum in diameter) released from the plasma membrane of all blood cell types under a variety of biochemical and pathological conditions. PMVs contain cytoskeletal elements and some surface markers from the parent cell but lack a nucleus and are unable to synthesise ...

Biological cells continuously change shape allowing essential functions such as cell motility, vesicle-mediated release/uptake of soluble and membrane components or nanotube-mediated cell-cell communications. Here we use single cell micromanipulation to induce functional changes of cell shape for nanobiotechnological applications. Optical tweezers are focused on the plasma membrane of living cells ...

The plasma membrane constitutes a barrier that maintains the essential differences between the cytosol and the extracellular environment. Plasmalemmal injury is a common event during the life of many cells that often leads to their premature, necrotic death. Blebbing - a display of plasmalemmal protrusions - is a characteristic feature ...

The effect of azaspiracid-1 (AZA-1) on the plasma membrane proteins E-cadherin, Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase, and prolactin receptor (R(prl)) has been investigated in MCF-7 cells. Cell treatment for 24 h with 1nM AZA-1 induced the accumulation of a proteolytic fragment of E-cadherin and significant increases in the levels of Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase and R(prl) at ...

Nano- and microparticles of various shapes have recently been introduced for various drug-delivery applications. Shape of particles has been shown to have an impact on various processes including circulation, vascular adhesion and phagocytosis. Here, we assess the role of particle geometry and surface chemistry in their interactions with cell membranes. ...

The outer and inner (lateral) plasma membranes of the outermost cell layer in plants provide selective barriers to the environment. Recent studies provide perspectives on how asymmetric protein localization is established at lateral membranes.

BmpA is an immunodominant protein of Borrelia burgdorferi as well as an arthritogenic factor. Rabbit antirecombinant BmpA (rBmpA) antibodies were raised, characterized by assaying their cross reactivity with rBmpB, rBmpC and rBmpD, and then rendered monospecific by absorption with rBmpB. This monospecific reagent reacted only with rBmpA in dot immunobinding ...

Factor VIII (FVIII) is an important protein in the blood coagulation cascade and dysfunction or deficiency of FVIII causes haemophilia A. Replacement therapy with exogenous recombinant FVIII (rFVIII) works as a substitute for the missing or non-functioning FVIII. The rFVIII protein has been engineered extensively throughout the years to increase ...

Current research into the function of carbonic anhydrases (CAs) in cell physiology emphasizes the role of membrane-bound CAs such as CA IX, which has been identified in malignant tumors and is associated with extracellular acidification as a response to hypoxia. Here we present a mass spectrometric method to determine the ...

Plasma membrane permeabilization by saponin and anticancer avicins was studied using light dispersion measurements, since high correlation between light dispersion changes and hemolysis has been demonstrated. Nevertheless, we observed that rat red blood cell swelling in moderately hypotonic media was accompanied by up to 20% decrease of light dispersion, when ...

Haploid male germ cells are featured by an intriguing cytoplasmic cloud-like structure that has been named as chromatoid body (CB) on the basis of its staining properties and appearance under a microscope. Notwithstanding its early discovery in the late 19th century, the function of the CB is still largely obscure. ...

The platelet procoagulant response consists of providing a catalytic surface where vitamin K-dependent clotting factors can interact with cofactors to form the characteristic enzyme complexes of the cascade culminating in the generation of sufficient thrombin for effective hemostasis. The essential element allowing such a local concentration is the anionic aminophospholipid ...

Thioredoxins (Trxs) are small ubiquitous regulatory disulfide proteins. Plants have an unusually complex complement of Trxs composed of six well-defined types (Trxs f, m, x, y, h, and o) that reside in different cell compartments and function in an array of processes. The extraplastidic h type consists of multiple members ...

Protocols were developed to automate image analysis and to track the movement of thousands of vesicular compartments in live cells. Algorithms were used to discriminate among different types of movement (e.g. random, caged, and directed). We applied these tools to investigate the steady-state distribution and movement of lytic granules (LG) ...

Dwarf mistletoes, genus Arceuthobium, are parasitic flowering plants and forest pests. In western North America, Arceuthobium americanum (lodgepole pine dwarf mistletoe) is principally found on Pinus contorta var. latifolia (lodgepole pine). Dwarf mistletoes disperse their seeds by an explosive process that involves the buildup of hydrostatic pressure within a mucilaginous ...

Signalling is a key feature of living cells which frequently involves the local clustering of specific proteins in the plasma membrane. How such protein clustering is achieved within membrane microdomains ("rafts") is an important, yet largely unsolved problem in cell biology. The plasma membrane of yeast cells represents a good ...

It has been widely accepted that nanosecond electric pulses (nsEP) are distinguished from micro- and millisecond duration pulses by their ability to cause intracellular effects and cell death with reduced effects on the cell plasma membrane. However, we found that nsEP-induced cell death is most likely mediated by the plasma ...

Two different types of acoustic sensors, a surface acoustic wave device supporting a Love-wave (Love-SAW) and a quartz crystal microbalance system with dissipation (QCM-D), were used to demonstrate the potential of acoustic devices to probe the binding of a cell membrane receptor to an immobilized ligand. The class I Major ...

The organization and dynamics of receptors and other molecules in the plasma membrane are not well understood. Here we analyzed the spatio-temporal dynamics of T cell antigen receptor (TCR) complexes and linker for activation of T cells (Lat), a key adaptor molecule in the TCR signaling pathway, in T cell ...

Spirochaeta aurantia is a free-living saprophytic spirochete that grows easily in simple laboratory media, and thus can be used as a model for the investigation of surface carbohydrate structures in spirochetae, which are normally not available in sufficient amounts. Freeze-substitution electron microscopy indicated the presence of a capsule-like material projecting ...

The polyamines spermidine, spermine, and putrescine are intimately involved in and required for cell growth and proliferation. There are also multiple effects of polyamines on other cellular processes that seem not to be a result of changes in protein expression. It is a daunting task to classify and understand cellular ...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the behaviors of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on Poly(L-Lactic acid) (PLLA) membranes with different surface topographies. The double-sided micropatterns, island-patterned, and sunken-patterned PLLA membranes with diameters of 60 and 100 microm, were fabricated by the soft lithography method. The cell viability of ...

Cell-cell communication is essential for the development and homeostasis of multicellular organisms. Recently, a new type of cell-cell communication was discovered that is based on the formation of thin membranous nanotubes between remote cells. These long membrane tethers, termed tunneling nanotubes (TNTs), form an intercellular conduit and have been shown ...

When cells are exposed to hormones that act on cell surface receptors, information is processed through the plasma membrane into the cell interior via second messengers generated in the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane. Individual biochemical steps along this cascade have been characterized from ligand binding to receptors through ...

Using atomic force microscopy, we imaged the cytosolic surface of the lateral plasma membrane of outer hair cells from guinea pigs' inner ear. We used a "cell-free" preparation, in which a patch of plasma membrane was firmly attached to a substrate and the cytoplasmic face was exposed. The membrane patches ...

The reaction of reactive carbonyl compounds (RCCs) with lysine and arginine (Maillard reaction) is a common modification of proteins in thermally processed foods. In this study, the toxicity of Maillard reaction products (MRPs) formed from defined amino acids or dipeptides (bound to a cellulose membrane) with ribose, glycerinaldehyde or methylglyoxal ...

Obtaining vesicular fractions from cell lines or animal tissue is both time and technically intensive. The presence of plasma membrane and nuclear contaminants within a preparation is often dependent on the method of homogenization and is usually mitigated through the use of density gradients. We have developed a method that ...

Aminopeptidase M1 (APM1), a single copy gene in Arabidopsis thaliana, encodes a metallopeptidase originally identified via its affinity for, and hydrolysis of, the auxin transport inhibitor 1-naphthylphthalamic acid (NPA). Mutations in this gene result in haploinsufficiency. Loss-of-function mutants show irregular, uncoordinated cell divisions throughout embryogenesis, affecting the shape and number ...

Multiple functionally independent pools of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P(2)] have been postulated to occur in the cell membrane, but the existing techniques lack sufficient resolution to unequivocally confirm their presence. To analyze the distribution of PI(4,5)P(2) at the nanoscale, we developed an electron microscopic technique that probes the freeze-fractured membrane preparation ...

This study aims to define the role of E-cadherin (Ecad) engagement in cell-cell contact during membrane-cortex interaction. As a tool, we used a hydrodynamic membrane tube extrusion technique to characterize the mechanical interaction between the plasma membrane and the underlying cortical cytoskeleton. Cells were anchored on 4.5 microm beads coated ...

Antibody recognition force microscopy showed that OmcA and MtrC are expressed on the exterior surface of living Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 cells when Fe(III), including solid-phase hematite (Fe(2)O(3)), was the terminal electron acceptor. OmcA was localized to the interface between the cell and mineral. MtrC displayed a more uniform distribution across ...

The production of erythrocytes requires the massive synthesis of red cell-specific proteins including hemoglobin, cytoskeletal proteins, as well as membrane glycoproteins glycophorin A (GPA) and anion exchanger 1 (AE1). We found that during the terminal differentiation of human CD34(+) erythroid progenitor cells in culture, key components of the endoplasmic reticulum ...

A novel strategy has been developed to improve the hemocompatibility of chitosan surface by cell outer membrane mimetic structure able to reduce protein adsorption and cell adhesion. Phosphorylcholine dichloride was synthesized and grafted onto a glutaraldehyde-cross-linked chitosan (CS-GA) film surface to prepare phosphorylcholine-coated CS-GA film (CS-GA-PC) through a heterogeneous reaction ...

Glycosphingolipids (GSLs) synthesized in Golgi apparatus by sequential transfer of sugar residues to a ceramide lipid anchor are ubiquitously distributing on vertebrate plasma membranes. A standardized method allowing for high-throughput structural profiling and functional characterization of living cell surface GSLs is of growing importance because they function as crucial signal ...

Virus particle formation of HIV-1 is a multi-step process driven by a viral structural protein Gag. This process takes place at the plasma membrane in most cell types. However, the pathway that directs Gag to the plasma membrane has recently come under intense scrutiny because of its importance in production ...

A series of 16 synthetic scramblase candidates were prepared from a tris(aminoethyl)amine (TREN) scaffold and evaluated for ability to facilitate translocation of fluorescent phospholipid probes across vesicle membranes and endogenous phosphatidylserine across the plasma membrane of nucleated cells. More than half of the compounds were found to greatly accelerate phospholipid ...

Identification of glycosylated proteins, especially those in the plasma membrane, has the potential of defining diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets as well as increasing our understanding of changes occurring in the glycoproteome during normal differentiation and disease processes. Although many cellular proteins are glycosylated they are rarely identified by mass ...

A Transformer Coupled Plasma (TCP) sputtering reactor is used for depositing porous carbon platinum proton exchange membrane fuel cell electrodes. Carbon nanocolumns decorated by platinum nanoclusters are thus obtained.

Atomic force microscopy has been used to visualize nano-scale structures of various cellular components and to characterize mechanical properties of biomolecules. In spite of its ability to measure non-fixed samples in liquid, the application of AFM for living cell manipulation has been hampered by the lack of knowledge of the ...

The identification of (plasma) membrane proteins in cells can provide valuable insights into the regulation of their biological processes. Pluripotent cells such as human embryonic stem cells and embryonal carcinoma cells are capable of unlimited self-renewal and share many of the biological mechanisms that regulate proliferation and differentiation. The comparison ...