Reversible inhibition of C1Q release from guinea pig macrophages by 2,2'-dipyridyl: Evidence for a posttranslational hydroxylation step in the biosynthesis of C1Q, a subcomponent of the first component of complement (C1).

High-resolution records of past and modern Pb exposure: Laser-ablation ICPMS profiles from tooth enamel

We present compositional and isotopic profiles of past and modern tooth enamel aimed at reconstructing in-vivo Pb exposure at high spatial and time resolution. Focus is on dental enamel because of its sequential mineralization preserving time-series information, and due to its resistance to post-mortem diagenetic alteration. Examples include medieval Pb–Ag miners from SW Germany (Black Forest), the port of ancient Rome (Isola Sacra) for an assessment of the ‘Pb poisoning hypothesis’, and a modern Pb–Zn smelter village in NE NSW. (Sub-)ppb levels of U, LREEs, Y in soil-buried enamel resembling modern enamel are utilized as indicators for the preservation of pristine in-vivo concentrations. T…

Lombards on the move--an integrative study of the migration period cemetery at Szólád, Hungary.

In 2005 to 2007 45 skeletons of adults and subadults were excavated at the Lombard period cemetery at Szólád (6th century A.D.), Hungary. Embedded into the well-recorded historical context, the article presents the results obtained by an integrative investigation including anthropological, molecular genetic and isotopic (δ(15)N, δ(13)C, (87)Sr/(86)Sr) analyses. Skeletal stress markers as well as traces of interpersonal violence were found to occur frequently. The mitochondrial DNA profiles revealed a heterogeneous spectrum of lineages that belong to the haplogroups H, U, J, HV, T2, I, and K, which are common in present-day Europe and in the Near East, while N1a and N1b are today quite rare.…

Onset of nuclear vaporization inAu197+197Au collisions

Multifragmentation has been measured for [sup 197]Au+[sup 197]Au collisions at [ital E]/[ital A]=100, 250, and 400 MeV. The mean fragment multiplicity increases monotonically with the charged particle multiplicity at [ital E]/[ital A]=100 MeV, but decreases for central collisions with incident energy, consistent with the onset of nuclear vaporization. Molecular dynamics calculations follow some trends but underpredict the observed fragment multiplicities. Including the statistical decay of excited residues improves the agreement for peripheral collisions but worsens it for central collisions.

Specific recognition, 2-d-crystallization and function of proteins in monolayers

Fragment Flow and the Multifragmentation Phase Space

Fragment distributions have been measured for Au+Au collisions at [ital E]/[ital A]=100 and 1000 MeV. A high detection efficiency for fragments was obtained by combining the ALADIN spectrometer and the MSU-Miniball/WU-Miniwall array. At both energies the maximum multiplicity of intermediate mass fragments (IMF) normalized to the size of the decaying system is about one IMF per 30 nucleons but the element distributions show significant differences. Within a coalescence picture the suppression of heavy fragments in central collisions at [ital E]/[ital A]=100 MeV may be related to a reduction of the density in momentum space which is caused by the collective expansion.

Evidence that C1q, a Subcomponent of the First Component of Complement, is an Fc Receptor of Peritoneal and Alveolar Macrophages

Abstract Guinea pig peritoneal macrophages were cultured for 24 h in the presence of two inhibitors of the biosynthesis of collagen-like molecules such as C1q : 10 -3 M 3,4-dehydroproline or 10 -4 M 2,2′-dipyridyl. Their Fc-receptor activity was measured by rosette formation, using sheep erythrocytes (E) coated with rabbit anti-sheep IgG (EA IgG ). The Fc-receptor activity was decreased by 40 to 70% of control cultures depending on the amount of IgG on the E. The activity of a second receptor on the macrophages, mediating the binding of C3b coated E, was not altered by this treatment. Rat alveolar macrophages were depleted of their Fc-receptor activity by pronase treatment (1.5 mg/ml) in th…

Protein interactions with ordered lipid films: Specific and unspecific binding

Immunofluorescence studies on the subcomponents of the first component of complement (C1): detection of C1q and C1s in different cells of biopsy material and on human as well as on guinea pig peritoneal macrophages.

The first component of complement (C1) is a macromolecule consisting of three distinct subcomponents, C1q, C1r, and C1s. In regard to its production site and its role in phagocytic processes it was of interest to find out whether these different subcomponents could be detected in human biopsy material only as a complex in individual cells or whether C1 subcomponents could be found on different cells. To study this question, monospecific fluorescein-labelled anti-human-C1q IgG and monospecific rhodamine-labelled anti-human C1q IgG were used. Biopsy material from human rectum was stained with fluoresceinated antisera, either by use of one antiserum or by double staining. Using this technique,…

Molecular recognition in biotin-streptavidin systems and analogues at the air-water interface

Abstract Specific interaction between biotin and the protein streptavidin in monolayers of synthetic lipids with biotin headgroups has been shown to lead to formation of highly ordered two-dimensional streptavidin crystals. The same behaviour is observed when using desthiobiotin as lipid headgroup which exhibits a significantly lower binding constant compared with biotin (5 × 10 13 M -1 compared with 10 15 M -1 ). This offers the possibility of detaching competetively the 2D crystalline streptavidin layer by addition of free biotin to the aqueous phase. Use of lipoic acid as lipid headgroup ( K a = 7 × 10 7 M −1 ) leads to formation of small snisotropic protein domains indicating a crystall…

Limit on Lorentz andCPTviolation of the bound neutron using a free precessionHe3/Xe129comagnetometer

We report on the search for Lorentz-violating sidereal variations of the frequency difference of colocated spin species while the Earth and hence the laboratory reference frame rotates with respect to a relic background field. The comagnetometer used is based on the detection of freely precessing nuclear spins from polarized 3 He and 129 Xe gas samples using SQUIDs as low-noise magnetic flux detectors. As result we can determine the limit for the equatorial component of the background field interacting with the spin of the bound neutron to be b n ⊥ < 3.7 · 10- 32 GeV (95% C.L.).

Constraints on Spin-Dependent Short-Range Interaction between Nucleons

We report on the search for a new spin-dependent P- and T-violating interaction between nucleons mediated by light, pseudoscalar bosons such as the axion which was invented to solve the strong CP problem. Our experimental approach is to use an ultra-sensitive low-field magnetometer based on the detection of free precession of co-located 3He and 129Xe nuclear spins using SQUIDs as low-noise magnetic flux detectors. In the presence of an unpolarized mass the precession frequency shif

Earliest Evidence for Social Endogamy in the 9,000-Year-Old-Population of Basta, Jordan

The transition from mobile to sedentary life was one of the greatest social challenges of the human past. Yet little is known about the impact of this fundamental change on social interactions amongst early Neolithic communities, which are best recorded in the Near East. The importance of social processes associated with these economic and ecological changes has long been underestimated. However, ethnographic observations demonstrate that generalized reciprocity – such as open access to resources and land – had to be reduced to a circumscribed group before regular farming and herding could be successfully established. Our aim was thus to investigate the role of familial relationships as one…

Functionalized lipid tubules as tools for helical crystallization of proteins

The development of functional supramolecular devices built by self-assembly of elementary molecules and with bioactive properties arouses considerable interest in the field of nanotechnology and new materials. We report here the formation of a new class of lipid tubules exhibiting both properties of molecular recognition and crystal formation for the protein streptavidin. These lipid tubules, made of biotin-containing dioctadecylamine molecules, are straight hollow cylinders with a constant diameter of 27 nm and variable length up to several micrometers. They are unilamellar with an inner diameter of about 16 nm, as shown by cryoelectron microscopy. Streptavidin binds to the biotinylated tu…

Probing Lorentz invariance and other fundamental symmetries in3He/129Xe clock-comparison experiments

We discuss the design and performance of a very sensitive low-field magnetometer based on the detection of free spin precession of gaseous, nuclear polarized 3He or 129Xe samples with a SQUID as magnetic flux detector. Characteristic spin precession times T*2 of up to 60 h were measured in low magnetic fields (about 1μT) and in the regime of motional narrowing. With the detection of the free precession of co-located 3He/129Xe nuclear spins (clock comparison), the device can be used as ultra-sensitive probe for non-magnetic spin interactions, since the magnetic dipole interaction (Zeeman-term) drops out in the weighted frequency difference, i.e., Δω = ωHe− γHe/γXe·ωXe. We report on searches …