Ligand binding studies using intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence have provided supporting evidence for the apparent preference of this enzyme to bind the beta(1 -> 6) disaccharide acceptor. However, we could not detect binding or Trichostatin A molecular weight gal actofuranosyltransferase activity with an n-octyl beta-D-Gal-(1 -> 4)-alpha-L-Rha acceptor, which mimics the reducing terminus of galactan in the mycobacterial cell wall. Conversely, after an extensive bioinformatics analysis

of the H37Rv genome, further cloning, expression and functional analysis of the Rv3792 open reading frame indicates that this protein affords galactofuranosyltransferase activity against such an acceptor and paves the way for a better understanding of galactan biosynthesis in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“Alcohol dependence (AD) is a common,

chronic, relapsing disorder. Compelling epidemiological evidence indicates that >50% of the risk for becoming alcoholic stems from genetic susceptibility and genetic studies have identified several risk genes. Alcohol intake alters gene expression patterns, thereby producing long-lasting cellular and molecular adaptations that might explain the development and maintenance of AD. The heterogeneous nature of AD indicates a complex etiology involving mechanisms related to motivational selleck inhibitor behavior, check details reward and learning, adaptations in signaling pathways owing to interactions between alcohol and target molecules, and chromatin remodeling. Emerging methodologies present opportunities to determine how alcohol might disrupt the synergistic

actions of molecular systems and to assess gene-environment interactions for elucidating the behavioral and physiological dysfunctions underlying AD.”
“For individuals with autism spectrum disorder or ‘ASD’ the ability to accurately process and interpret auditory information is often difficult. Here we review behavioural, neurophysiological and imaging literature pertaining to this field with the aim of providing a comprehensive account of auditory processing in ASD, and thus an effective tool to aid further research. Literature was sourced from peer-reviewed journals published over the last two decades which best represent research conducted in these areas. Findings show substantial evidence for atypical processing of auditory information in ASD at behavioural and neural levels. Abnormalities are diverse, ranging from atypical perception of various low-level perceptual features (i.e. pitch, loudness) to processing of more complex auditory information such as prosody. Trends across studies suggest auditory processing impairments in ASD are most likely to present during processing of complex auditory information and are more severe for speech than for non-speech stimuli.