Functional proteomics.

Background: With the increase in the number of genome sequencing projects, there is a concomitant exponential growth in the number of protein sequences whose function is still unknown. Functional proteomics constitutes an emerging research area in the proteomic field whose approaches are addressed towards two major targets: the elucidation of the biological function of unknown proteins and the definition of cellular mechanisms at the molecular level. Methods: The identification of interacting proteins in stable complexes in vivo is essentially achieved by affinity-based procedures. The basic idea is to express the protein of interest with a suitable tag to be used as a bait to fish its specific partners out from a cellular extract. Individual components within the multi-protein complex can then be identified by mass spectrometric methodologies. Results and conclusions: The association of an unknown protein with partners belonging to a specific protein complex involved in a particular mechanism is strongly suggestive of the biological function of the protein. Moreover, the identification of protein partners interacting with a given protein will lead to the description of cellular mechanisms at the molecular level. The next goal will be to generate animal models bearing a tagged form of the bait protein

Vulvovaginal atrophy during menopause

Objective: To present a basic clinical research based on current evidence about advanced treatment methods for vulvovaginal atrophy during menopause.And on principles of management of patients with vulvovaginal atrophy.Vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA) is a common and underreported condition associated with decreased estrogenization of the vaginal tissue. Symptoms include dryness, irritation, soreness, and dyspareunia with urinary frequency, urgency, and urge incontinence. It can occur at any time in a woman's life cycle, although more commonly in the postmenopausal phase, during which the prevalence is close to 50%. Clinical findings include the presence of pale and dry vulvovaginal mucosa with petechiae. Vaginal rugae disappear, and the cervix may become flush with the vaginal wal

Õhusaaste linnades ja selle mõju inimeste tervisele

Viimastel aastakümnetel on linnaõhu saastumisest saanud rahvatervise probleem üle maailma. Kütteallikate arvu ja liiklustiheduse kiirest kasvust tingituna on ka Eesti linnades õhusaaste suurenemas. On teada, et õhusaaste avaldab mõju eelkõige inimese hingamisteedele ja südamele-veresoonkonnale. Seetõttu võib sellega seostada linlaste tervise halvenemist ja ravikulutuste suurenemist tulevikus. Terviseriski vähendamiseks on kehtestatud piirnormid SO2, NO2, CO, peente osakeste ja teiste atmosfääriõhu saastekomponentide sisaldusele. Linnaelanike tervist ohustavad eelkõige peente osakestega seotud raskmetallid ja orgaanilised ühendid, seda ka piirväärtustest väiksemate kontsentratsioonide juures. Eesti Arst 2007; 86 (6): 401–40

Continuity and change in Italian discourse on migration: A focus on mainstream television documentaries

LBK

Why do they return? Beyond the economic drivers of graduate return migration

This paper explores the factors that shape the location choices of formerly mobile graduates (FMGs) initially resident in Sardinia, Italy, a less developed European region. Combining qualitative and quantitative techniques the paper examines the reasons why some individuals decide to return after their studies, and the factors that shape their decisions and how these choices unfolded in space and time. It counters the literature, which suggests that migration is a one-off linear process driven only by wealth maximising behaviour positing rather that ac-cess to opportunities in open meritocratic job markets and circular migration trajectories are far more salient to FMGs. This suggests that policy makers should concentrate on promoting labour market opportunities and investing in social network promotion that will aid brain circulation

The Structure of Rural Landscape in Monetary Evaluation Studies: Main Analytical Approaches in Literature

Over recent years considerable research has been devoted to the assessment of the rural landscape value. These studies have concerned both use and non-use value estimation. An important issue in monetary evaluations is about taking (or not) into account the structural complexity of landscape. Three analytical approaches may be recognized on the basis of whether landscape structural attributes are involved (global, mono-attribute and multi-attribute approach). The present work is part of a research aimed to seek out rational instruments for guidance policies on rural landscape. It consists in a survey of the main studies appeared in literature. The specific purpose is to classify these empirical analyses in accordance both to the approaches mentioned above and to the landscape typologies (agricultural or forestry) involved.rural landscape, structural attributes, landscape demand, contingent valuation models, choice experiment, Land Economics/Use, Q26,

Some well-posed Cauchy problem for second order hyperbolic equations with two independent variables

In this paper we discuss the $C^{\infty}$ well-posedness for second order hyperbolic equations $Pu=\partial_t^2u-a(t,x)\partial_x^2u=f$ with two independent variables $(t,x)$. Assuming that the $C^{\infty}$ function $a(t,x)\geq 0$ verifies $\partial_t^pa(0,0)\neq 0$ with some $p$ and that the discriminant $\Delta(x)$ of $a(t,x)$ vanishes of finite order at $x=0$, we prove that the Cauchy problem for $P$ is $C^{\infty}$ well-posed in a neighbourhood of the origin

Interaction Proteomics

The term proteome is traditionally associated with the identification of a large number of proteins within complex mixtures originating from a given organelle, cell or even organism. Current proteome investigations are basically focused on two major areas, expression proteomics and functional proteomics. Both approaches rely on the fractionation of protein mixtures essentially by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-gel) and the identification of individual protein bands by mass spectrometric techniques (2D-MS). Functional proteomics approaches are basically addressing two main targets, the elucidation of the biological function of unknown proteins and the definition of cellular mechanisms at the molecular level. In the cell many processes are governed not only by the relative abundance of proteins but also by rapid and transient regulation of activity, association and localization of proteins and protein complexes. The association of an unknown protein with partners belonging to a specific protein complex involved in a particular process would then be strongly suggestive of its biological function. The identification of interacting proteins in stable complexes in a cellular system is essentially achieved by affinity-based procedures. Different strategies relying on this simple concept have been developed and a brief overview of the main approaches presently used in functional proteomics studies is describe