Distribution of N-glycosylation sequons in proteins: how apart are they?

N-glycosylation is a common protein modification process, which affects a number of properties of proteins. Little is known about the distribution of N-glycosylation sequons, for example, the distance between glycosylated sites and their position in the protein primary sequence. Using a large set of experimentally confirmed eukaryotic N-glycoproteins we analyzed the relative position and distribution of sequons. N-Glycosylation probability was found to be lower in the termini of protein sequences compared to the mid region. N-glycosylated sequons were found much farther from C terminus compared to the N-terminus of the protein sequence and this effect was more pronounced for NXS sequons. The distribution of sequons, modeled based on balls-in-boxes classical occupancy, showed a near-maximum probability. Considerable proportion of sequons was found within a distance of ten amino acids, indicating that the steric hindrance was not a key factor in protein N-glycosylation. Interestingly, the distribution of all sequons present in N-glycoproteins showed a pattern very similar to that of glycosylated sequons. The results indicate that protein N-glycosylation chiefly follows a random design.     

Calculation of molecular one-electron properties using coupled Hartree-Fock methods

Various second-order properties for H₂O have been computed using a near Hartree-Fock gaussian wave function and a coupled Hartree-Fock scheme. Satisfactory agreement with experimental data is obtained for vibrational frequencies and for magnetic properties. The calculated electric polarizability only accounts for 64 per cent of the experimental value.     

Infrared and Raman spectra of M2Cu2O5 (M=Y,Ho)

We report both Raman and infrared reflectivity spectra of M₂Cu₂O₅ (M=Y, Ho) at room temperature in the spectral range of 30–1000 cm^–1.37 (31) ir and 18 (15) Raman active modes of Y₂Cu₂O₅ (Ho₂Cu₂O₅) are observed. A factor group analysis has been performed to identify the symmetries of the observed modes. Comparing the vibrational spectra of these compounds we conclude that the phonons above 300 cm^–1 originate from the Cu–O vibrations and those under 300 cm^–1 from M–O vibrations.Alexander von Humboldt Foundation fellow     

Photo induced collisions with laser cooled He* atoms

This paper presents an experimental investigation of cold collisions between metastable helium atoms in an optical trap at 1 mK. Penning (PI) and associative (AI) ionization reactions are distinguished using a mass spectrometer and studied under influence of near resonant laser light. Dramatic enhancement, by more than a factor 15, of the ion rate is observed when the laser is tuned close to resonance. Experimental findings are well-described, on an absolute scale, by model predictions. Received: 9 February 1998 / Revised: 4 May 1998 / Accepted: 14 May 1998     

Atomiser, source, inductively coupled plasmas, in atomic fluorescence spectrometry (ASIA). Some recent work

The dual-plasma atomic fluorescence/atomic emission spectrometer (ASIA spectrometer) is described and the detection limits for several elements in both the fluorescence and the emission mode are presented and compared directly. The detection limits for the non-refractory elements are, in general, better in fluorescence than emission While for the refractory elements the converse is true, but all are in the ng ml⁻¹ range. Growth curves for a refractory and a non-refractory element are presented and evaluated.     

Dynamically modified silica — the use of bare silica in reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

A new approach to reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography has been developed and investigated in some detail. Bare silica is used as the column packing material with an aqueous eluent containing a buffer, an organic solvent as the modifier and a long-chain quaternary ammonium ion. The eluent exhibits a high affinity to the silica surface at pH values above 5, thus, dynamically, forming a nonpolar stationary phase.     

Identification of patients with hereditary haemochromatosis by magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopic relaxation time measurements

A total of 4302 healthy blood donors were screened for elevated serum ferritin and transferrin saturation. Fifteen had increased serum ferritin at a follow-up examination. Five relatives of these donors also entered the study. Eleven patients had elevated liver iron concentrations, while five had normal liver iron concentrations. The R₂ relaxation rate in the liver was first measured with a conventional multi-spin-echo imaging sequence, and then by a volume-selective spectroscopic multi-spin-echo sequence, in order to achieve a minimum echo time of 4 msec. No correlation was found between the relaxation rate R₂ and the liver iron concentration, when R₂ was calculated from the imaging data. Multi-exponential transverse relaxation could be resolved when the spectroscopic sequence was used. A strong correlation between the initial slope of the relaxation curve and the liver iron concentration was found (r = 0.90, p < 0.001). Signal intensity ratios between liver and muscle were calculated from the first three echoes in the multi-echo imaging sequence, and from a gradient echo sequence. A strong correlation between the logarithm of the signal intensity ratios and the liver iron concentration was found. Although both spectroscopic T₂ relaxation time measurements and signal intensity ratios could be used to quantify liver iron concentration, the gradient echo imaging seemed to be the best choice. Gradient echo imaging could be performed during a single breath hold, so motion artifacts could be avoided. The accuracy of liver iron concentration estimates from signal intensity ratios in the gradient echo images was about 35%.