Context: The obesity epidemic threatens the present and future health of adolescents in the United States. Yet, health care providers lack specific training for pediatric obesity assessment and management. Purpose: This study examined the adherence of rural Georgia primary care practitioners to an overweight adolescent management protocol. The…

Background: Little is known about the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor profile for older adults with intellectual disability (ID). As many CVD risk factors are treatable by lifestyle changes, confirmation of the risk factor profile for older adults with ID could substantially impact upon preventive health practices for this group. Method:…

Cytochrome P450 enzymes are a family of heme-containing proteins located throughout the body with roles in metabolism of endogenous and exogenous compounds. Among exogenous compounds, clinically relevant pharmaceutical agents are nearly all metabolized by P450 enzymes. However, the activity of the different cytochrome P450 enzymes varies among…

Detection of biologically active compounds is one of the most important topics in molecular biology and biochemistry. One of the most promising detection methods is based on the application of surface plasmon resonance for label-free detection of biologically active compounds. This method allows one to monitor binding events in real time without…

Students of biochemistry and related biosciences are urged to solve problems where kinetic parameters are calculated from initial rates obtained at different substrate concentrations. Troubles begin when they go to the laboratory to perform kinetic experiments and realize that usual laboratory instruments do not measure initial rates but only…

The oxygen dissociation curve (ODC) of hemoglobin (Hb) has been widely studied and mathematically described for nearly a century. Numerous mathematical models have been designed to predict with ever-increasing accuracy the behavior of oxygen transport by Hb in differing conditions of pH, carbon dioxide, temperature, Hb levels, and…

Three decades of research into the "chemical imbalance" theory of mental disorders failed to pan out. The biological causes of most mental disorders remain unknown. However, it is now well understood that psychiatric drugs work by perturbing neurotransmitter systems, and that the brain, in response to this blocking of normal function, undergoes a…

Because learned associations are quickly renewed following extinction, the extinction process must include processes other than unlearning. However, reinforcement learning models, such as the temporal difference reinforcement learning (TDRL) model, treat extinction as an unlearning of associated value and are thus unable to capture renewal. TDRL…

The formation of many forms of long-term memory requires several molecular mechanisms including regulation of gene expression. The mechanisms directing transcription require not only activation of individual transcription factors but also recruitment of transcriptional coactivators. CBP and p300 are transcriptional coactivators that interact with…

A practical hands-on course encompassing enzyme purification, biochemical characterization, and crystallization that completed the course work of 350 second-year bachelor students enrolled in molecular biology/biochemistry was given at the Universite Louis Pasteur of Strasbourg (France). The experimental part of the practical dealt entirely with…

The effect of psychochemicals on the higher central nervous system, and recent theories regarding drug addiction are discussed. The effect of drugs upon each individual is different. Many drugs have no effect on the brain because of a blood-brain barrier. However, alterations in the rate and character of one's metabolic pattern can lead to…

The paper summarizes experimental evidence supporting a neurological theory which posits that autism, at least partially, represents a disruptive overactivation of hypersensitization of neurohormone systems in the brain, such as brain opioids. These substances modulate social-emotional processes. (Author/DB)

Analysis of cerebrospinal fluid of 22 psychotic children, 22 normal controls, and Ss with mental retardation, progressive encephalopathy, or meningitis revealed that psychotic Ss had raised levels of homovanillic acid. Thirteen Ss diagnosed as autistic showed isolated inrease of this metabolite. Increased concentration of mongamines was not…

Theoretical model suggests antigen-sensitive cells produce antibodies only when two antigenic determinants are recognized, and explains self-nonself discrimination by antibody system. Specific antigen-sensitive cells accumulate in absence of foreign antigens and co-operate to induce antibodies if antigen enter the body; but antigen-sensitive cells…