Expression of mutant cFLIP-L proteins with a deletion or mutations in the NLS and NES confers resistance to Fas-mediated apoptosis, as does wt-FLIP-L, but they do not enhance Wnt signaling, which suggests an important role of the C-terminus of cFLIP-L in Wnt-signaling modulation. When wt-FLIP-L is expressed in the cytoplasm JNK-IN-8 by conjugation with exogenous NES (NES-FLIP-L), Wnt signaling is not enhanced, whereas the NES-FLIP-L increases cytoplasmic. beta-catenin as efficiently as wt-FLIP-L.cFLIP-L physically interacts with the reporter plasmid for Wnt signaling, but not with the control plasmid. These results suggest a role for nuclear cFLIP-L in the modulation of Wnt signaling.”
“This

study was designed to examine antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities of red and yellow forms of Melampyrum barbatum L. In this study, we report the results concerning flower and leaf antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase, catalase, guaiacol peroxidase and glutathione peroxidase), reduced glutathione quantity, flavonoids, photosynthetic pigments and soluble protein contents and quantities of malonyldialdehyde,

(center dot)OH and O(2)(center dot-) radicals; total antioxidant capacity was determined by FRAP (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power) method and scavenger activity by DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-pycril-hydrasil radical) method. Lipofuscin ‘plant age pigments’ were also determined. According selleck to our results, flowers of the red form of M. barbatum exhibited the highest antioxidant capacity. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.”
“The study of interrelationships between soil structure and its functional properties is complicated by the fact that the quantitative description of soil structure is challenging. Soil scientists have tackled this challenge by taking advantage of approaches such as fractal

geometry, which Selleckchem Temsirolimus describes soil architectural complexity through a scaling exponent (D) relating mass and numbers of particles/aggregates to particle/aggregate size. Typically, soil biologists use empirical indices such as mean weight diameters (MWD) and percent of water stable aggregates (WSA), or the entire size distribution, and they have successfully related these indices to key soil features such as C and N dynamics and biological promoters of soil structure. Here, we focused on D, WSA and MWD and we tested whether: D estimated by the exponent of the power law of number-size distributions is a good and consistent correlate of MWD and WSA; D carries information that differs from MWD and WSA; the fraction of variation in D that is uncorrelated with MWD and WSA is related to soil chemical and biological properties that are thought to establish interdependence with soil structure (e.g., organic C, N, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi).