Category: ALL THEM BONES
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Three mechanisms predominate for beneficial effects of smoking: the ‘anti-estrogenic effect’ of smoking; alterations in prostaglandin production; and stimulation of nicotinic cholinergic receptors in the central nervous system
Beneficial effects of nicotine and cigarette smoking: the real, the possible and the spurious Baron JA. Beneficial effects of nicotine and cigarette smoking: the real, the possible and the spurious. Br Med Bull. 1996 Jan;52(1):58-73. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.bmb.a011533. PMID: 8746297.
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Halteres, the dumbbells of Ancient Greece
Halteres (Greek: ἁλτῆρες, from “ἅλλομαι” – hallomai, “leap, spring”; cf. “ἅλμα” – halma, “leaping”) were a type of DUMBBELLS used in Ancient Greece. In Ancient Greek sports, halteres were used as lifting weights, and also as weights in their version of the long jump. Halteres were held in both hands to allow an athlete to jump a greater distance; they may have been dropped after the first or…
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Halteres are a pair of small club-shaped organs on the body of two orders of flying insects that provide information about body rotations during flight
Halteres (singular halter or haltere) (from Ancient Greek: ἁλτῆρες, hand-held weights to give an impetus in leaping) are a pair of small club-shaped organs on the body of two orders of flying insects that provide information about body rotations during flight. Insects of the large order Diptera (flies) have halteres which evolved from a pair of ancestral hindwings, while males of the much smaller order Strepsiptera (stylops) have halteres which evolved from…
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Structure of DNA repair protein XRCC4 aka X-ray repair cross-complementing protein 4
XRCC4 protein is a TETRAMER that resembles the shape of a DUMBBELL containing two globular ends separated by a long, thin stalk. The tetramer is composed of two dimers, and each dimer is made up of two similar subunits. The first subunit (L) contains amino acid residues 1 – 203 and has a longer stalk than the second…
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Silicene is a two-dimensional allotrope of silicon, with a hexagonal honeycomb structure similar to that of graphene
Contrary to graphene, silicene is not flat, but has a periodically buckled topology; the coupling between layers in silicene is much stronger than in multilayered graphene; and the oxidized form of silicene, 2D silica, has a very different chemical structure from graphene oxide. History Although theorists had speculated about the existence and possible properties of free-standing silicene, researchers…
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Weddellite and Whewellite
Weddellite (CaC2O4·2H2O) is a mineral form of calcium oxalate named for occurrences of millimeter-sized crystals found in bottom sediments of the Weddell Sea, off Antarctica. Occasionally, weddellite partially dehydrates to whewellite, forming excellent pseudomorphs of grainy whewellite after weddellite’s short tetragonal dipyramids. It was first described in 1936 but only named in 1942. Structural properties Weddellite, or calcium oxalate dihydrate, crystallises in a tetragonal system: the classic crystal…
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Diamond Interchanges
Dumbbell For the at-grade intersection design analogous to dumbbell and dogbone interchanges, see Bowtie (road). The ramp intersections may also be configured as a pair of roundabouts to create a type of diamond interchange often called a dumbbell interchange (due to its aerial resemblance to a dumbbell), and sometimes called a double roundabout interchange. Because roundabouts can generally handle traffic with fewer approach…
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Pelger–Huët anomaly, congenital and acquired, also pince-nez, laminopathy and a little ebola
Pelger–Huët anomaly is a blood laminopathy associated with the lamin B receptor, wherein several types of white blood cells (neutrophils and eosinophils) have nuclei with unusual shape (being bilobed, peanut or dumbbell-shaped instead of the normal trilobed shape) and unusual structure (coarse and lumpy). It is a genetic disorder with an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern. Heterozygotes are clinically normal, although their neutrophils may be mistaken for immature cells which may cause…
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Vampyrella mitosis
Orthomitosis in Vampyrella occurs late in the cyst stage. Neither microtubule organizing centers (MTOCs) nor centrioles are present during mitosis. While in the trophozoite life stage and early cyst stage, the cell is in interphase. Heterochromatin decrease upon entering the cyst stage as the cell prepares for mitosis. The spherical nuclei increase in size from 1.5-2.0 µm in…
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Quasiracemate – Racemic mixture
There are four ways to crystallize a racemate; three of which H. W. B. Roozeboom had distinguished by 1899 and this is one of them. QuasiracemateA quasiracemate is a co-crystal of two similar but distinct compounds, one of which is left-handed and the other right-handed. Although chemically different, they are sterically similar (isosteric) and are still able…
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Staphylokinase (SAK) aka staphylococcal fibrinolysin or Müller’s factor
Staphylokinase (SAK; also known as staphylococcal fibrinolysin or Müller’s factor) is a protein produced by Staphylococcus aureus. It contains 136 amino acid residues and has a molecular mass of 15kDa. Synthesis of staphylokinase occurs in late exponential phase. It is similar to streptokinase. Fibrinolysin is an enzyme derived from plasma of bovine origin (plasmin) or extracted from cultures of certain bacteria. (more below) Staphylokinase is positively…
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Reactive arthritis aka Reiter’s syndrome
Reportedly triggered by everything from food poisoning to bug bites to STDs to hormones (estrogen, relaxin) Mnemonic: Can't See, Can't Pee, Can't Climb a Tree
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DREAM complex
The dimerization partner, RB-like, E2F and multi-vulval class B (DREAM) complex is a protein complex responsible for the regulation of cell cycle-dependent gene expression. The complex is evolutionarily conserved, although some of its components vary from species to species. In humans, the key proteins in the complex are RBL1 (p107) and RBL2 (p130), both of which are homologs of RB (p105) and bind repressive E2F…
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Retinoblastoma protein, dysfunctional in several cancers, belongs to the pocket protein family and is a recruiter of chromatin remodeling enzymes
The retinoblastoma protein (protein name abbreviated Rb; gene name abbreviated Rb, RB or RB1) is a tumor suppressor protein that is dysfunctional in several major cancers. One function of pRb is to prevent excessive cell growth by inhibiting cell cycle progression until a cell is ready to divide. When the cell is ready to divide, pRb is phosphorylated, inactivating it, and the cell cycle is allowed to progress. It is also a…
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Cathepsin G
Cathepsin G plays an important role in eliminating intracellular pathogens and breaking down tissues at inflammatory sites, as well as in anti-inflammatory response
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Acid phosphatase (systematic name phosphate-monoester phosphohydrolase (acid optimum)) is an enzyme that frees attached phosphoryl groups from other molecules during digestion
Acid phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.2, systematic name phosphate-monoester phosphohydrolase (acid optimum)) is an enzyme that frees attached phosphoryl groups from other molecules during digestion. It can be further classified as a phosphomonoesterase. It is stored in lysosomes and functions when these fuse with endosomes, which are acidified while they function; therefore, it has an acid pH optimum. This enzyme is present in many animal and plant…
