ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether Tai Chi Chuan or ballroom dancing promotes better performance with respect to postural balance, gait, and postural transfer among elderly people. METHODS: We evaluated 76 elderly individuals who were divided into two groups: the Tai Chi Chuan Group and the Dance Group. The subjects were tested using the NeuroCom Balance Master¯ force platform system with the following protocols: static balance tests (the Modified Clinical Tests of Sensory Interaction on Balance and Unilateral Stance) and dynamic balance tests (the Walk Across Test and Sit-to-stand Transfer Test). RESULTS: In the Modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction on Balance, the Tai Chi Chuan Group presented a lower sway velocity on a firm surface with open and closed eyes, as well as on a foam surface with closed eyes. In the Modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction on Unilateral Stance, the Tai Chi Chuan Group presented a lower sway velocity with open eyes, whereas the Dance Group presented a lower sway velocity with closed eyes. In the Walk Across Test, the Tai Chi Chuan Group presented faster walking speeds than those of the Dance Group. In the Sit-to-stand Transfer Test, the Tai Chi Chuan Group presented shorter transfer times from the sitting to the standing position, with less sway in the final standing position. CONCLUSION: The elderly individuals who practiced Tai Chi Chuan had better bilateral balance with eyes open on both types of surfaces compared with the Dance Group. The Dance Group had better unilateral postural balance with eyes closed. The Tai Chi Chuan Group had faster walking speeds, shorter transfer times, and better postural balance in the final standing position during the Sit-to-stand Test. .
Subject(s)
/metabolism , Cyclic AMP/metabolism , Dictyostelium/enzymology , Dictyostelium/genetics , GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gi-Go/metabolism , Protozoan Proteins/metabolism , /genetics , Dictyostelium/growth & development , Dictyostelium/metabolism , Down-Regulation/drug effects , Extracellular Matrix Proteins/genetics , Extracellular Matrix Proteins/metabolism , Folic Acid/pharmacology , /deficiency , /genetics , /metabolism , GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gi-Go/deficiency , GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits, Gi-Go/genetics , Mutation , Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1/genetics , Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1/metabolism , Protozoan Proteins/genetics , Signal Transduction , Spores, Protozoan/enzymology , Spores, Protozoan/genetics , Vitamin B Complex/pharmacologyABSTRACT
Peptide: N- glycanase (PNGase) enzyme is found throughout eukaryotes and plays an important role in the misfolded glycoprotein degradation pathway. This communication reports the expression patterns of the pngase transcript (as studied by the analysis of β- galactosidase reporter driven by the putative pngase promoter) and protein (as studied by the analysis of β- galactosidase reporter expressed under the putative pngase promoter as a fusion with the pngase ORF) during development and further elucidated the developmental defects of the cells lacking PNGase (png-). The results show that the DdPNGase is an essential protein expressed throughout development and β- galactosidase activity was present in the anterior part of the slug. In structures derived from a null mutant for pngase, the prestalk A and AO patterning was expanded and covered a large section of the prespore region of the slugs. When developed as chimeras with wild type, the png- cells preferentially populate the prestalk/stalk region. When the mutants were mixed in higher ratios, they also tend to form the prespore/spore cells. The results emphasize that the DdPNGase has an essential role during development and the mutants have defects in a system that changes the physiological dynamics in the prespore cells. DdPNGase play a role in development both during aggregation and in the differentiation of prespore cells.
Subject(s)
Cell Differentiation/genetics , Chimera , Dictyostelium/genetics , Dictyostelium/growth & development , Galactosidases/biosynthesis , Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental , Gene Knockout Techniques , Peptide-N4-(N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminyl) Asparagine Amidase/biosynthesis , Peptide-N4-(N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminyl) Asparagine Amidase/genetics , Spores/cytology , Spores/geneticsABSTRACT
Microorganisms with large genomes are commonly the subjects of single-round partial sequencing of cDNA, generating expressed sequence tags (ESTs). Usually there is a great distance between gene discovery by EST projects and submission of amino acid sequences to public databases. We analyzed the relationship between available ESTs and protein sequences and used the sequences available in the secondary database, clusters of orthologous groups (COG), to investigate ESTs from eight microorganisms of medical and/or economic relevance, selecting for candidate ESTs that may be further pursued for protein characterization. The organisms chosen were Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, Dictyostelium discoideum, Fusarium graminearum, Plasmodium yoelii, Magnaporthe grisea, Emericella nidulans, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Eimeria tenella, which have more than 10,000 ESTs available in dbEST. A total of 77,114 protein sequences from COG were used, corresponding to 3,201 distinct genes. At least 212 of these were capable of identifying candidate ESTs for further studies (E. tenella). This number was extended to over 700 candidate ESTs (C. reinhardtii, F. graminearum). Remarkably, even the organism that presents the highest number of ESTs corresponding to known proteins, P. yoelii, showed a considerable number of candidate ESTs for protein characterization (477). For some organisms, such as P. brasiliensis, M. grisea and F. graminearum, bioinformatics has allowed for automatic annotation of up to about 20 of the ESTs that did not correspond to proteins already characterized in the organism. In conclusion, 4093 ESTs from these eight organisms that are homologous to COG genes were selected as candidates for protein characterization