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Novel mutations underlying argininosuccinic aciduria in Saudi Arabia

BioMed Central — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: Together, the eight mutations described by our laboratory, encompass >90% of ASAuria patients in Saudi Arabia and add to about 45 other ASAuria mutations reported worldwide. (Source: BioMed Central)

YODA: Software to facilitate high-throughput analysis of chronological life span, growth rate, and survival in budding yeast

BioMed Central — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: We estimate that use of YODA as described here reduces the effort and resources required to measure chronological life span and analyze the resulting data by at least 15-fold. (Source: BioMed Central)

Use of rasch methodology to develop a short version of the Health Related Quality of life for Eating Disorders questionnaire: a prospective study

BioMed Central — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: Two main factors, social maladjustment and mental health and functionality, explain the majority of HeRQoLEDv2 scores. The shortened version maintains good psychometric properties, though it must be validated in independent samples. (Source: BioMed Central)

Group motivational intervention in overweight/obese patients in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in the primary healthcare area

BioMed Central — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

DiscussionBy addressing currently unanswered questions regarding the maintenance in weight loss in obesity/overweight, upon the expected completion of participant follow-up in 2012, the IMOAP trial should document for the first time the benefits of a motivational intervention as a treatment tool of weight loss in a primary care setting.ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01006213 (Source: BioMed Central)

Effects of UVB-induced oxidative stress on protein expression and specific protein oxidation in normal human epithelial keratinocytes: a proteomic approach

BioMed Central — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: Despite a wide and well orchestrated cellular response, a relevant oxidation of specific proteins concomitantly occurs in UVB-irradiated human epithelial Keratinocytes. These modified (i.e. likely dysfunctional) proteins might result in cell homeostasis impairment and therefore eventually promote cellular degeneration, senescence or carcinogenesis. (Source: BioMed Central)

Encephalomyocarditis virus infection in an Italian zoo

BioMed Central — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

A fatal Encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) infection epidemic involving fifteen primates occurred between October 2006 and February 2007 at the Natura Viva Zoo. This large open-field zoo park located near Lake Garda in Northern Italy hosts one thousand animals belonging to one hundred and fifty different species, including various lemur species. This lemur collection is the most relevant and rich in Italy. A second outbreak between September and November 2008 involved three lemurs. In all cases, the clinical signs were sudden deaths generally without any evident symptoms or only with mild unspecific clinical signs. Gross pathologic changes were characterized by myocarditis (diffuse or focal pallor of the myocardium), pulmonary congestion, emphysema, oedema and thoracic fluid. The EMCV was i...

A predictive computational model of the kinetic mechanism of stimulus-induced transducer methylation and feedback regulation through CheY in archaeal phototaxis and chemotaxis

BioMed Central — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: We provide a kinetic model for signal processing in photo- and chemotaxis in the archaeon H. salinarum suggesting an essential role of receptor cooperativity, antagonistic reversible methylation, and a CheY-dependent feedback on transducer demethylation. (Source: BioMed Central)

Different methods for administering 17beta-estradiol to ovariectomized rats result in opposite effects on ischemic brain damage

BioMed Central — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: : The results indicate that different estrogen treatment regimens result in diametrically different effects on cerebral ischemia. Thus the effects of estrogens on ischemic damage seem to be concentration-related, with a biphasic, or even more complex, dose-response relation. These findings have implications for the design of animal experiments and also have a bearing on the estrogen doses used for peri-menopausal hormone replacement therapy. (Source: BioMed Central)

Global and unbiased detection of splice junctions from RNA-seq data

BioMed Central — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

We have developed a new strategy for de novo prediction of splice junctions in short read RNA-seq data, suitable for detection of novel splicing events and chimeric transcripts. When tested on mouse RNA-seq data, over 31,000 splice events were predicted, of which 88% bridged between two regions separated by at most 100 kb, and 74% connected two exons of the same RefSeq gene. Our method also reports genomic rearrangements such as insertions and deletions. (Source: BioMed Central)

Reduced uptake of the proliferation-seeking radiotracer technetium-99m-labelled pentavalent dimercaptosuccinic acid in a 47-year-old woman with severe breast epithelial hyperplasia taking ibuprofen: a case report

BioMed Central — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusion: In proliferating breast lesions, scintigraphically displayed reduction in Technetium-99m-labelled pentavalent dimercaptosuccinic acid uptake may indicate inhibition by ibuprofen in the pathway of malignant epithelial cell transformation. (Source: BioMed Central)

Legionella pneumophila pangenome reveals strain-specific virulence factors

BioMed Central — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: The dispensable genome disclosed by the pangenomic analysis seems to be a reservoir of new traits that have mainly been acquired by horizontal gene transfer and could confer evolutionary advantages over strains lacking them. (Source: BioMed Central)

High-throughput analysis of chromosome translocations and other genome rearrangements in epithelial cancers

BioMed Central — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Genes that are broken or fused by structural changes to the genome are an important class of mutation in the leukemias and sarcomas but have been largely overlooked in the common epithelial cancers. Large-scale sequencing is changing our perceptions of the cancer genome, and it is now being applied to structural changes, using the 'paired end' strategy. This reveals more clearly than before the extent to which many cancer genomes are rearranged and how much these rearrangements contribute to the mutational burden of epithelial tumors. In particular, there are probably many fusion genes, analogous to those found in leukemias, to be found in common cancers, such as breast carcinoma, and some of these will prove to be important in cancer diagnosis and treatment. (Source: BioMed Central)

Efficient inhibition of hepatitis B virus replication by hepatitis delta virus ribozymes delivered by targeting retrovirus

BioMed Central — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: These data suggest that this system provides a new approach for targeting hepatocytes and has a great potential in gene therapy for HBV infection. (Source: BioMed Central)

Chromosomal evolution in the plant family Solanaceae

BioMed Central — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: The Solanaceae has experienced chromosomal changes at a modest rate compared with other families and the rates are likely conserved across different lineages of the family. Chromosomal inversions occur at a consistently higher rate than do translocations. Further, we find evidences for non-random positioning of the chromosomal rearrangement breakpoints. This finding is consistent with the similar finding in mammals, where hot spots for chromosomal breakages have apparently played a significant role in shaping genome evolution. Finally, by utilizing multiple genome comparisons we were able to reconstruct the most likely genome configuration for a number of now-extinct progenitor species that gave rise to the extant solanaceous species used in this research. The results from th...

A rare case of chronic myeloid leukemia with secondary chromosomal changes including partial trisomy 17q21 to 17qter and partial monosomy of 16p13.3

BioMed Central — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusion: Here a novel and cytogenetically unique case of a Ph chromosome positive CML clinically in chronic phase is reported, having complex secondary chromosomal aberrations. Thus, CML patients with complex chromosomal changes are nonetheless treatable by Imatinib. (Source: BioMed Central)

Nonmuscle Myosin II helps regulate synaptic vesicle mobility at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction

BioMed Central — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusion: Our results provide evidence that Nonmuscle Myosin II is present presynaptically, is important for synaptic vesicle mobility and suggests a role for Nonmuscle Myosin II in shuttling vesicles at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction. This work begins to reveal the process by which synaptic vesicles traverse within the bouton. (Source: BioMed Central)

An extra-domiciliary method of delivering entomopathogenic fungus, Metharizium anisopliae IP 46 for controlling adult populations of the malaria vector, Anopheles arabiensis

BioMed Central — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

This study, carried out in rural Tanzania, showed that by using a concentration of 3.9 x 1010 conidia/m2, more than 95% of mosquitoes that flew in and out of the OBS died within 14days post-exposure. At least 86% infection of mosquito cadavers was recorded with a significant reduction in the probability of daily survival of exposed An. arabiensis in both treatments tested: low quantity of conidia (eave baffles plus one cotton panel; HR = 2.65, P< 0.0001) and high quantity of conidia (eave baffles plus two cotton panels; HR = 2.32, P < 0.0001). We conclude that high infection rates of entomopathogenic fungi on wild malaria vectors and possibly significant disruption of malaria transmission can be achieved if the fungus is delivered using optimally located outdoor odor-baited stations. (Sour...

Bedside adherence to clinical practice guidelines for enteral nutrition in critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation: a prospective, multi-centre, observational study

BioMed Central — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: The translation of clinical research and recommendations for enteral nutrition into routine bedside practice in critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation was satisfactory, but could probably be improved with a multidisciplinary approach. (Source: BioMed Central)

Forced unbinding of GPR17 ligands from wild type and R255I mutant receptor models through a computational approach

BioMed Central — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: These data thus suggest that, in contrast to which has been hypothesized for nucleotides, the lack of the R255 residue doesn't affect the binding of pranlukast a crucial role for R255 in binding of nucleotides to GPR17. Aromatic interactions are instead likely to play a predominant role in the recognition of pranlukast, suggesting that two different binding subsites are present on GPR17. (Source: BioMed Central)

Gender specific factors associated with having stopped smoking among in-school adolescents in Ukraine: results from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey 2005

BioMed Central — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: Our study has identified some factors that are associated with having quit smoking that are gender- or sex-specific. We believe public health programs targeting adolescent smoking should consider these factors in their design and implementation of gender sensitive interventions. (Source: BioMed Central)

High-throughput and single-cell imaging of NF-kappabeta oscillations using monoclonal cell lines

BioMed Central — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: Taken together, this simple and cost effective assay constitutes an integrated approach to infer the dynamics of NF-kappaB kinetics in single cells and cell populations. Using a single system, novel factors modulating NF-kappaB can be identified and analyzed, providing new possibilities for a wide range of applications from therapeutic discovery and understanding of disease to host-pathogen interactions. (Source: BioMed Central)

Effect of dexmedetomidine versus lorazepam on outcome in patients with sepsis: an a priori-designed analysis of the MENDS randomized controlled trial

BioMed Central — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: In this subgroup analysis, septic patients receiving dexmedetomidine had more days free of brain dysfunction and mechanical ventilation and were less likely to die than those that received a lorazepam-based sedation regimen. These results were more pronounced in septic patients than in non-septic patients. Prospective clinical studies and further preclinical mechanistic studies are needed to confirm these results.Trial Registration: NCT00095251. (Source: BioMed Central)

EVITA: a tool for the early EValuation of pharmaceutical Innovations with regard to Therapeutic Advantage

BioMed Central — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: The strength of EVITA appears to lie in its speedy assessment of the potential therapeutic advantage of a new drug for a given indication. At the same time, this approach draws attention to the typical deficits of data used for drug approval. EVITA is not intended to replace classical health technology assessment reports but rather serves as a screening tool in the sense of horizon scanning. (Source: BioMed Central)

Molecular sampling of prostate cancer: a dilemma for predicting disease progression

BioMed Central — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: The determination of the molecularly dominant tumor nodule may be limited by sampling at time of initial diagnosis, may not be present at time of initial diagnosis, or may occur as the disease progresses making the development of molecular biomarkers for prostate cancer progression challenging. (Source: BioMed Central)

Current antibody-based immunoassay algorithm failed to confirm three late-stage AIDS cases in China: case report

BioMed Central — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusion: The report indicates that current antibody-based testing algorithms may miss late-stage AIDS patients and therefore miss the opportunity for preventing these cases from further transmission. The report also implies that viral load assays is not easy to be universely applicated in developing country like China although it is helpful in diagnosing complicated cases of HIV infection, so the counselling before and after testing is imperative to the diagnosis of HIV infection and risk behavior survey on the eaxminee should be as detailed as possible. (Source: BioMed Central)

pEPito: a significantly improved non-viral episomal expression vector for mammalian cells

BioMed Central — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: The novel vector pEPito can be considered suitable as an improved vector for biotechnological applications in vitro and for non-viral gene delivery in vivo. (Source: BioMed Central)

Basal core promoters control the equilibrium between negative cofactor 2 and preinitiation complexes in human cells

BioMed Central — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: TFIIB and NC2 are global players that occupy active genes. Preinitiation complex formation is independent of core elements at the majority of genes. TATA and TATA-like elements dictate TFIIB occupancy at a subset of genes. Biochemical data support a model in which preinitiation complex but not TBP-NC2 complex formation is regulated. (Source: BioMed Central)

Infections of respiratory or abdominal origin in ICU patients: what are the differences?

BioMed Central — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

IntroductionThere are few data related to the effects of different sources of infection on outcome. We used the Sepsis Occurrence in Acutely ill Patients (SOAP) database to investigate differences in the impact of respiratory tract and abdominal sites of infection on organ failure and survival. Methods: The SOAP study was a cohort, multicenter, observational study which included data from all adult patients admitted to one of 198 participating intensive care units (ICUs) from 24 European countries during the study period. In this substudy, patients were divided into two groups depending on whether, on admission, they had abdominal infection but no respiratory infection or respiratory infection but no abdominal infection. The two groups were compared with respect to patient and infection-re...

Effectiveness of adalimumab in treating patients with ankylosing spondylitis associated with enthesitis and peripheral arthritis

BioMed Central — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: Treatment with adalimumab improved enthesitis and peripheral arthritis in patients with active AS.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00478660. (Source: BioMed Central)

Statistical evaluation of transcriptomic data generated using the Affymetrix one-cycle, two-cycle and IVT-Express RNA labelling protocols with the Arabidopsis ATH1 microarray.

BioMed Central — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: Given the unreliable nature of the highlighted probes, we caution against using data associated with the corresponding genes in analyses involving transcriptomic data generated with two-cycle amplification protocols. We have shown that the Affymetrix IVT-E labelling protocol produces data with less associated bias than the two-cycle protocol, and as such, would recommend this kit for new experiments that involve small samples. (Source: BioMed Central)

RNAstructure: software for RNA secondary structure prediction and analysis

BioMed Central — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusion: The extensions to RNAstructure serve to make RNA secondary structure prediction user-friendly. The package is available for download from the Mathews lab homepage at http://rna.urmc.rochester.edu/RNAstructure.html. (Source: BioMed Central)

Systematic analysis of off-target effects in an RNAi screen reveals microRNAs affecting sensitivity to TRAIL-induced apoptosis

BioMed Central — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: We have demonstrated a role for miR-26a, miR-145 and miR-384 in TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Further these results show that RNAi screening enriches for siRNAs with relevant off-target effects. Some of these effects can be identified by the over-representation of certain seed sequences in high-scoring siRNAs and we demonstrate the usefulness of such systematic analysis of enriched seed sequences. (Source: BioMed Central)

Calling SNPs without a reference sequence

BioMed Central — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: DIAL can be used for identification of nucleotide differences in species for which no reference sequence is available. Our main motivation is to use this tool to survey the genetic diversity of endangered species as the identified sequence differences can be used to design genotyping arrays to assist in the species' management. The DIAL source code is freely available at http://www.bx.psu.edu/miller_lab/. (Source: BioMed Central)

Inflammogenic effect of well-characterized fullerenes in inhalation and intratracheal instillation studies

BioMed Central — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusion: These data in intratracheal instillation and inhalation studies suggested that well-dispersed fullerenes do not have strong potential of neutrophil inflammation. (Source: BioMed Central)

A portable automatic cough analyser in the ambulatory assessment of cough

BioMed Central — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusion: An automated cough analyser seems to be a feasible tool for the ambulatory monitoring of cough. There is a moderate correlation between subjective and objective assessments of cough during the daytime, whereas the discrepancy in the evaluation of night-time coughing might suggest that subjective analysis is unreliable. (Source: BioMed Central)

Elevation of sputum matrix metalloproteinase-9 persists up to 6 months after smoking cessation: a research study

BioMed Central — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: Sputum MMP-9 remained elevated after 6 months of smoking cessation, which may contribute to ongoing lung damage typical of COPD. (Source: BioMed Central)

Pilot case-control investigation of risk factors for hip fractures in the urban Indian population

BioMed Central — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: In the urban Indian population, dietary calcium, vitamin D, increased body mass index, and higher activity levels have a significant protective effect on hip fracture. On the other hand, caffeine intake and decreased agility increase the risk of hip fracture. Future studies should be done in order to direct primary preventive programs for hip fracture in India. (Source: BioMed Central)

Mutagenesis analysis of the zinc-finger antiviral protein

BioMed Central — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: The integrity of the very N-terminal domain and the first and second zinc-finger motifs appear to be required for ZAP's antiviral activity. Analyses of the mutants for their abilities to interact with the target RNA and RNA helicase p72 confirmed our previous results. The mutants that bind normally to the target RNA, the exosome, and the RNA helicase p72 may be useful tools for further understanding the mechanism underlying ZAP's antiviral activity. (Source: BioMed Central)

Understanding uptake of continuous quality improvement in Indigenous primary health care: lessons from a multi-site case study of the Audit and Best Practice for Chronic Disease project

BioMed Central — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: Taking up CQI involved engaging multiple stakeholders in new relationships that could support services to construct shared meaning and purpose, operationalise key concepts and tools, and develop and embed new practices into services systems and routines. Promoting quality improvement requires a system approach and organization-wide commitment. At the organization level, a formal high-level mandate, leadership at all levels and resources to support implementation are needed. At the broader system level, governance arrangements that can fulfil a number of policy objectives related to articulating the linkages between CQI and other aspects of the regulatory, financing and performance frameworks within the health system would help articulate a role and vision for quality improveme...

Cheating does not explain selective differences at high and low relatedness in a social amoeba