Characterization of a Novel Proteinous Toxin from Sea Anemone Actineria villosa.

The sea anemone Actineria villosa expresses a lethal protein toxin. We isolated a novel 120-kDa protein, Avt120, from partially purified toxin and found it to possess extremely strong lethal activity. The 3,453-bp Avt120 gene translates to a 995-amino acid protein. The 50% lethal dose (LD(50)) of purified Avt120 in mice was 85.17 ng. Among several tested cell lines, Colo205 cells were most sensitive to Avt120: 50% of them were damaged by 38.4 ng/mL Avt120. Avt120 exerted ATP degradation activity (10 μmol ATP h(-1) mg(-1)), which was strongly inhibited by ganglioside GM1 to decrease the cytotoxicity of Avt120

Comparing the Functional Independence Measure and the interRAI/MDS for use in the functional assessment of older adults: a review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The rehabilitation of older persons is often complicated by increased frailty and medical complexity - these in turn present challenges for the development of health information systems. Objective investigation and comparison of the effectiveness of geriatric rehabilitation services requires information systems that are comprehensive, reliable, valid, and sensitive to clinically relevant changes in older persons. The Functional Independence Measure is widely used in rehabilitation settings - in Canada this is used as the central component of the National Rehabilitation Reporting System of the Canadian Institute of Health Information. An alternative system has been developed by the interRAI consortium. We conducted a literature review to compare the development and measurement properties of these two systems.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>English language literature published between 1983 (initial development of the FIM) and 2008 was searched using Medline and CINAHL databases, and the reference lists of retrieved articles. Relevant articles were summarized and charted using the criteria proposed by Streiner. Additionally, attention was paid to the ability of the two systems to address issues particularly relevant to older rehabilitation clients, such as medical complexity, comorbidity, and responsiveness to small but clinically meaningful improvements.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In total, 66 articles were found that met the inclusion criteria. The majority of FIM articles studied inpatient rehabilitation settings; while the majority of interRAI/MDS articles focused on nursing home settings. There is evidence supporting the reliability of both instruments. There were few articles that investigated the construct validity of the interRAI/MDS.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><b>A</b>dditional psychometric research is needed on both the FIM and MDS, especially with regard to their use in different settings and with different client groups.</p

Improvement of energy expenditure prediction from heart rate during running

We aimed to develop new equations that predict exercise-induced energy expenditure (EE) more accurately than previous ones during running by including new parameters as fitness level, body composition and/or running intensity in addition to heart rate (HR). Original equations predicting EE were created from data obtained during three running intensities (25%, 50% and 70% of HR reserve) performed by 50 subjects. Five equations were conserved according to their accuracy assessed from error rates, interchangeability and correlations analyses: one containing only basic parameters, two containing VO2max or speed at VO2max and two including running speed with or without HR. Equations accuracy was further tested in an independent sample during a 40 min validation test at 50% of HR reserve. It appeared that: (1) the new basic equation was more accurate than pre-existing equations (R2 0.809 versus. 0,737 respectively); (2) the prediction of EE was more accurate with the addition of VO2max (R2 = 0.879); and (3) the equations containing running speed were the most accurate and were considered to have good agreement with indirect calorimetry. In conclusion, EE estimation during running might be significantly improved by including running speed in the predictive models, a parameter readily available with treadmill or GPS