The Bacterial Fimbrial Tip Acts as a Mechanical Force Sensor

The subunits that constitute the bacterial adhesive complex located at the tip of the fimbria form a hook-chain that acts as a rapid force-sensitive anchor at high flow

Ultraschallbefunde bei einer Kuh mit extraskelettalem chondroblastischem Osteosarkom am Hals

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden die klinischen, sonographischen und pathologisch-anatomischen Befunde bei einer 5jährigen Braunviehkuh mit einem chondroblastischen Osteosarkom am Hals beschrieben. Die Kuh wies eine ca. 30 x 30 x 30 cm grosse, derbe, nicht schmerzhafte Umfangsvermehrung im unteren Bereich der linken Halsseite auf, die sich auch auf die rechte Halsseite erstreckte und sonographisch als gekammerte Struktur mit hyperechogenen Septen und echogenem Inhalt erschien. Aufgrund der histologischen Untersuchung einer Biopsie wurde die Diagnose chondroblastisches Osteosarkom gestellt, welche bei der postmortalen Untersuchung bestätigt werden konnte. ABSTRACT: This case report describes the clinical, ultrasonographic and pathological findings in a five-year-old Swiss Braunvieh cow with extraskeletal chondroblastic osteosarcoma of the neck region. The cow was referred because of a firm, non-painful swelling, approximately 25 cm in diameter, which was situated mainly on the lower left side of the neck but extended to the right. Ultrasonographic examination of the mass revealed a chambered structure containing echoic material that was separated by hyperechoic septa. Chondroblastic osteosarcoma was diagnosed based on histological evaluation of a biopsy sample, and the diagnosis was confirmed by postmortem examination

Performance of sequential arm movements with and without advance knowledge of motor pathways in Parkinson's disease

Patients with Parkinson's disease are slower than normal subjects in executing sequential arm movements, and their bradykinesia worsens as the execution of motor sequences progresses. In parkinsonian and normal subjects, we studied the execution of two types of fast sequential arm movements. The subjects had to perform a motor sequence following with their arm a path marked by six targets on a screen, In one experimental condition, they performed the motor sequence without advance knowledge of its path and executed each submovement in response to the consecutive appearance of the targets on the screen (unknown motor sequences). In the other condition, all the targets appeared simultaneously on the screen before the subject moved, and the subject internally determined when to execute each submovement (known motor sequences). Patients were slower than normal subjects in executing both sequences, Patients and normal subjects were faster in executing known than unknown sequences, but the patients' percentage of total movement time diminished less. During the unknown condition, both groups tended to lengthen submovement duration whereas, during the known condition, both groups tended to correct this trend. Patients performed submovements during both sequences with longer acceleration phases. The submovement symmetry ratio of the velocity profile changed according to the direction of movement (up or down). We conclude that these findings depend mainly on the mode of movement execution. They also suggest that patients with Parkinson's disease have more difficulty in executing internally determined than externally triggered sequential movements

Obstetrical implications in multiple pregnancies.

In the present study 90 multiple pregnancies were examined. These were subdivided on the basis of the number of embryos involved (74 twins, 10 triplets, 6 quintuplets) and on whether they were followed at our clinic for the entire pregnancy or not. In each group we analysed certain variables, calculating the respective mean values and standard deviations. We used the ANOVA test to discriminate the eventual differences in the means of the variables analysed, operating a p < 0.05 significance value. In addition, significant differences were analysed by the test of Contrasts (Scheffe F-test). The concept that emerged from the data investigated is that careful management of these pregnancies, carried out in high-level structures, can reduce the incidence of complications on both the maternal and fetal side and thus prevent "minimal brain damage" in the newborn

AUTOIMMUNE THROMBOCYTOPENIC PURPURA IN PREGNANCY: MATERNAL RISK FACTORS PREDICTIVE OF NEONATAL THROMBOCYTOPENIA

Pregnancy in ATP women is not unusual. The problem of this association concerns the possibility of disease transmission to the fetus due to the crossing of maternal antiplatelet antibodies through the placenta. Maternal risk factors predictive of neonatal thrombocytopenia, can be identified as follows: severe thrombocytopenia, previous splenectomy, high titre of PA-IgG and/or SPB-IgG. In 63 pregnancies in ATP patients, we have evaluated whether the above maternal risk factors, considered in the third trimester, can provide useful criteria for the prediction of neonatal thrombocytopenia. In the third trimester, the distribution of maternal risk factors was as follows: 0 in 7 cases, 1 in 27 cases, 2 in 15 cases, 3 in 12 cases, 4 in 2 cases. From a statistical evaluation, the neonatal platelet values and the maternal risk factors seem inversely correlated (r -0.437; p = 0.0005). In particular, neonatal and maternal platelet count correlated positively (r = 0.249; p = 0.025); moreover, neonatal platelet count correlated negatively with Splenectomy (r = -0.209; p = 0.05), PA-IgG (r = -0.401; p < 0.0005) and SPB-IgG (r = -0.338; p < 0.005). We tried to apply a multiple regression model for all the above parameters which appears statistically significant (p = 0.001); the variability was about 30%. This regression model could be validated if applied to a larger number of cases, and it could represent an alternative to the invasive methods used for the diagnosis of neonatal thrombocytopenia

Quality control of disulfide bond formation in pilus subunits by the chaperone FimC

Type 1 pili from uropathogenic Escherichia coli are filamentous, noncovalent protein complexes mediating bacterial adhesion to the host tissue. All structural pilus subunits are homologous proteins sharing an invariant disulfide bridge. Here we show that disulfide bond formation in the unfolded subunits, catalyzed by the periplasmic oxidoreductase DsbA, is required for subunit recognition by the assembly chaperone FimC and for FimC-catalyzed subunit folding. FimC thus guarantees quantitative disulfide bond formation in each of the up to 3,000 subunits of the pilus. The X-ray structure of the complex between FimC and the main pilus subunit FimA and the kinetics of FimC-catalyzed FimA folding indicate that FimC accelerates folding of pilus subunits by lowering their topological complexity. The kinetic data, together with the measured in vivo concentrations of DsbA and FimC, predict an in vivo half-life of 2 s for oxidative folding of FimA in the periplasm