Genetic factors associated with intestinal metaplasia in a high risk Singapore-Chinese population: a cohort study

BMC Gastroenterology97

Crystal, Solution and In silico Structural Studies of Dihydrodipicolinate Synthase from the Common Grapevine

Dihydrodipicolinate synthase (DHDPS) catalyzes the rate limiting step in lysine biosynthesis in bacteria and plants. The structure of DHDPS has been determined from several bacterial species and shown in most cases to form a homotetramer or dimer of dimers. However, only one plant DHDPS structure has been determined to date from the wild tobacco species, Nicotiana sylvestris (Blickling et al. (1997) J. Mol. Biol. 274, 608–621). Whilst N. sylvestris DHDPS also forms a homotetramer, the plant enzyme adopts a ‘back-to-back’ dimer of dimers compared to the ‘head-to-head’ architecture observed for bacterial DHDPS tetramers. This raises the question of whether the alternative quaternary architecture observed for N. sylvestris DHDPS is common to all plant DHDPS enzymes. Here, we describe the structure of DHDPS from the grapevine plant, Vitis vinifera, and show using analytical ultracentrifugation, small-angle X-ray scattering and X-ray crystallography that V. vinifera DHDPS forms a ‘back-to-back’ homotetramer, consistent with N. sylvestris DHDPS. This study is the first to demonstrate using both crystal and solution state measurements that DHDPS from the grapevine plant adopts an alternative tetrameric architecture to the bacterial form, which is important for optimizing protein dynamics as suggested by molecular dynamics simulations reported in this study

Vitimização por violência urbana em uma cidade de médio porte do sul do Brasil Urban violence victimization in a medium size town in south Brazil

A violência urbana afeta a vida dos indivíduos, tornando-se um problema complexo de saúde e segurança pública. Buscando avaliar a situação de violência em uma cidade de médio porte, realizou-se um estudo transversal, de base populacional, investigando a prevalência de vitimização por violência urbana para furtos, roubos, agressões e furto/roubo à residência nos últimos cinco anos e 12 meses; e o perfil das vítimas e a prevalência de notificação à polícia. Foi construído um escore a fim de medir a vitimização por pelo menos um dos tipos de violência em cada período. Na análise bruta, a associação entre a vitimização por cada tipo de violência e as variáveis independentes foi investigada através do teste de Wald para heterogeneidade e para tendência linear, quando aplicável. A Regressão de Poisson foi utilizada na análise multivariável. Foram entrevistados 2.912 indivíduos (idade > 20 anos), sendo que 16,6% destes sofreram violência no último ano e 28% nos últimos cinco anos. As maiores prevalências de vitimização foram de furto/roubo à residência (9,7%) e furto (6,0%). As principais vítimas de violência urbana foram homens e jovens. Mais da metade dos vitimizados não notificou a ocorrência por não confiar na polícia. Os achados confirmam a importância de pesquisas de vitimização além das metrópoles. As discussões sobre o tema mostram a necessidade de incrementar, executar ou criar políticas públicas de segurança e saúde em distintos contextos nacionais, sem desconsiderar cidades do interior.<br>Urban violence affects individuals' lives, and therefore it is a complex problem of public health and security. To evaluate the occurrence of violence in a medium size city, a population-based cross-sectional study was carried out to investigate: prevalence of urban violence victimization (theft, robbery, aggression, and burglary) in the period of five years and twelve months before the interview; victims' profile and prevalence of crime reporting. A score was constructed to measure global urban violence victimization, which means at least one type of violence in each period. The Wald test for heterogeneity and linear trend was used in crude analysis, to measure violence victimization and independent variables. Poisson Regression was used in multivariate analysis. The sample included 2.912 individuals (> 20 years of age) and 16.6% of them had experienced urban violence in the past year and 28.0% in the past five years. Prevalence of burglary was 9.7% and theft 6.0% in the past year. Most urban violence victims were men and youth. More than half of the victims had not reported the crime, and the reason for that was distrust in the police. These findings sustain the importance of victimization surveys in smaller cities. The debate about urban violence should include the need to develop, execute or create health and security policies in different contexts, without comprising countryside