“Hot standards” for the thermoacidophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus

Within the archaea, the thermoacidophilic crenarchaeote Sulfolobus solfataricus has become an important model organism for physiology and biochemistry, comparative and functional genomics, as well as, more recently also for systems biology approaches. Within the Sulfolobus Systems Biology (“SulfoSYS”)-project the effect of changing growth temperatures on a metabolic network is investigated at the systems level by integrating genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic and enzymatic information for production of a silicon cell-model. The network under investigation is the central carbohydrate metabolism. The generation of high-quality quantitative data, which is critical for the investigation of biological systems and the successful integration of the different datasets, derived for example from high-throughput approaches (e.g., transcriptome or proteome analyses), requires the application and compliance of uniform standard protocols, e.g., for growth and handling of the organism as well as the “–omics” approaches. Here, we report on the establishment and implementation of standard operating procedures for the different wet-lab and in silico techniques that are applied within the SulfoSYS-project and that we believe can be useful for future projects on Sulfolobus or (hyper)thermophiles in general. Beside established techniques, it includes new methodologies like strain surveillance, the improved identification of membrane proteins and the application of crenarchaeal metabolomics

Thyroid hemiagenesis with isthmic agenesis: A case report with review of the literature

Thyroid hemiagenesis (THG) is a rare congenital anomaly in which one lobe of thyroid gland fails to develop. Agenesis may be unilateral, total or isthmic. Left thyroid lobe is commonly involved than right lobe in hemiagenesis. Clinically patients can be euthyroid, hypothyroid or hyperthyroid. Often it is diagnosed as an incidental finding during ultrasonography (USG) study of neck, which easily diagnose this condition. Actual incidence of THG is unknown, most cases are diagnosed in patients admitted for thyroid scan or thyroid surgery because of suspicion of other thyroid abnormalities. This explains high frequency of association of hemiagenesis with other thyroid abnormalities such as multinodular goiter, adenoma, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, chronic thyroiditis, and carcinoma. We report a case of 58-year-old male patient detected to have hemiagenesis of left thyroid lobe and isthmus when USG neck was performed for carcinoma right buccal mucosa with metastatic cervical lymphadenopathy

Early diagnosis of slipped capital femoral epiphysis on magnetic resonance imaging: A case report with review of literature

Slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) is a common hip condition occurring in adolescents, with a prevalence of 10 cases per 100,000 children. It usually affects younger age group from 10 to 17 years. The condition is usually found to be coexistent with various other conditions such as obesity, growth surges, and endocrine disorders such as hypothyroidism, growth hormone supplementation, hypogonadism, and pan-hypopituitarism. Patients present with limping and a poorly localized pain in the hip, groin, thigh, or knee. Diagnosis of the condition is often delayed due to its nonassociation with trauma and hence increases the chances of developing various complications such as avascular necrosis, chondrolysis and deformity. Majority of researches of SCFE are from Europe and North America, while studies in Asian populations are rare. Delay in diagnosis of SCFE is usually due to patients presenting with knee pain. Imaging can thus aid in early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of the disease, which in turn reduces incidence of deformity and disability in the affected children. Bilateral hip radiography - anteroposterior and frog′s-leg lateral views and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are the radiological techniques that help in early diagnosis. MRI detects early physeal changes of both preslip and SCFE even when radiographs and computed tomography are normal. MRI should be routinely used to diagnose early SCFE in preslip stage to avoid further complications

Structure of the complex of trypsin with a highly potent synthetic inhibitor at 0.97 Å resolution

The structure of the complex formed between bovine -trypsin and the highly potent synthetic inhibitor 2-{3'-[5'-methoxy-2'-(N-p-diaminomethylphenyl)amido]-1'-pyrido}-5-(N-2''-t-butylethanol)amidobenzoic acid (C<SUB>28</SUB>H<SUB>32</SUB>N<SUB>5</SUB>O<SUB>6</SUB>) has been determined at 0.97 Åresolution. X-ray intensity data were collected to 0.97 Å under cryocooled conditions. The structure was refined anisotropically using REFMAC5 and SHELX-97 to R<SUB>cryst</SUB> factors of 13.4 and 12.6% and R<SUB>free</SUB> factors of 15.7 and 16.3%, respectively. Several regions of the main chain and side chains that have not been previously observed were clearly defined in the present structure. H atoms are indicated as significant peaks in an |F<SUB>o</SUB> - F<SUB>c</SUB>| difference map, which accounts for an estimated 35% of all H atoms at the 2.5 σlevel. The C, N and O atoms are definitively differentiated in the electron-density maps. The amido part of the inhibitor occupies the specificity pocket and the remainder fills the remaining part of the ligand-binding cleft and interacts with the enzyme through an extensive network of hydrogen bonds. The inhibitor distorts the stereochemistry of the catalytic triad, Ser195-His57-Asp102, thereby blocking the proton-relay process of the active site by preventing the formation of the crucial hydrogen bond between His57 N<SUP>δ1</SUP> and Asp102 O<SUP>δ 1</SUP>