ORK1, a potassium-selective leak channel with two pore domains cloned from Drosophila melanogaster by expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

A K+ channel gene has been cloned from Drosophila melanogaster by complementation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells defective for K+ uptake. Naturally expressed in the neuromuscular tissues of adult flies, this gene confers K+ transport capacity on yeast cells when heterologously expressed. In Xenopus laevis oocytes, expression yields an ungated K(+)-selective current whose attributes resemble the "leak" conductance thought to mediate the resting potential of vertebrate myelinated neurons but whose molecular nature has long remained elusive. The predicted protein has two pore (P) domains and four membrane-spanning helices and is a member of a newly recognized K+ channel family. Expression of the channel in flies and yeast cells makes feasible studies of structure and in vivo function using genetic approaches that are not possible in higher animals

Sound-Induced Flash Illusion is Resistant to Feedback Training

A single flash accompanied by two auditory beeps tends to be perceived as two flashes (Shams et al. Nature 408:788, 2000, Cogn Brain Res 14:147–152, 2002). This phenomenon is known as ‘sound-induced flash illusion.’ Previous neuroimaging studies have shown that this illusion is correlated with modulation of activity in early visual cortical areas (Arden et al. Vision Res 43(23):2469–2478, 2003; Bhattacharya et al. NeuroReport 13:1727–1730, 2002; Shams et al. NeuroReport 12(17):3849–3852, 2001, Neurosci Lett 378(2):76–81, 2005; Watkins et al. Neuroimage 31:1247–1256, 2006, Neuroimage 37:572–578, 2007; Mishra et al. J Neurosci 27(15):4120–4131, 2007). We examined how robust the illusion is by testing whether the frequency of the illusion can be reduced by providing feedback. We found that the sound-induced flash illusion was resistant to feedback training, except when the amount of monetary reward was made dependent on accuracy in performance. However, even in the latter case the participants reported that they still perceived illusory two flashes even though they correctly reported single flash. Moreover, the feedback training effect seemed to disappear once the participants were no longer provided with feedback suggesting a short-lived refinement of discrimination between illusory and physical double flashes rather than vanishing of the illusory percept. These findings indicate that the effect of sound on the perceptual representation of visual stimuli is strong and robust to feedback training, and provide further evidence against decision factors accounting for the sound-induced flash illusion

Cost-effectiveness of sentinel lymph node biopsy vs inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy in women with vulval cancer

background: This study examines the cost-effectiveness of sentinel lymph node biopsy, a potentially less morbid procedure, compared with inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy (IFL) among women with stage I and stage II vulval squamous cell carcinoma. methods: A model-based economic evaluation was undertaken based on clinical evidence from a systematic review of published sources. A decision tree model was developed with the structure being informed by clinical input, taking the perspective of the health-care provider. results: For overall survival for 2 years, IFL was found to be the most cost-effective option and dominated all other strategies, being the least costly and most effective. For morbidity-free related outcomes for 2 years, sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy with 99mTc and blue dye and haematoxylin & eosin (H&E) histopathology, with ultrastaging and immunohistochemistry reserved for those that test negative following H&E is likely to be the most effective approach. conclusion: SLN biopsy using 99mTc and blue dye with ultrastaging may be considered the most cost-effective strategy based on the outcome of survival free of morbidity for 2 years. The findings here also indicate that using blue dye and H&E for the identification of the SLN and the identification of metastasis, respectively, are not sensitive enough to be used on their own

Tumours in 177 pet hamsters

Background: Even though tumours are considered to occur frequently in pet hamsters, there is only a small number of scientific reports in current literature. Methods: Pathological reports from 177 hamsters were evaluated. Results: Of these, 78 were male and 75 were female. Median age of affected hamsters was 12 months (range 2–34). Integumental tumours were the most common neoplasms (62%, 109/177). As far as species was known, the number of Syrian hamsters (52%, 30/58) affected by tumours seemed to be lower than the number of affected dwarf hamsters (85%, 47/55). Tumours of the hematopoietic system were the second most frequently neoplasms (17%, 30/177). Relative number of neoplasms of the endocrine system, tumours of the digestive system (1.7%, 3/177) and other tumours (4%, 7/177 each) was low. The majority of integumental tumours were epithelial (66%; 91/126). Conclusion: This study aimed to analyze data from veterinary surgeries and pathological institutes about the occurrence of spontaneous tumours in Syrian hamsters and dwarf hamsters to give information about the frequency of tumours, prognosis and survival time. This is the first study about tumours in pet hamsters in Germany so far

Effectiveness of a multidimensional approach for prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia in 11 adult intensive care units from 10 cities of Turkey: Findings of the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC)

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) multidimensional approach on the reduction of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in adult patients hospitalized in 11 intensive care units (ICUs), from 10 hospitals, members of the INICC, in 10 cities of Turkey. Methods: A prospective active before-after surveillance study was conducted to determine the effect of the INICC multidimensional approach in the VAP rate. The study was divided into two phases. In phase 1, active prospective surveillance of VAP was conducted using the definitions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Health Safety Network, and the INICC methods. In phase 2, we implemented the multidimensional approach for VAP. The INICC multidimensional approach included the following measures: (1) bundle of infection control interventions, (2) education, (3) outcome surveillance, (4) process surveillance, (5) feedback of VAP rates, and (6) performance feedback of infection control practices. We compared the rates of VAP obtained in each phase. A time series analysis was performed to assess the impact of our approach. Results: In phase 1, we recorded 2,376 mechanical ventilator (MV)-days, and in phase 2, after implementing the multidimensional approach, we recorded 28,181 MV-days. The rate of VAP was 31.14 per 1,000 MV-days during phase 1, and 16.82 per 1,000 MV-days during phase 2, amounting to a 46 % VAP rate reduction (RR, 0.54; 95 % CI, 0.42-0.7; P value, 0.0001.) Conclusions: The INICC multidimensional approach was associated with a significant reduction in the VAP rate in these adult ICUs of Turkey. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Mining a Cathepsin Inhibitor Library for New Antiparasitic Drug Leads

The targeting of parasite cysteine proteases with small molecules is emerging as a possible approach to treat tropical parasitic diseases such as sleeping sickness, Chagas' disease, and malaria. The homology of parasite cysteine proteases to the human cathepsins suggests that inhibitors originally developed for the latter may be a source of promising lead compounds for the former. We describe here the screening of a unique ∼2,100-member cathepsin inhibitor library against five parasite cysteine proteases thought to be relevant in tropical parasitic diseases. Compounds active against parasite enzymes were subsequently screened against cultured Plasmodium falciparum, Trypanosoma brucei brucei and/or Trypanosoma cruzi parasites and evaluated for cytotoxicity to mammalian cells. The end products of this effort include the identification of sub-micromolar cell-active leads as well as the elucidation of structure-activity trends that can guide further optimization efforts