Nevus sebaceous of Jadassohn of face with infundibular and keratinous cyst in an adolescent Arab male-a rare case report

Nevus Sebaceous of Jadassohn is rare hamartomatous skin lesion. We report an interesting case of an Adolescent Arab male 18yr old, who presented to us with a velvety plaque of 7cm length in his left preauricular area. Excision biopsy revealed Nevus sebaceous of Jadassohn with infundibular and keratinous cyst. The lesion is present since birth started as a tiny lesion and grown to the current size. No such large sized lesion on the face has ever been reported in the medical literature till date. We advise an early excision as they have strong potential for malignant change

SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine induces robust specific and cross-reactive IgG and unequal neutralizing antibodies in naive and previously infected people

Understanding vaccine-mediated protection against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is critical to overcoming the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We investigate mRNA-vaccine-induced antibody responses against the reference strain, seven variants, and seasonal coronaviruses in 168 healthy individuals at three time points: before vaccination, after the first dose, and after the second dose. Following complete vaccination, both naive and previously infected individuals developed comparably robust SARS-CoV-2 spike antibodies and variable levels of cross-reactive antibodies to seasonal coronaviruses. However, the strength and frequency of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies in naive individuals were lower than in previously infected individuals. After the first vaccine dose, one-third of previously infected individuals lacked neutralizing antibodies; this was improved to one-fifth after the second dose. In all individuals, neutralizing antibody responses against the Alpha and Delta variants were weaker than against the reference strain. Our findings support future tailored vaccination strategies against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants as mRNA-vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies are highly variable among individuals

Identification and Characterisation of a Novel Acylpeptide Hydrolase from Sulfolobus Solfataricus: Structural and Functional Insights

A novel acylpeptide hydrolase, named APEH-3Ss, was isolated from the hypertermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus. APEH is a member of the prolyl oligopeptidase family which catalyzes the removal of acetylated amino acid residues from the N terminus of oligopeptides. The purified enzyme shows a homotrimeric structure, unique among the associate partners of the APEH cluster and, in contrast to the archaeal APEHs which show both exo/endo peptidase activities, it appears to be a “true” aminopeptidase as exemplified by its mammalian counterparts, with which it shares a similar substrate specificity. Furthermore, a comparative study on the regulation of apeh gene expression, revealed a significant but divergent alteration in the expression pattern of apeh-3Ss and apehSs (the gene encoding the previously identified APEHSs from S. solfataricus), which is induced in response to various stressful growth conditions. Hence, both APEH enzymes can be defined as stress-regulated proteins which play a complementary role in enabling the survival of S. solfataricus cells under different conditions. These results provide new structural and functional insights into S. solfataricus APEH, offering a possible explanation for the multiplicity of this enzyme in Archaea

Identification of nursing assessment models/tools validated in clinical practice for use with diverse ethno-cultural groups: an integrative review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>High income nations are currently exhibiting increasing ethno-cultural diversity which may present challenges for nursing practice. We performed an integrative review of literature published in North America and Europe between 1990 and 2007, to map the state of knowledge and to identify nursing assessment tools/models which are have an associated research or empirical perspective in relation to ethno-cultural dimensions of nursing care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data was retrieved from a wide variety of sources, including key electronic bibliographic databases covering research in biomedical fields, nursing and allied health, and culture, e.g. CINAHL, MEDline, PUBmed, Cochrane library, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and HAPI. We used the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tools for quality assessment. We applied Torraco's definition and method of an integrative review that aims to create new knowledge and perspectives on a given phenomena. To add methodological rigor with respect to the search strategy and other key review components we also used the principles established by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirteen thousand and thirteen articles were retrieved, from which 53 full papers were assessed for inclusion. Eight papers met the inclusion criteria, describing research on a total of eight ethno-cultural assessment tools/models. The tools/models are described and synthesized.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>While many ethno-cultural assessment tools exist to guide nursing practice, few are informed by research perspectives. An increased focus on the efficiency and effectiveness of health services, patient safety, and risk management, means that provision of culturally responsive and competent health services will inevitably become paramount.</p

Protoporphyrin IX enhancement by 5-aminolaevulinic acid peptide derivatives and the effect of RNA silencing on intracellular metabolism

Intracellular generation of the photosensitiser, protoporphyrin IX, from a series of dipeptide derivatives of the haem precursor, 5-aminolaevulinic acid (ALA), was investigated in transformed PAM212 murine keratinocytes, together with studies of their intracellular metabolism. Porphyrin production was substantially increased compared with equimolar ALA using N-acetyl terminated phenylalanyl, leucinyl and methionyl ALA methyl ester derivatives in the following order: Ac-L-phenylalanyl-ALA-Me, Ac-L-methionyl-ALA-Me and Ac-L-leucinyl-ALA-Me. The enhanced porphyrin production was in good correlation with improved photocytotoxicity, with no intrinsic dark toxicity apparent. However, phenylalanyl derivatives without the acetyl/acyl group at the N terminus induced significantly less porphyrin, and the replacement of the acetyl group by a benzyloxycarbonyl group resulted in no porphyrin production. Porphyrin production was reduced in the presence of class-specific protease inhibitors, namely serine protease inhibitors. Using siRNA knockdown of acylpeptide hydrolase (ACPH) protein expression, we showed the involvement of ACPH, a member of the prolyl oligopeptidase family of serine peptidases, in the hydrolytic cleavage of ALA from the peptide derivatives. In conclusion, ALA peptide derivatives are capable of delivering ALA efficiently to cells and enhancing porphyrin synthesis and photocytotoxicity; however, the N-terminus state, whether free or substituted, plays an important role in determining the biological efficacy of ALA peptide derivatives

Nevus sebaceous of Jadassohn of face with infundibular and keratinous cyst in an adolescent Arab male-a rare case report

Nevus Sebaceous of Jadassohn is rare hamartomatous skin lesion. We report an interesting case of an Adolescent Arab male 18yr old, who presented to us with a velvety plaque of 7cm length in his left preauricular area. Excision biopsy revealed Nevus sebaceous of Jadassohn with infundibular and keratinous cyst. The lesion is present since birth started as a tiny lesion and grown to the current size. No such large sized lesion on the face has ever been reported in the medical literature till date. We advise an early excision as they have strong potential for malignant change

The reproduction of vertical and oblique orientations in the visual, haptic, and somato-vestibular systems.

International audienceThis study investigates whether the vertical orientation may be predominantly used as an amodal reference norm by the visual, haptic, and somato-vestibular perceptual systems to define oblique orientations. We examined this question by asking the same sighted adult subjects to reproduce, in the frontal (roll) plane, the vertical (0 degree) and six oblique orientations in three tasks involving different perceptual systems. In the visual task, the subjects adjusted a moveable rod so that it reproduced the orientation of a visual rod seen previously in a dark room. In the haptic task, the blindfolded sighted subjects scanned an oriented rod with one hand and reproduced its orientation, with the same hand, on a moveable response rod. In the somato-vestibular task, the blind-folded sighted subjects, sitting in a rotating chair, adjusted this chair in order to reproduce the tested orientation of their own body. The results showed that similar oblique effects (unsigned angular error difference between six oblique orientations and vertical orientation) were observed across the three tasks. However, there were no positive correlations between the visual, haptic, and somato-vestibular oblique effects. Moreover, in some oblique orientations, there was a tendency to overestimate the angle between the oblique orientation and the vertical orientation. This effect varied according to the orientation value and the modality. Taken together, these findings suggest that although vertical orientation is used as a reference norm in the visual, haptic, and somato-vestibular systems to define oblique orientations, specific processing mechanisms seem to be at work in each perceptual system

Tbx20 Is an Essential Regulator of Embryonic Heart Growth in Zebrafish.

The molecular mechanisms that regulate cardiomyocyte proliferation during embryonic heart growth are not completely deciphered yet. In a forward genetic N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) mutagenesis screen, we identified the recessive embryonic-lethal zebrafish mutant line weiches herz (whz). Homozygous mutant whz embryos display impaired heart growth due to diminished embryonic cardiomyocyte proliferation resulting in cardiac hypoplasia and weak cardiac contraction. By positional cloning, we found in whz mutant zebrafish a missense mutation within the T-box 20 (Tbx20) transcription factor gene leading to destabilization of Tbx20 protein. Morpholino-mediated knock-down of Tbx20 in wild-type zebrafish embryos phenocopies whz, indicating that the whz phenotype is due to loss of Tbx20 function, thereby leading to significantly reduced cardiomyocyte numbers by impaired proliferation of heart muscle cells. Ectopic overexpression of wild-type Tbx20 in whz mutant embryos restored cardiomyocyte proliferation and heart growth. Interestingly, ectopic overexpression of Tbx20 in wild-type zebrafish embryos resulted, similar to the situation in the embryonic mouse heart, in significantly reduced proliferation rates of ventricular cardiomyocytes, suggesting that Tbx20 activity needs to be tightly fine-tuned to guarantee regular cardiomyocyte proliferation and embryonic heart growth in vivo