LRRML: a conformational database and an XML description of leucine-rich repeats (LRRs)

Background: Leucine-rich repeats (LRRs) are present in more than 6000 proteins. They are found in organisms ranging from viruses to eukaryotes and play an important role in protein-ligand interactions. To date, more than one hundred crystal structures of LRR containing proteins have been determined. This knowledge has increased our ability to use the crystal structures as templates to model LRR proteins with unknown structures. Since the individual three-dimensional LRR structures are not directly available from the established databases and since there are only a few detailed annotations for them, a conformational LRR database useful for homology modeling of LRR proteins is desirable. Description: We developed LRRML, a conformational database and an extensible markup language (XML) description of LRRs. The release 0.2 contains 1261 individual LRR structures, which were identified from 112 PDB structures and annotated manually. An XML structure was defined to exchange and store the LRRs. LRRML provides a source for homology modeling and structural analysis of LRR proteins. In order to demonstrate the capabilities of the database we modeled the mouse Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) by multiple templates homology modeling and compared the result with the crystal structure. Conclusion: LRRML is an information source for investigators involved in both theoretical and applied research on LRR proteins. It is available at http://zeus.krist.geo.uni-muenchen.de/similar to lrrml

Board examination for anatomical pathology in Switzerland: two intense days to verify professional competence

About 15years ago, the Swiss Society of Pathology has developed and implemented a board examination in anatomical pathology. We describe herein the contents covered by this 2-day exam (autopsy pathology, cytology, histopathology, molecular pathology, and basic knowledge about mechanisms of disease) and its exact modalities, sketch a brief history of the exam, and finish with a concise discussion about the possible objectives and putative benefits weighed against the hardship that it imposes on the candidate

A PC-Based Voice-Controlled Front-End of an Endoscopic Video Server in DICOM

Abstract. Results of a video-server implementation for endoscopic investigations are presented. A PC-based workplace for video-capturing equipped with a speech-controlled interface for the surgeon is described. The clip size of the video to be stored is determined by clip length, image resolution, frame rate, and compression scheme. Captured clips are converted into DICOM 3.0 and integrated into a digital patient record. Additionally, an approach is presented to analyze the motion of the endoscopic camera for future automatic video-cutting. This approach analyzes compressed MPEG-2 video sequences to detect scenes of diagnostic interest

Board examination for anatomical pathology in Switzerland: two intense days to verify professional competence

About 15 years ago, the Swiss Society of Pathology has developed and implemented a board examination in anatomical pathology. We describe herein the contents covered by this 2-day exam (autopsy pathology, cytology, histopathology, molecular pathology, and basic knowledge about mechanisms of disease) and its exact modalities, sketch a brief history of the exam, and finish with a concise discussion about the possible objectives and putative benefits weighed against the hardship that it imposes on the candidates