Variation of vascular ring as a cause of extubation failure

We report on an unexpected extubation failure in a two year old boy. In our patient, failure of extubation led to a diagnostic examination. The result of our examination was discovery of a congenital anomaly of the aortic arch and great vessels (vascular ring) with compression of the trachea. The presence of this anomaly in this patient was unknown to us before. A successful surgical procedure eliminated the underlying cause of the persistent extubation failures

Variation of vascular ring as a cause of extubation failure

We report on an unexpected extubation failure in a two year old boy. In our patient, failure of extubation led to a diagnostic examination. The result of our examination was discovery of a congenital anomaly of the aortic arch and great vessels (vascular ring) with compression of the trachea. The presence of this anomaly in this patient was unknown to us before. A successful surgical procedure eliminated the underlying cause of the persistent extubation failures

The Name Issue - Greece and Macedonia

The text of the book is voluminous and it is composed of a preface, introduction, three parts, epilogue and an index (personarum & rerum). The Preface outlines how the project was born, the conditions under which it was carried out as well as the objectives it is aimed at. The Introduction is preceded by a List of participants in the project, the Contents of the book, as well as the List of acronyms that appear in the text. The Introduction shows the attractiveness of the name “Macedonia” to the students and their wish to help their country. The First part contains historical, cultural, political, commercial and legal aspects of the subject of the dispute. The Second part outlines analysis of the proposals related to the name as well as analysis of the issues related to the war that Macedonia was faced with in 2001. The Third part gives documents that are relevant to the dispute over the name and the Greek veto imposed at the Bucharest Summit on 3 April 2008. The Epilogue contains the conclusions drawn by the students in relation to the project. It has been approved of by all the participants following a debate that was organized; during the debate all the participants were given the opportunity to make specific remarks and comments. The Index contains approximately 560 names of people who appear in the text. The First and the Second part are divided into several sections. Each section contains source texts, student essays and talks (interviews). The texts elucidate the aspects of the dispute, the essays outline students’ views, while the interviews explain certain issues better through vivid conversation, description of the interlocutor and his/her attitude towards the topic and the students. The documents contained in the third part have been chronologically arranged ranging from 1913 to 2009. The publication of this book in English ensures that the debate over Macedonia is experienced in other milieus, especially in the universities in Greece and in Europe. That is the reason why the Teachers’ Council of the Faculty of law “Iustinianus Primus” (State University "Ss. Ciril an Methodius") in Skopje, with the Resolution No. 02-300/6 (from May 05, 2008), approved of the printing of this book

THE VARIABILITY OF MULTI-DRUG RESISTANCE ABCB1 GENE IN THE ROMA POPULATION FROM CROATIA

When overexpressed, a large transmembrane P-glycoprotein, the product of the ABCB1 gene, is a notable impediment to brain-targeted therapies (like antiepileptics) and chemotherapies. Some of the genetic biomarkers with evidence of multi-drug resistance in ABCB1 ― rs1045642, rs1128503, and rs3213619 ― were analyzed in 440 subjects, members of three socio-culturally different Roma (Gypsy) groups of Croatia. Minor allele frequencies (MAFs) of rs1045642 and rs1128503 were the highest in the Balkan Roma (63.6% and 69.4%, respectively) when compared to the Baranja (52.3% and 62.5%) and the Međimurje Roma (48.8% and 54.5%) (p=0.0005 and p=0.0011, respectively). rs3213619 was monomorphic in the Međimurje group, while its MAFs in other two Roma groups were very low (<1.9%). The distribution of five detected haplotypes (four in the Međimurje group) significantly differed between the Roma subpopulations (p<0.0001), just like the frequencies of diplotypes (p=0.0008). At a global scale, the positive relationship between genetic and geographic distances between the 21 investigated populations indicates isolation by spatial distance. However, this is not true for the relationship between Roma and other populations due to their population history. The analyzed ABCB1 loci indicate genetic distinctiveness of the Roma population

Direct observation of cytosine flipping and covalent catalysis in a DNA methyltransferase

Methylation of the five position of cytosine in DNA plays important roles in epigenetic regulation in diverse organisms including humans. The transfer of methyl groups from the cofactor S-adenosyl-l-methionine is carried out by methyltransferase enzymes. Using the paradigm bacterial methyltransferase M.HhaI we demonstrate, in a chemically unperturbed system, the first direct real-time analysis of the key mechanistic events—the flipping of the target cytosine base and its covalent activation; these changes were followed by monitoring the hyperchromicity in the DNA and the loss of the cytosine chromophore in the target nucleotide, respectively. Combined with studies of M.HhaI variants containing redesigned tryptophan fluorophores, we find that the target base flipping and the closure of the mobile catalytic loop occur simultaneously, and the rate of this concerted motion inversely correlates with the stability of the target base pair. Subsequently, the covalent activation of the target cytosine is closely followed by but is not coincident with the methyl group transfer from the bound cofactor. These findings provide new insights into the temporal mechanism of this physiologically important reaction and pave the way to in-depth studies of other base-flipping systems