Reliability of Early Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Necessity of Repeating MRI in Noncooled and Cooled Infants with Neonatal Encephalopathy

In cooled newborns with encephalopathy, although late magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan (10-14 days of age) is reliable in predicting long-term outcome, it is unknown whether early scan (3-6 days of life) is. We compared the predominant pattern and extent of lesion between early and late MRI in 89 term neonates with neonatal encephalopathy. Forty-three neonates (48%) were cooled. The predominant pattern of lesions and the extent of lesion in the watershed region agreed near perfectly in noncooled (kappa = 0.94; k = 0.88) and cooled (k = 0.89; k = 0.87) infants respectively. There was perfect agreement in the extent of lesion in the basal nuclei in noncooled infants (k = 0.83) and excellent agreement in cooled infants (k = 0.67). Changes in extent of lesions on late MRI occurred in 19 of 89 infants, with higher risk in infants with hypoglycemia and moderate-severe lesions in basal nuclei. In most term neonates with neonatal encephalopathy, early MRI (relative to late scan) robustly predicts the predominant pattern and extent of injury.</p

Amendments food waste compost on soil enzymatic activities in groundnut cultivated soil, India

Soil enzymes are play an important role in organic soil. Soil microbes enhances the enzymatic activities .Which is very beneficial to solubilizing the nutrients in the soil. In the present investigation was to find out the activity of soil enzymes such as acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, dehydrogenase and to find the fresh weight of groundnut pods in the addition of food waste compost

TRAF4 is a novel phosphoinositide-binding protein modulating tight junctions and favoring cell migration

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-associated factor 4 (TRAF4) is frequently overexpressed in carcinomas, suggesting a specific role in cancer. Although TRAF4 protein is predominantly found at tight junctions (TJs) in normal mammary epithelial cells (MECs), it accumulates in the cytoplasm of malignant MECs. How TRAF4 is recruited and functions at TJs is unclear. Here we show that TRAF4 possesses a novel phosphoinositide (PIP)-binding domain crucial for its recruitment to TJs. Of interest, this property is shared by the other members of the TRAF protein family. Indeed, the TRAF domain of all TRAF proteins (TRAF1 to TRAF6) is a bona fide PIP-binding domain. Molecular and structural analyses revealed that the TRAF domain of TRAF4 exists as a trimer that binds up to three lipids using basic residues exposed at its surface. Cellular studies indicated that TRAF4 acts as a negative regulator of TJ and increases cell migration. These functions are dependent from its ability to interact with PIPs. Our results suggest that TRAF4 overexpression might contribute to breast cancer progression by destabilizing TJs and favoring cell migration

Solution Structures of the Acyl Carrier Protein Domain from the Highly Reducing Type I Iterative Polyketide Synthase CalE8

Biosynthesis of the enediyne natural product calicheamicins γ1I in Micromonospora echinospora ssp. calichensis is initiated by the iterative polyketide synthase (PKS) CalE8. Recent studies showed that CalE8 produces highly conjugated polyenes as potential biosynthetic intermediates and thus belongs to a family of highly-reducing (HR) type I iterative PKSs. We have determined the NMR structure of the ACP domain (meACP) of CalE8, which represents the first structure of a HR type I iterative PKS ACP domain. Featured by a distinct hydrophobic patch and a glutamate-residue rich acidic patch, meACP adopts a twisted three-helix bundle structure rather than the canonical four-helix bundle structure. The so-called ‘recognition helix’ (α2) of meACP is less negatively charged than the typical type II ACPs. Although loop-2 exhibits greater conformational mobility than other regions of the protein with a missing short helix that can be observed in most ACPs, two bulky non-polar residues (Met992, Phe996) from loop-2 packed against the hydrophobic protein core seem to restrict large movement of the loop and impede the opening of the hydrophobic pocket for sequestering the acyl chains. NMR studies of the hydroxybutyryl- and octanoyl-meACP confirm that meACP is unable to sequester the hydrophobic chains in a well-defined central cavity. Instead, meACP seems to interact with the octanoyl tail through a distinct hydrophobic patch without involving large conformational change of loop-2. NMR titration study of the interaction between meACP and the cognate thioesterase partner CalE7 further suggests that their interaction is likely through the binding of CalE7 to the meACP-tethered polyene moiety rather than direct specific protein-protein interaction

Collagen-Based Artificial Corneal Scaffold with Anti-Infective Capability for Prevention of Perioperative Bacterial Infections

Bacterial infection following implantation of an artificial corneal scaffold is a serious complication. Conventional antibiotic prophylaxis, which includes topical vancomycin application, is limited by low bioavailability, high dosing requirement, and poor patient compliance. The ideal option to overcome these issues is an antibiotic-eluting corneal prosthesis that sustains the local release of drug. In this study, we incorporated vancomycin in thick 15% collagen hydrogels to create an artificial corneal scaffold with anti-infective capability. The incorporation of vancomycin did not significantly alter the Young’s modulus, transparency and refractive index of the vancomycin-loaded hydrogel (VH), which were 0.79 ± 0.04 MPa (<i>p</i> = 0.233 compared to blank hydrogel), 94.3 ± 2.3% (<i>p</i> = 0.115) and 1.346 ± 0.005 (<i>p</i> = 0.264), respectively. In vitro, the drug elution was sustained for up to 7 days. The VH was subsequently implanted intrastromally in rabbit corneas, replacing stromal tissue that was removed following femtosecond laser-assisted small incision lenticule extraction procedure. In vivo, the vancomcyin could be detected in the aqueous humor for up to 10 days. We then created a corneal infectious keratitis model by intrastromal injection of 1 × 10⁸ CFU/ml of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> inoculate on day 2 postimplantation. On day 3 postinfection, the VH-implanted corneas were clear and nonedematous and showed a substantial reduction of log 2.5 in <i>S. aureus</i> compared to the blank hydrogel-implanted corneas, which appeared hazy, edematous, and had excessive inflammation. Immunohistochemistry of inflammatory marker, CD18, demonstrated a significant reduction in inflammatory cells in VH-implanted corneas (49 ± 9 cells/unit area) compared to blank hydrogel-implanted corneas (523 ± 15 cells/unit area) (<i>p</i> < 0.001). In conclusion, we have demonstrated the efficacy of a drug-eluting corneal implant in preventing perioperative bacterial infections