Self-assembly of Escherichia coli phage shock protein A

The Phage shock protein (Psp) response is an extracytoplasmic stress response. The central component of this system is PspA, a protein that mediates the physiological response to membrane stress. PspA is also involved in regulating its own transcription and that of the psp operon, forming a positive feedback loop. PspA has been previously shown to oligomerise into higher-order species, including a 36-meric species with ring-like structure. In this study, we demonstrate that the ring-like PspA structures further self-assemble into rod-shaped complexes. These rod-like structures may play a scaffolding role in the maintenance of membrane integrity during phage shock protein response

A bidirectional fluorescent two-hybrid system for monitoring protein–protein interactions

Two-hybrid systems have been the cornerstone of research into protein–protein interactions, but these systems typically rely on life/death reporters that put additional selective pressure on the host organism, and potentially lead to false positives. Here we report a bidirectional fluorescence-based bacterial two- hybrid system that enables both the association and dissociation of a given protein–protein interaction to be monitored. The functionality of this system and its compatibility with FACS screening are demon- strated in the forward and reverse direction using known interacting protein-partners and their cyclic peptide inhibitors. The reported fluorescent two-hybrid system may be used in the forward direction for the identification of interacting protein partners, or as a reverse two-hybrid system for the high- throughput identification of protein–protein interaction inhibitors

Reprogramming the transcriptional response to hypoxia with a chromosomally encoded cyclic peptide HIF-1 inhibitor

The cellular response to hypoxia is orchestrated by HIF-1, a heterodimeric transcription factor composed of an and subunit that enables cell survival under low oxygen conditions by altering the transcription of over 300 genes. There is significant evidence that inhibition of HIF-1 would be beneficial for cancer therapy. We recently reported a cyclic hexapeptide that inhibits the HIF-1/HIF-1 protein-protein interaction in vitro and prevents HIF-1-mediated hypoxia-response signalling in cells. This cyclic peptide was identified from a library of 3.2 x 106 members generated using SICLOPPS split-intein mediated protein splicing. With a view to demonstrating the potential for encoding the production of a therapeutic agents in response to a disease marker, we have engineered human cells with an additional chromosomal control circuit that conditionally encodes the production of our cyclic peptide HIF-1 inhibitor. We demonstrate the conditional production of our HIF-1 inhibitor in response to hypoxia, and its inhibitory effect on HIF-1 dimerization and downstream hypoxia-response signalling. These engineered cells are used to illustrate the synthetic lethality of inhibiting HIF-1 dimerization and glycolysis in hypoxic cells. Our approach not only eliminates the need for the chemical synthesis and targeted delivery of our HIF-1 inhibitor to cells, it also demonstrates the wider possibility that the production machinery of other bioactive compounds may be incorporated onto the chromosome of human cells. This work demonstrates the potential of sentinel circuits that produce molecular modulators of cellular pathways in response to environmental, or cellular disease stimuli

Prevalence of Coenurus cerebralis in sheep in Northwest of Iran

AbstractThis survey was carried out to determine the infection rate of Coenurus cerebralis in Urmiaabattoir, West Azerbaijan, Iran. A total of 402 sheep heads were examined and the number ofC. cerebralis cysts per each head was recorded. Thirty three sheep heads were examined eachmonth during 12 months from 2006 to 2007. Of 402 heads, a number of 75 heads (18.65%)were infected with C. cerebralis. The cysts located in the left and right hemispheres andcerebellum were 54.63%, 40.20% and 5.15%, respectively. The infected heads contained 1-4cysts. The highest and lowest prevalence were detected in sheep in March (42.42%) and in July(2.94%), respectively. The infection rates according to age of sheep were 42.02% in 0.5 to 2years, 22.50% in 2 to 4 years and 8.92% in older than 4 years. The age specific infection ratesamong age groups were significantly differed (P < 0.05). Infection rate in Haraki breed(27.77%) was higher comparing to the rate in the Ghezel breed (21.13%) and Makoie breed(23.91%). However differences between sheep breeds were not statistically significant (P > 0.05)

Knowledge and perceptions of obesity prevention and reducing sugar-sweetened beverages consumption among high school girl students in Shahrekord

Background and aims: The prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents is increasing worldwide. One of the key lifestyle behaviors that helps prevent obesity and being overweight among children and adolescents is to avoid drinking sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) or to take, at most, one serving per day. The present study intended to evaluate knowledge and perceptions of high school girl students in Shahrekord on reducing SSBs consumption based on the health belief model (HBM). Methods: The present descriptive-analytical study, conducted in 2013–2014, randomly recruited 308 female students aged 13–14 years. The data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire based on HBM and a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were evaluated using face validity, content validity, and inter-rater reliability. The Chi-square test, Pearson’s correlation, and Spearman’s correlation tests were used in SPSS software to analyze the data. The participants declared their informed consent for participation. Results: The research findings showed that the mean score of students’ knowledge was 36.53 ± 21.87; mean scores of perceived susceptibility and perceived severity were 31.88 ± 15.04, and 34.76 ± 19.82, respectively; perceived benefits of reducing the consumption of SSBs was 43.51 ± 20.18, and perceived barriers was 41.56 ± 15.69. There was a direct significant relationship between knowledge and perceived susceptibility as well as between perceived susceptibility and perceived severity. The students’ intake of SSBs was calculated as 2.95 glasses per day. There was a direct significant relationship between perceived benefits and mother’s job, between perceived barriers and father’s job, and between knowledge and mother’s age. There was an inverse relationship between perceived susceptibility and father’s job. Conclusion: Considering the high intake of SSBs among students, along with their little knowledge and perception about its negative effects, it seems necessary to plan for proper educational and theory-based interventions for adolescents in order to improve their knowledge and develop a positive attitude toward reducing SSBs consumption

Proper consumption of sugary drinks and its association with adolescent girls' knowledge and skill

Background: Changes in the nutritional behaviors from consumption of traditional nutriments to intakes of high energy, concerned in powering the increasing problem in adolescents and children's obesity. The current study intended to evaluate Proper consumption of sugary drinks and its association with adolescent girls' knowledge and skill in Shahr-e-kord city, Iran. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out on girl's students in Shahr-e-kord city. Using random sampling method and based on sampling size formula, a total of 308 of the girls students were randomly selected from the schools and were registered into the study. Then they received a research-made questionnaire containing questions about the knowledge, skill and Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 18.0 by ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: The mean age of the participating adolescent girls was 13.86 ± 1.3 years old. The mean score for knowledge was 36.53 ± 21.87 and the mean score for the skill of preparing and consumption of sugar free drinks was 35.77 ± 24.67. The average amount of daily consumption of sugary drinks among studied adolescent girls was 2.95 glasses. There was a direct significant association between students' knowledge and skill (P = 0.002, r = 0.182), There was also a significant reverse association between adolescents' skill (P = 0. 006 r = -0.228) and knowledge (P = 0. 05 r = -0.322) with consumption of sugary drinks. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, to increase the consumption of valuable foods and improving adolescents' nutritional habits, more attention should be paid to the health education and promotion and by using effective relevant patterns and theories

The Study of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Towards Physical Activity College Students Living on Campus in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science

Abstract Background: Regarding prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as primary hypertension, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular diseases that sedentary is responsible for them; health policy makers plan to encourage people to do more physical activity. In this study, Knowledge, attitude and practice towards physical activity and its Related Factors of College Students Living on Campus in Shahid Beheshti University of medical science were determined. Methods: In this descriptive analytic survey, 665 individuals College Students Living on Campus in Shahid Beheshti University of medical science were selected by clustering sampling method. Data collected using a questionnaire and analyzed by SPSS16 (Pearson, spearman, ANOVAand T-test). Result: 54.9% of the subjects were female and 45.1% were male. Mean age of participants was 21.82 years for female and 22.76 years for male. Mean scores of knowledge was 73±1.72 for male and 78.901.66± for female. In addition mean scores of attitude was 79.18 for male and 74.33 for female and mean scores of practice was 228.78 minute per week for male and 174.41minute per week for female. Conclusion: Results indicated that students had no optimal practice towards physical activity. Thus, more attention is necessary to be paid by authorities to this specific topic and some measures are essential in training student

Investigation of the knowledge and skill of proper consumption of fruit and vegetables among shahrekord adolescent girls

The life style is formed and stabilized in adolescence. Since consumption of fruits and vegetables may affect the risk of chronic diseases, their low consumption during adolescence is very important. Knowledge and skill is considered as one of the main determinants of this behavior. This study aimed to investigate the Knowledge and skill of proper consumption of fruit and vegetables among adolescent girls in Shahrekord, Iran. Materials and Methods: This study was a descriptive-analytic investigation conducted on high school girls in Shahrekord city during 2013 to 2014. 308 female students were selected randomly from 8 high schools and a researcher made questionnaire was used to collect the demographic, Knowledge and skill related data. Validity and reliability of the questionnaire was evaluated by internal consistency method (Cronbach's alpha = 0.70, Cronbach's alpha= 0.76), respectively. The collected data was analyzed by SPSS-21 software. Results: The mean age of students was 13.86 ± 1.3 years. There was no statistically significant association between consumption of fruit and vegetables and fathers' education level, mothers' job and parents' age. However, there was a significant association between fathers' job and adolescents' skill of fruit and vegetables consumption (P < 0.05). In addition, a significant association between mothers' education level and adolescents' knowledge and skill of fruit and vegetables consumption was observed (P < 0.05). There was a significant direct association between knowledge and skill (P=0.01 and r=082), so that adolescents with more knowledge, had a better skill as well. Conclusion: Considering the adolescents' low knowledge and skill in proper consumption of fruit and vegetables and also the direct association between knowledge and skill, it seems necessary to implement educational programs according to the health education and promotion theories and models, with contribution of parents and school personnel, to improve the knowledge and skill and empower adolescent girls in consumption of fruit and vegetables