The gene expression barcode 3.0: improved data processing and mining tools

The Gene Expression Barcode project, http://barcode.luhs.org, seeks to determine the genes expressed for every tissue and cell type in humans and mice. Understanding the absolute expression of genes across tissues and cell types has applications in basic cell biology, hypothesis generation for gene function and clinical predictions using gene expression signatures. In its current version, this project uses the abundant publicly available microarray data sets combined with a suite of single-array preprocessing, quality control and analysis methods. In this article, we present the improvements that have been made since the previous version of the Gene Expression Barcode in 2011. These include a variety of new data mining tools and summaries, estimated transcriptomes and curated annotations

Knee movement patterns of injured and uninjured adolescent basketball players when landing from a jump: A case-control study

BACKGROUND: A common knee injury mechanism sustained during basketball is landing badly from a jump. Landing is a complex task and requires good coordination, dynamic muscle control and flexibility. For adolescents whose coordination and motor control has not fully matured, landing badly from a jump can present a significant risk for injury. There is currently limited biomechanical information regarding the lower limb kinetics of adolescents when jumping, specifically regarding jump kinematics comparing injured with uninjured adolescents. This study reports on an investigation of biomechanical differences in landing patterns of uninjured and injured adolescent basketball players. METHODS: A matched case-control study design was employed. Twenty-two basketball players aged 14–16 years participated in the study: eleven previously knee-injured and eleven uninjured players matched with cases for age, gender, weight, height and years of play, and playing for the same club. Six high-speed, three-dimensional Vicon 370 cameras (120 Hz), Vicon biomechanical software and SAS Version 8 software were employed to analyse landing patterns when subjects performed a "jump shot". Linear correlations determined functional relationships between the biomechanical performance of lower limb joints, and paired t-tests determined differences between the normalised peak biomechanical parameters. RESULTS: The average peak vertical ground reaction forces between the cases and controls were similar. The average peak ground reaction forces between the cases and controls were moderately correlated (r = -0.47). The control (uninjured) players had significantly greater hip and knee flexion angles and significantly greater eccentric activity on landing than the uninjured cases (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The findings of the study indicate that players with a history of knee injuries had biomechanically compromised landing techniques when compared with uninjured players matched for gender, age and club. Descriptions (norms) of expected levels of knee control, proprioceptive acuity and eccentric strength relative to landing from a jump, at different ages and physical developmental stages, would assist clinicians and coaches to identify players with inappropriate knee performance comparable to their age or developmental stage

New thiopyrano[2,3-d][1,3]thiazole derivatives as potential antiviral agents

A series of novel thiopyrano[2,3-d][1,3]thiazole derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their antiviral activity in vitro within AACF NIAID programme. Compounds were studied towards Dengue Virus Type 2, Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, SARS Coronavirus, Rift Valley Fever Virus, Tacaribe Virus, Influenza Virus Types A and B. Among the tested thiopyrano[2,3-d][1,3]thiazoles, alkyl rel-(5R,5aR,11bS)-2,6-dioxo-3,5a,6,11b-tetrahydro-2Н,5H-chromeno[4’,3’:4,5]thiopyrano[2,3-d][1,3]thiazole-5-carboxylates 8 and 11 were found to be the most active and showed significant antiviral activity against Influenza Virus Types A H3N2 and H5N1

2-[7-(3,5-Dibromo-2-hydroxyphenyl)-6-ethoxycarbonyl-2-oxo-5H-2,3,6,7-tetrahydrothiopyrano[2,3-d][1,3]thiazol-6-yl]acetic acid ethanol monosolvate

The title compound, C17H15Br2NO6S2&amp;#183;C2H5OH, is the esterification reaction product of 2-(8,10-dibromo-2,6-dioxo-3,5,5a,11b-tetrahydro-2H,6H-chromeno[4&amp;#8242;,3&amp;#8242;:4,5]thiopyrano[2,3-d]thiazol-5a-yl)acetic acid. Cleavage of the lactone ring and formation of ethoxycarbonyl and hydroxy groups from its structural elements were observed. On the other hand, the carboxymethyl group was not esterified. The H atom and carboxymethyl group, both at stereogenic centres, show a cis conformation. The six-membered dihydrothiopyran ring adopts a half-chair conformation. All NH and OH groups participate in the three-dimensional hydrogen-bond network, which is additionally strengthened by C&amp;#8212;H...O and C&amp;#8212;H...S interactions. Intramolecular O&amp;#8212;H...Br and C&amp;#8212;H...O interactions also occur