2,400 research outputs found
The crystal structure of Haloferax volcanii proliferating cell nuclear antigen reveals unique surface charge characteristics due to halophilic adaptation
Background:
The high intracellular salt concentration re
quired to maintain a halophilic lifestyle poses challenges to haloarchaeal proteins that must stay soluble, stable and functional in this extreme environment. Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is a fundamental protein involved in maintaining genome integrity, with roles in both DNA replication and repair. To investigate the halophilic adaptation of such a key protein we have crystallised and solved the structure of Haloferax volcanii PCNA
(HvPCNA) to a resolution of 2.0 Ã….
Results: The overall architecture of HvPCNA is very similar to other known PCNAs, which are highly structurally conserved. Three commonly observed adaptations in halophilic proteins are higher surface acidity, bound ions and increased numbers of intermolecular ion pairs (in oligomeric proteins). HvPCNA possesses the former two adaptations but not the latter, despite functioning
as a homotrimer. Strikingly, the positive surface charge considered key to PCNA's role as a sliding clamp is dramatically reduced in the halophilic protein. Instead, bound cations within the solvation shell of HvPCNA may permit sliding along negatively charged DNA by reducing electrostatic repulsion effects.
Conclusion: The extent to which individual proteins
adapt to halophilic conditions varies, presumably due to their diverse characteristics and roles within the cell. The number of ion pairs observed in the HvPCNA monomer-monomer interface wasunexpectedly low. This may reflect
the fact that the trimer is intrinsically stable over a wide range of salt concentrations and therefore
additional modifications for trimer maintenance in high salt conditions are not required. Halophilic
proteins frequently bind anions and cations and in
HvPCNA cation binding may compensate for the
remarkable reduction in positive charge in the pore region, to facilitate functional interactions with DNA. In this way,
HvPCNA may harness its environment as opposed to simply surviving in extreme halophilic conditions
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White coat hypertension is associated with increased small vessel disease in the brain
Objective:
Small vessel disease, as measured by white matter hyperintensity (WMH) in the brain, is known to be associated with increased stroke risk and cognitive impairment. This study explored the relationship between WMH on computerised tomography (CT) and white coat hypertension/effect (WCH/E) in patients with recent transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or lacunar stroke (LS).
Design and method:
Ninety-six patients recruited for the ASIST trial (Arterial Stiffness in Lacunar Stroke and TIA) underwent measurement of clinic blood pressure (BP) and ambulatory BP monitoring (APBM) within two weeks of TIA or LS. Twenty-three patients had normotension (clinic BP / = 140/90mmHg and day-time ABPM < 135/85mmHg). Arterial stiffness was measured using carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) (Complior®, ALAM Medical) and carotid-ankle vascular index (CAVI) (VaSera VS-1500N®, Fukuda Denshi). CT images were scored for WMH using the four-point Fazekas visual rating scale. Patients were grouped into no-mild WMH (scores 0–1) or moderate-severe (scores 2–3) groups. The relationship between BP, vascular stiffness and WMH was explored with t-tests, chi-square and logistic regression accounting for known cardiovascular risk factors.
Results:
Forty-four percent of patients with WCH/E had moderate-severe WMH compared to 17% of normotensives (p = 0.047). The regression model with WMH as the dependent factor, and WCH/E and cardiovascular risk factors as independent factors showed WCH/E and either CAVI or PWV to be the only independent significant factor contributing to WMH (CAVI:p = 0.038, PWV:p = 0.043)
Ten Years of Challenge Course Research: A Review of Affective Outcome Studies
Over the past 30 years, challenge/ropes courses have spread across the country and are now focused toward a variety of populaÂtions, including adolescents, college stuÂdents, and corporate employees. Despite their success and growing popularity as an effective training tool, challenge/ropes courses have earned little credibility through academic research. Although a significant amount of research has· been completed, questions continue to arise regarding the efficacy of challenge/ropes experiences for corporate team development and the educaÂtional enhancement for adolescent and colÂlege students. The purpose of this study was to assimilate and synthesize challenge/ropes course research during the 1990s that studÂied affective outcomes with non-therapeutic populations
On The Capacity of Surfaces in Manifolds with Nonnegative Scalar Curvature
Given a surface in an asymptotically flat 3-manifold with nonnegative scalar
curvature, we derive an upper bound for the capacity of the surface in terms of
the area of the surface and the Willmore functional of the surface. The
capacity of a surface is defined to be the energy of the harmonic function
which equals 0 on the surface and goes to 1 at infinity. Even in the special
case of Euclidean space, this is a new estimate. More generally, equality holds
precisely for a spherically symmetric sphere in a spatial Schwarzschild
3-manifold. As applications, we obtain inequalities relating the capacity of
the surface to the Hawking mass of the surface and the total mass of the
asymptotically flat manifold.Comment: 18 page
P104 White coat hypertension is associated with increased small vessel disease in the brain
Objective: Small vessel disease, measured by brain white matter hyperintensity (WMH), is associated with increased stroke risk and cognitive impairment. This study aimed to explore the relationship between WMH on computerised tomography (CT) and white coat hypertension (WCH) in patients with recent transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or lacunar stroke (LS).
Methods: Ninety-six patients recruited for the ASIST trial (Arterial Stiffness in Lacunar Stroke and TIA) underwent measurement of clinic blood pressure (BP) and ambulatory BP monitoring (APBM) within two weeks of TIA or LS. Patients were grouped by BP phenotypes. Twenty-three patients had normotension (clinic BP 140/90 mmHg and day-time ABPM <135/85 mmHg). CT brain images were scored for WMH using the four-point Fazekas visual rating scale. Patients were grouped into no-mild WMH (scores 0–1) or moderate-severe (scores 2–3) groups. The relationship between BP and WMH was explored with chi-square and logistic regression accounting for known cardiovascular risk factors (age, gender, smoking, diabetes and hyperlipidaemia).
Results: 44% of WCH patients had moderate-severe WMH compared to 17% of normotensives (p = 0.047). Logistical regression incorporating WCH as the independent factor and cardiovascular risk factors as independent variables showed WCH to be the only independent significant factor contributing to WMH (p = 0.024).
Conclusion: Patients with WCH were more likely to have moderate-severe WMH on CT brain than normotensives. WCH was associated with increased WMH, independent of other cardiovascular risk factors. This study suggests that WCH is associated with increased small vessel disease in the brain and may benefit from treatment
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Imipramine blue sensitively and selectively targets FLT3-ITD positive acute myeloid leukemia cells.
Aberrant cytokine signaling initiated from mutant receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) provides critical growth and survival signals in high risk acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Inhibitors to FLT3 have already been tested in clinical trials, however, drug resistance limits clinical efficacy. Mutant receptor tyrosine kinases are mislocalized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of AML and play an important role in the non-canonical activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5). Here, we have tested a potent new drug called imipramine blue (IB), which is a chimeric molecule with a dual mechanism of action. At 200-300 nM concentrations, IB is a potent inhibitor of STAT5 through liberation of endogenous phosphatase activity following NADPH oxidase (NOX) inhibition. However, at 75-150 nM concentrations, IB was highly effective at killing mutant FLT3-driven AML cells through a similar mechanism as thapsigargin (TG), involving increased cytosolic calcium. IB also potently inhibited survival of primary human FLT3/ITD+ AML cells compared to FLT3/ITDneg cells and spared normal umbilical cord blood cells. Therefore, IB functions through a mechanism involving vulnerability to dysregulated calcium metabolism and the combination of fusing a lipophilic amine to a NOX inhibiting dye shows promise for further pre-clinical development for targeting high risk AML
UK National Audit of Early Syphilis Management. Clinics audit: screening for and management of early syphilis
Data were provided by 131 clinics, and 56% of cases were managed in
clinics in the London regions in 2003. Three clinics (2%) do not routinely screen new
patients for syphilis, and 28 clinics (21%) do not routinely screen ‘rebook’ patients
who have had a new partner. More than 80% of clinics routinely conduct
cardiovascular and neurological examinations, although chest radiography is only
performed by 50% of clinics and lumbar puncture by 13%. Only 19 (14%) clinics
indicated not routinely using the recommended procaine penicillin G (PPG)
regimen or one- or two-dose benzathine penicillin G (BPG) regimens for early
syphilis, with 57% providing two doses of BPG 2.4 g, 40% providing PPG 750 mg for
10 days, and 15% providing one dose of BPG 2.4 g. Only seven clinics (5%) indicated
that they provided treatment for early syphilis with PPG that is inferior to that
recommended in the national guidelines. Only 18 clinics specified using the
recommended dose and duration (or in excess of this) of PPG for neurosyphilis for
cases with HIV infection. Provision for management of severe penicillin reaction is
good, although few patients are desensitized. All clinics report that contact tracing
for early syphilis is provided, and is mainly the responsibility of health advisers.
Compared with auditing outcomes, audit of management policies overestimated
performance in contact tracing and provision of dark ground microscopy
UK National Audit of Early Syphilis Management. Case notes audit: diagnosis and treatment
A national audit of 781 early syphilis cases presenting during 2002–03 in UK genitourinary medicine clinics was conducted in late 2004, organized through the Regional Audit Groups. Data were aggregated by region and National Health Service trust, allowing practice to be compared between regions, between trusts within regions, as well as to national averages and the UK National Guidelines. An enzyme immunoassay was used to diagnose 695 (89%) cases (regional range 18–100%). Use of a non-treponemal test was not recorded for 44 (6%) cases. Dark ground microscopy was used in the diagnosis of only 80 (29%) primary cases. Uptake of HIV testing was 77% (range 69–94%). Nationally, 527 (67%) treatments were parenteral, with almost equal use of benzathine penicillin G for 262 (50%, range 0–97%) cases and procaine penicillin G (PPG) for 260 cases (49%, range 3–100%). There were 14 (5%) treatments with less than the recommended 750 mg dose of PPG. One hundred and five (40%) PPG treatments were with greater than 750 mg and/or for longer than 10 days of which 76 (72%) were for early latent syphilis and/or cases with HIV infection. One hundred and ninety two (86%, range 0–100%) of all oral treatments were with doxycycline. The recommended regimen of 100 mg doxycycline twice daily for 14 days was used for 104 (53%) cases; the other 91 (47%) treatments were with a variety of regimens, mainly treatments with larger doses and/or longer treatment intervals and some combination treatments. Fourteen (2%) cases were not treated; treatment was not reported for seven (0.9%) and not known for 10 (1.3%) cases, who were treated at other centres
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