Alternative splicing variant of the scaffold protein APPL1 suppresses hepatic adiponectin signaling and function.

Adiponectin is an adipocyte-derived hormone with antidiabetic activities that include increasing the sensitivity of cells to insulin. Adaptor protein containing pleckstrin homology domain, phosphotyrosine-binding domain, and leucine zipper motif (APPL1) stimulates adiponectin signaling and promotes adiponectin's insulin-sensitizing effects by binding to two adiponectin receptors, AdipoR1 and AdipoR2, and the insulin receptor. In this study, we report an alternative splicing variant of APPL1 (APPL1sv) that is highly expressed in mouse liver, pancreas, and spleen tissues.

Short branches lead to systematic artifacts when BLAST searches are used as surrogate for phylogenetic reconstruction.

Long Branch Attraction (LBA) is a well-known artifact in phylogenetic reconstruction when dealing with branch length heterogeneity. Here we show another phenomenon, Short Branch Attraction (SBA), which occurs when BLAST searches, a phenetic analysis, are used as a surrogate method for phylogenetic analysis. This error also results from branch length heterogeneity, but this time it is the short branches that are attracting.

Combined carotid endarterectomy and coronary artery bypass grafting versus coronary artery bypass grafting alone: a retrospective review of outcomes at our institution.

Background: It remains controversial whether patients with concomitant carotid and coronary disease should undergo operative repair separately or in combination.

Methods: Patients with documented cerebrovascular disease undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) alone were matched by propensity scoring with patients undergoing combined carotid endarterectomy (CEA)/CABG procedures and compared for the occurrence of stroke, myocardial infarction (MI), and mortality.

Results: Of the 4943 patients undergoing CABG, 908 had known cerebrovascular disease.

Gastrointestinal bleeding after gastric bypass surgery: nuisance or catastrophe?

Background: Bleeding in the early postoperative period after gastric bypass surgery is a rare complication reported in 1-4% of cases. In most cases, the bleeding will be self-limited, resolving after discontinuation of anticoagulation for deep venous thrombosis prophylaxis. Occasionally, however, bleeding can be problematic, resulting in significant postoperative morbidity or even mortality.

Evolution of the Archaea: emerging views on origins and phylogeny.

Of the three domains of life, the Archaea are the most recently discovered and, from the perspective of systematics, perhaps the least understood. More than three decades after their discovery, there is still no overwhelming consensus as to their phylogenetic status, with diverse evidence supporting in varying degrees their monophyly, paraphyly, or even polyphyly. As a further complication, their evolutionary history is inextricably linked to the origin of Eukarya, one of the most challenging problems in evolutionary biology.