Utility of Cystatin C in the Setting of Urinoma.

Background: Elevated serum creatinine levels are a common finding in patients with urinoma (i.e. presence of urine outside of the urinary tract).

Metastatic prostate carcinoma to the orbit as the first presentation of disease.

Prostate carcinoma is a common tumor of the older adult male. It is associated with bony metastases, particularly to the axial skeleton. We present two case histories; in both cases, the patients had no prior history of prostate carcinoma.

Structural insights into the functional cycle of the ATPase module of the 26S proteasome.

In eukaryotic cells, the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) is responsible for the regulated degradation of intracellular proteins. The 26S holocomplex comprises the core particle (CP), where proteolysis takes place, and one or two regulatory particles (RPs). The base of the RP is formed by a heterohexameric AAA ATPase module, which unfolds and translocates substrates into the CP.

Structure of the human 26S proteasome at a resolution of 3.9 Å.

Protein degradation in eukaryotic cells is performed by the Ubiquitin-Proteasome System (UPS). The 26S proteasome holocomplex consists of a core particle (CP) that proteolytically degrades polyubiquitylated proteins, and a regulatory particle (RP) containing the AAA-ATPase module. This module controls access to the proteolytic chamber inside the CP and is surrounded by non-ATPase subunits (Rpns) that recognize substrates and deubiquitylate them before unfolding and degradation.

Structural disorder and its role in proteasomal degradation.

The ubiquitin proteasome system is responsible for the controlled degradation of a vast number of intracellular proteins. It targets misfolded or otherwise aberrant proteins as well as proteins no longer needed at a given point in time. The 26S proteasome is a large macromolecular machine comprising 33 distinct subunits as well as a number of transiently associating cofactors.

Structural characterization of the interaction of Ubp6 with the 26S proteasome.

In eukaryotic cells, the 26S proteasome is responsible for the regulated degradation of intracellular proteins. Several cofactors interact transiently with this large macromolecular machine and modulate its function. The deubiquitylating enzyme ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase 6 [Ubp6; ubiquitin-specific protease (USP) 14 in mammals] is the most abundant proteasome-interacting protein and has multiple roles in regulating proteasome function.

Paleoradiology of the Savoca Mummies, Sicily, Italy (18th-19th Centuries AD).

Mummified remains have been successfully studied radiologically since the end of the 19th century, giving rise to a specific field of research-paleoradiology. In this paper, we present the results of the first radiological investigation of a collection of Sicilian mummies found in a subterranean chamber beneath the Capuchin Church of Savoca. The chamber contains a number of preserved bodies, either held in special niches in the walls or interred within coffins.

Proteasomes. A molecular census of 26S proteasomes in intact neurons.

The 26S proteasome is a key player in eukaryotic protein quality control and in the regulation of numerous cellular processes. Here, we describe quantitative in situ structural studies of this highly dynamic molecular machine in intact hippocampal neurons. We used electron cryotomography with the Volta phase plate, which allowed high fidelity and nanometer precision localization of 26S proteasomes.

Emerging mechanistic insights into AAA complexes regulating proteasomal degradation.

The 26S proteasome is an integral element of the ubiquitin-proteasome system(UPS) and, as such, responsible for regulated degradation of proteins in eukaryotic cells.It consists of the core particle, which catalyzes the proteolysis of substrates into small peptides, and the regulatory particle, which ensures specificity for a broad range of substrates.The heart of the regulatory particle is an AAA-ATPase unfoldase, which is surrounded by non-ATPase subunits enabling substrate recognition and processing.

Dilute brimonidine to improve patient comfort and subconjunctival hemorrhage after LASIK.

Purpose: To investigate whether dilute brimonidine (0.025%) reduces patient discomfort, subconjunctival hemorrhage, and injection after LASIK without a significant increase in the rate of flap complications or surgical enhancements.

Methods: This randomized, double-blind, prospective study enrolled 180 patients (360 eyes) in a contralateral eye comparison of topical dilute brimonidine, naphazoline/pheniramine, or Systane Ultra (Alcon Laboratories, Inc.

Mixing-induced anisotropic correlations in molecular crystalline systems.

We investigate the structure of mixed thin films composed of pentacene and diindenoperylene using x-ray reflectivity and grazing incidence x-ray diffraction. For equimolar mixtures we observe vanishing in-plane order coexisting with an excellent out-of-plane order, a yet unreported disordering behavior in binary mixtures of organic semiconductors, which are crystalline in their pure form. One approach to rationalize our findings is to introduce an anisotropic interaction parameter in the framework of a mean field model.

Soft tissue preservation system: Applications.

The soft tissue preservation system (STPS) is emerging as a method of expressing the degree of soft tissue present on an ancient human body (mummy). In this system the intact body is divided into five anatomic segments (head, thorax, pelvis, arms and legs). Each of these segments is assigned a maximal potential number of five "points.

Soft tissue taphonomy: A paleopathology perspective.

Interest in the diseases that afflicted ancient populations (paleoepidemiology) has been increasing rapidly during the past several decades. It is now clear that a substantial amount of medical information present in the body at the moment of death remains accessible by laboratory studies of human mummies centuries or even millennia after death. However, both endogenous and environmental influences during the postmortem interval can alter the gross appearance and biochemical constituents of the corpse's tissues.

Reflections about bizarre mummification practices on mummies at Egypt's Dakhleh oasis: a review.

About 100 mummified human remains were excavated from the Dakhleh Oasis in Egypt's Western Desert. Of these, less than half were examined by dissection. These dated to the Late Ptolemaic and Roman Periods.

Problems in determination of skeletal lead burden in archaeological samples: an example from the First African Baptist Church population.

Human bone lead content has been demonstrated to be related to socioeconomic status, occupation and other social and environmental correlates. Skeletal tissue samples from 135 individuals from an early nineteenth century Philadelphia cemetery (First African Baptist Church) were studied by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry and X-ray fluorescence for lead content. High bone lead levels led to investigation of possible diagenetic effects.

Assessment of a bovine co-culture, scaffold-free method for growing meniscus-shaped constructs.

Using a self-assembly (SA), scaffoldless method, five high-density co-cultures with varied ratios of meniscal fibrochondrocytes (MFCs) and articular chondrocytes (ACs) were seeded into novel meniscus-specific, ring-shaped agarose wells. The following ratios of MFCs to ACs were used: 0% MFC, 25% MFC, 50% MFC, 75% MFC, and 100% MFC. Over 4 weeks, all ratios of cells self-assembled into three-dimensional constructs with varying mechanobiological and morphological properties.

A direct compression stimulator for articular cartilage and meniscal explants.

This paper describes the development and use of a direct compression stimulator for culturing explants from the meniscus of the knee and articular cartilage. Following design and fabrication of the instrument along with its data acquisition system, the function of the machine was verified by both mechanical means and tissue effect. The loading chamber can hold up to 45 5 mm diameter samples.

Antiquity of coca-leaf chewing in the south central Andes: a 3,000 year archaeological record of coca-leaf chewing from northern Chile.

Carbon-14 (14C) dating from mummies of the Alto Ramirez culture confirms that coca leaf chewing was an incipient practice among members of a population that peopled the valleys and coastal areas of Northern Chile by 3,000 years before the present (yr.B.P.

Comparison of scaffolds and culture conditions for tissue engineering of the knee meniscus.

The menisci of the knee are semilunar fibrocartilaginous structures critical in load bearing, shock absorption, stability, and lubrication. In this study, two commonly used biomaterials, a hydrogel (agarose) and a nonwoven mesh polymer [poly(glycolic acid); PGA], were compared for suitability as scaffold materials for tissue engineering the knee meniscus. In addition, a rotating wall bioreactor culture of both scaffold materials was compared with static cultures.

Analysis of protein expression patterns in Barrett's esophagus using MALDI mass spectrometry, in search of malignancy biomarkers.

In order to detect early changes of malignant degeneration in Barrett's esophagus (BE), and to reduce the cost of surveillance, molecular biomarkers of early malignancy have been sought, with limited success, using genomic and immunohistochemical tools. We postulate that direct analysis of epithelial proteins using mass spectrometry will provide protein profiles capable of identifying patients at high risk of developing malignancy. Our aim is to find transitional protein signals that show a cancer profile within histologically benign BE, which can be used as indicators of early malignant change.

Mechanical stimulation toward tissue engineering of the knee meniscus.

Current clinical practices do not adequately regenerate the meniscus of the knee secondary to a tear. Complete or partial meniscus removal leads to degenerative changes within the joint. Tissue engineering of the meniscus promises a potent solution.

A 9,000-year record of Chagas' disease.

Tissue specimens from 283 principally spontaneously (naturally) desiccated human mummies from coastal and low valley sites in northern Chile and southern Peru were tested with a DNA probe directed at a kinetoplast DNA segment of Trypanosoma cruzi. The time interval spanned by the eleven major cultural groups represented in the sample ranged from approximately 9,000 years B.P.

Archaeological contributions of skeletal lead analysis.

We developed a chemical method to quantitate lead in small skeletal specimens and used it to establish lead distribution and quantitation in modern skeletons for all age groups to standardize sampling sites. Application of the method to excavated ancient skeletal collections enabled prediction of socioeconomic status among Colonial Americans, as well as identification of lead poisoning in ancient Rome as related to lead production and in an 18th century Caribbean epidemic as related to distillation of rum. Depending upon the conditions of burial, bones may be contaminated by surrounding material.