Corticosteroid monotherapy versus combined cytarabine continuous rate infusion and corticosteroid therapy in dogs with meningoencephalitis of unknown origin: A blinded, randomized, controlled trial.

Background: Treatment options available for meningoencephalitis of unknown origin (MUO) in dogs are suboptimal, and currently, no single treatment protocol appears to be superior.

Objectives: Compare neurological deterioration rates at 7 days between dogs with MUO treated with corticosteroids alone or combined with cytosine arabinoside (CA) continuous rate infusion (CRI) and compare clinical deterioration and survival at 30 and 100 days.

Animals: Sixty-nine dogs with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) features or both compatible with MUO.

Engineering Biocatalysts for the C-H Activation of Fatty Acids by Ancestral Sequence Reconstruction.

Selective, one-step C-H activation of fatty acids from biomass is an attractive concept in sustainable chemistry. Biocatalysis has shown promise for generating high-value hydroxy acids, but to date enzyme discovery has relied on laborious screening and produced limited hits, which predominantly oxidise the subterminal positions of fatty acids. Herein we show that ancestral sequence reconstruction (ASR) is an effective tool to explore the sequence-activity landscape of a family of multidomain, self-sufficient P450 monooxygenases.

Biochemical characterization of a glycoside hydrolase family 43 β-D-galactofuranosidase from the fungus Aspergillus niger.

β-D-Galactofuranose (Galf) and its polysaccharides are found in bacteria, fungi and protozoa but do not occur in mammalian tissues, and thus represent a specific target for anti-pathogenic drugs. Understanding the enzymatic degradation of these polysaccharides is therefore of great interest, but the identity of fungal enzymes with exclusively galactofuranosidase activity has so far remained elusive. Here we describe the identification and characterization of a galactofuranosidase from the industrially important fungus Aspergillus niger.

Comparison of serum creatine kinase and aspartate aminotransferase activity in dogs with Neospora meningoencephalitis and noninfectious meningoencephalitis.

Background: Creatine kinase (CK) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity can be increased with myositis associated with Toxoplasma and Neospora infection in dogs.

Hypothesis/objectives: Serum activity of CK and AST can be used as a rapid screen for predicting positive serology in meningoencephalitis caused by Toxoplasma gondii or Neospora caninum in dogs compared to dogs with noninfectious meningoencephalitis.

Animals: Eighty dogs with meningoencephalitis based on magnetic resonance imaging and cerebrospinal fluid analysis.

Enzymatic Late-Stage Modifications: Better Late Than Never.

Enzyme catalysis is gaining increasing importance in synthetic chemistry. Nowadays, the growing number of biocatalysts accessible by means of bioinformatics and enzyme engineering opens up an immense variety of selective reactions. Biocatalysis especially provides excellent opportunities for late-stage modification often superior to conventional de novo synthesis.