Systematic review of the role of occupational health and safety interventions in the prevention of upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms, signs, disorders, injuries, claims and lost time.

Background: Little is known about the most effective occupational health and safety (OHS) interventions to reduce upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and injuries.

Methods: A systematic review used a best evidence synthesis approach to address the question: "do occupational health and safety interventions have an effect on upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms, signs, disorders, injuries, claims and lost time?"

Results: The search identified 36 studies of sufficient methodological quality to be included in data extraction and evidence synthesis. Overall, a mixed level of evidence was found for OHS interventions.

Streptococcal protective antigens (Spa): a new family of type-specific proteins of group A streptococci.

Previous studies in our laboratory described a new group A streptococcal protective antigen (Spa) in type 18 streptococci that was distinct from the type 18 M protein. This study was undertaken to identify additional serotypes of group A streptococci that express Spa proteins. PCR techniques were used to identify and clone a new spa gene from type 36 streptococci.

Indirect and direct detection of the 4-(benzothiazol-2-yl)phenylnitrenium ion from a putative metabolite of a model anti-tumor drug.

2-(4-Aminophenyl)benzothiazoles related to 1 are potentially important pharmaceuticals. Metabolism apparently involves oxidation and esterification to 3. In water, hydrolysis and photolysis of 3 generates the nitrenium ion 4 that can be detected indirectly by N(3)(-) trapping and directly by UV-vis spectroscopy following laser flash photolysis.

Interpretation of p-cyanophenylalanine fluorescence in proteins in terms of solvent exposure and contribution of side-chain quenchers: a combined fluorescence, IR and molecular dynamics study.

The use of noncoded amino acids as spectroscopic probes of protein folding and function is growing rapidly, in large part because of advances in the methodology for their incorporation. Recently p-cyanophenylalanine has been employed as a fluorescence and IR probe, as well as a FRET probe to study protein folding, protein-membrane interactions, protein-protein interactions and amyloid formation. The probe has been shown to be exquisitely sensitive to hydrogen bonding interactions involving the cyano group, and its fluorescence quantum yield increases dramatically when it is hydrogen bonded.

A case report and literature review of group C streptococcal pneumonia.

Group C streptococci rarely cause severe disease in humans. The authors report a 15-year-old girl with group C streptococcal pneumonia. No immune deficiencies were detected in our patient and investigation of virulence factors including emmL, sag A, spegg and smeZ genes failed to reveal insight into why the isolated group C streptococcal strain was so virulent.

Probing protein folding using site-specifically encoded unnatural amino acids as FRET donors with tryptophan.

The experimental study of protein folding is enhanced by the use of nonintrusive probes that are sensitive to local conformational changes in the protein structure. Here, we report the selection of an aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase/tRNA pair for the cotranslational, site-specific incorporation of two unnatural amino acids that can function as fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) donors with Trp to probe the disruption of the hydrophobic core upon protein unfolding. l-4-Cyanophenylalanine (pCNPhe) and 4-ethynylphenylalanine (pENPhe) were incorporated into the hydrophobic core of the 171-residue protein, T4 lysozyme.

Resident enteric microbiota and CD8+ T cells shape the abundance of marginal zone B cells.

Since enteric microbial composition is a distinctive and stable individual trait, microbial heterogeneity may confer lifelong, non-genetic differences between individuals. Here we report that C57BL/6 mice bearing restricted flora microbiota, a distinct but diverse resident enteric microbial community, are numerically and functionally deficient in marginal zone (MZ) B cells. Surprisingly, MZ B-cell levels are minimally affected by germ-free conditions or null mutations of various TLR signaling molecules.

A vibrational probe for local nucleic acid environments: 5-cyano-2'-deoxyuridine.

Nitriles have been shown to be effective vibrational probes of local environments in proteins but have yet to be fully utilized for the study of nucleic acids. The potential utility of 5-cyano-2'-deoxyuridine ( 1) as a probe of local nucleic acid environment was investigated by measuring the dependence of the IR nitrile stretching frequency (nu CN), line shape, and absorbance on solvent and temperature. The nu CN was found to be sensitive to solvent with an observed blue shift of 9.

Molecular imaging of murine intestinal inflammation with 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose and positron emission tomography.

Background & Aims: 2-Deoxy-2-[(18)F]fluoro-d-glucose (FDG) uptake by positron emission tomography (PET), a measure of glucose transporter activity, has been used to detect mucosal inflammation. However, there is limited understanding of the biologic basis of mucosal FDG uptake.

Methods: A contrast-based computed tomographic isocontour method was developed to identify intestinal anatomic regions, and FDG uptake was integrated over these regions to achieve reproducible quantification during longitudinal assessment of individual mice.

Colitis immunoregulation by CD8+ T cell requires T cell cytotoxicity and B cell peptide antigen presentation.

Deficient immunoregulation by CD4+ T cells is an important susceptibility trait for inflammatory bowel disease, but the role of other regulatory cell types is less understood. This study addresses the role and mechanistic interaction of B cells and CD8+ T cells in controlling immune-mediated colitis. The genetic requirements for B cells and CD8+ T cells to confer protective immunoregulation were assessed by cotransfer with colitogenic Galphai2-/- T cells into immune-deficient mice.

Quantitative NMR monitoring of liquid ingress into repellent heterogeneous layered fabrics.

Fabrics which are water repellent and repellent to other liquids are often constructed using multiple layers of material. Such a construction is preferable to a single layer of a liquid-repellent textile because, under the action of an applied pressure, ingress of a liquid through the first layer can be halted by the second or subsequent layers. In the quantitative investigation of this problem, current techniques provide limited information on the progress and distribution of the liquid as it ingresses into a fabric.

Systemic control of plasmacytoid dendritic cells by CD8+ T cells and commensal microbiota.

The composition of the intestinal microbial community is a distinctive individual trait that may divergently influence host biology. Because dendritic cells (DC) regulate the quality of the host response to microbiota, we evaluated DC in mice bearing distinct enteric microbial communities divergent for colitis susceptibility. Surprisingly, a selective, systemic reduction of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) was observed in isogenic mice with different microbiota: restricted flora (RF) vs specific pathogen free (SPF).

On the pathway of forming enzymatically productive ligand-protein complexes in lactate dehydrogenase.

We have carried out a series of studies on the binding of a substrate mimic to the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) using advanced kinetic approaches, which begin to provide a molecular picture of the dynamics of ligand binding for this protein. Binding proceeds via a binding-competent subpopulation of the nonligated form of the protein (the LDH/NADH binary complex) to form a protein-ligand encounter complex. The work here describes the collapse of the encounter complex to form the catalytically competent Michaelis complex.

Villous B cells of the small intestine are specialized for invariant NK T cell dependence.

B cells are important in mucosal microbial homeostasis through their well-known role in secretory IgA production and their emerging role in mucosal immunoregulation. Several specialized intraintestinal B cell compartments have been characterized, but the nature of conventional B cells in the lamina propria is poorly understood. In this study, we identify a B cell population predominantly composed of surface IgM(+) IgD(+) cells residing in villi of the small intestine and superficial lamina propria of the large intestine, but distinct from the intraepithelial compartment or organized intestinal lymphoid structures.

Integration of B cells and CD8+ T in the protective regulation of systemic epithelial inflammation.

Mechanisms that control abnormal CD4(+) T cell-mediated tissue damage are a significant factor in averting and resolving chronic inflammatory epithelial diseases. B cells can promote such immunoregulation, and this is thought to involve interaction with MHC II- or CD1-restricted regulatory T cells. The purpose of this study is to genetically define the interacting cells targeted by protective B cells, and to elucidate their regulatory mechanisms in CD4(+) T cell inflammation.

Consumer sensory evaluations of aging effects on beef quality.

The most important sensory attribute affecting consumer acceptability is tenderness, which is a complex trait. Aging is the practice of holding meat at low temperatures to improve tenderness. In order to assess consumer quality attributes, cattle were selected to represent a range of quality grades from Utility to Prime.

A simple and economical method for the production of 13C,18O-labeled Fmoc-amino acids with high levels of enrichment: applications to isotope-edited IR studies of proteins.

Isotope-edited IR of proteins has generated considerable interest. Double labeling with 13C and 18O with high levels of isotopic enrichment is required for residue-specific resolution. Current methods for the preparation of doubly labeled amino acids give modest 18O enrichment, limiting the utility of the approach.

Comment on "A semi-empirical approach to projecting future sea-level rise".

Rahmstorf (Reports, 19 January 2007, p. 368) presented an approach for predicting sea-level rise based on a proposed linear relationship between global mean surface temperature and the rate of global mean sea-level change. We find no such linear relationship.

Genomewide clonal analysis of lethal mutations in the Drosophila melanogaster eye: comparison of the X chromosome and autosomes.

Using a large consortium of undergraduate students in an organized program at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), we have undertaken a functional genomic screen in the Drosophila eye. In addition to the educational value of discovery-based learning, this article presents the first comprehensive genomewide analysis of essential genes involved in eye development. The data reveal the surprising result that the X chromosome has almost twice the frequency of essential genes involved in eye development as that found on the autosomes.

Dominant factors controlling glacial and interglacial variations in the treeline elevation in tropical Africa.

The knowledge of tropical palaeoclimates is crucial for understanding global climate change, because it is a test bench for general circulation models that are ultimately used to predict future global warming. A longstanding issue concerning the last glacial maximum in the tropics is the discrepancy between the decrease in sea-surface temperatures reconstructed from marine proxies and the high-elevation decrease in land temperatures estimated from indicators of treeline elevation. In this study, an improved inverse vegetation modeling approach is used to quantitatively reconstruct palaeoclimate and to estimate the effects of different factors (temperature, precipitation, and atmospheric CO(2) concentration) on changes in treeline elevation based on a set of pollen data covering an altitudinal range from 100 to 3,140 m above sea level in Africa.

A novel crystallization-induced diastereomeric transformation based on a reversible carbon-sulfur bond formation. Application to the synthesis of a gamma-secretase inhibitor.

This paper describes a remarkably efficient process for the preparation of gamma-secretase inhibitor 1. The target is synthesized in only five steps with an overall yield of 58%. The key operation is a highly selective and practical, crystallization-driven transformation for the conversion of a mixture of tertiary benzylic alcohols into the desired sulfide diastereomer with 94:6 dr.

The helix-turn-helix motif as an ultrafast independently folding domain: the pathway of folding of Engrailed homeodomain.

Helices 2 and 3 of Engrailed homeodomain (EnHD) form a helix-turn-helix (HTH) motif. This common motif is believed not to fold independently, which is the characteristic feature of a motif rather than a domain. But we found that the EnHD HTH motif is monomeric and folded in solution, having essentially the same structure as in full-length protein.