Pea legumin overexpressed in wheat endosperm assembles into an ordered paracrystalline matrix.

Legumin, a major component of pea seed storage vacuoles, is synthesized by a number of paralogous genes. The polypeptides are cleaved posttranslationally and can form mixed hexamers. This heterogeneity hampers structural studies, based on the production of hexamer crystals in vitro.

Canadian experience with high intensity focused ultrasound for the treatment of BPH.

INTRODUCTION: High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) ablates benign prostatic tissue in a minimally invasive manner with low morbidity. The safety and effectiveness of treating of benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) with HIFU using 3 different protocols are reported. METHODS: Forty six male patients with a mean age of 65 (range 47-84) were treated using the Sonablate HIFU device (Focus Surgery, Indianapolis IN) with 3 different protocols at 3 centres (LDS n=20, PJP n=12, RWC n=14).

Molecular cloning and biochemical characterization of a lipoxygenase in almond (Prunus dulcis) seed.

We have characterized an almond (Prunus dulcis) lipoxygenase (LOX) that is expressed early in seed development. The presence of an active lipoxygenase was confirmed by western blot analysis and by measuring the enzymatic activity in microsomal and soluble protein samples purified from almond seeds at this stage of development. The almond lipoxygenase, which had a pH optimum around 6, was identified as a 9-LOX on the basis of the isomers of linoleic acid hydroperoxides produced in the enzymatic reaction.

CD44 and beta1 integrins mediate ovarian carcinoma cell migration toward extracellular matrix proteins.

Epithelial cancer of the ovary spreads by implantation of tumor cells onto the mesothelial cells that line the peritoneal cavity. The aim of this study was to identify the cell-matrix interactions that mediate ovarian carcinoma cell migration toward components of the mesothelial cell-associated extracellular matrix. The human ovarian carcinoma cell lines NIH:OVCAR5 and SKOV3 were analyzed by flow cytometry for the expression of cell surface receptors.

Mutagenesis and modelling of linoleate-binding to pea seed lipoxygenase.

We have produced a model to define the linoleate-binding pocket of pea 9/13-lipoxygenase and have validated it by the construction and characterization of eight point mutants. Three of the mutations reduced, to varying degrees, the catalytic centre activity (kcat) of the enzyme with linoleate. In two of the mutants, reductions in turnover were associated with changes in iron-coordination.

Probing a novel potato lipoxygenase with dual positional specificity reveals primary determinants of substrate binding and requirements for a surface hydrophobic loop and has implications for the role of lipoxygenases in tubers.

A new potato tuber lipoxygenase full-length cDNA sequence (lox1:St:2) has been isolated from potato tubers and used to express in Escherichia coli and characterize a novel recombinant lipoxygenase (potato 13/9-lipoxygenase). Like most plant lipoxygenases it produced carbonyl compounds from linoleate (the preferred substrate) and was purified in the Fe(II) (ferrous) state. Typical of other potato tuber lipoxygenases, it produced 5-HPETE [5(S)-hydroperoxy-(6E, 8Z, 11Z, 14Z)-eicosatetraenoic acid] from arachidonate.

Evaluation of a live, cold-passaged, temperature-sensitive, respiratory syncytial virus vaccine candidate in infancy.

A live-attenuated, intranasal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) candidate vaccine, cpts-248/404, was tested in phase 1 trials in 114 children, including 37 1-2-month-old infants-a target age for RSV vaccines. The cpts-248/404 vaccine was infectious at 104 and 105 plaque-forming units in RSV-naive children and was broadly immunogenic in children >6 months old. Serum and nasal antibody responses in 1-2 month olds were restricted to IgA, had a dominant response to RSV G protein, and had no increase in neutralizing activity.

Rectus sheath haematoma: an unusual diagnosis.

Rectus sheath haematoma is a very rare occurrence. There were four cases in this hospital within a three month period. In this article, these cases, their investigation and management arc reported.

A novel presentation of cryptococcal infection in a renal allograft recipient.

The population of immunosuppressed patients is growing rapidly because of the HIV epidemic and the rapid expansion in transplant medicine. These patients may present to a variety of clinical specialties with seemingly innocuous infections. We present here the first Irish case of primary cryptococcal cellulitis.

Risk-resistance adaptation model for caregivers and their children with sickle cell syndromes.

This investigation examined the risk-resistance adaptation model for children with sickle cell disease and their primary caregivers. Participants were 55 children, ranging in age from 5 to 16 years with a mean age of 9 years 2 months, diagnosed with sickle cell disease and their primary caregivers, recruited from a university medical center. Measures included adjustment (i.

Corrosion of lead shielding in a radiology department.

Corrosion of lead sheet used for structural radiation protection in the Princess Alexandra Hospital radiology department has been identified. The corrosion is thought to have been caused by organic acid vapours released from oregon timber wall panelling. Non-destructive testing (NDT) and X-ray transmission measurements were used to define the extent and severity of damage, and subsequently to provide the data necessary for estimation of staff and public radiation doses.

An immunohistochemical analysis of fibroid vasculature.

This study aimed to compare vascular parameters between fibroid and myometrium. From 10 uteri, specimens were taken from small fibroids (<0.5 cm), from the inner and outer parts of large fibroids (>3 cm), and from myometrium.

The management of arsenic wastes: problems and prospects.

Arsenic has found widespread use in agriculture and industry to control a variety of insect and fungicidal pests. Most of these uses have been discontinued, but residues from such activities, together with the ongoing generation of arsenic wastes from the smelting of various ores, have left a legacy of a large number of arsenic-contaminated sites. The treatment and/or removal of arsenic is hindered by the fact that arsenic has a variety of valence states.

Co-oxidation of beta-carotene catalyzed by soybean and recombinant pea lipoxygenases.

A number of products including apocarotenal, epoxycarotenal, apocarotenone, and epoxycarotenone generated by lipoxygenase (LOX) catalyzed co-oxidation of beta-carotene have been tentatively identified through the use of GC/MS and HPLC combined with photodiode array detection. Because of the large number of high molecular weight products detected and their probable chemical structures, a co-oxidation mechanism is proposed that involves random attack along the alkene chain of the carotenoid by a LOX-generated linoleoylperoxyl radical. It is suggested that a direct release from the enzyme of the radical, which initiates the co-oxidation of beta-carotene, is greater for pea LOX-3 than for pea LOX-2 or soybean LOX-1.

Frequency and predictors of medically attended injuries in HIV-infected children.

The extent to which medically attended injuries complicate the clinical course of HIV-infected (HIV+) children is unknown. In a cohort of HIV+ children delivered from 1985 to 1990 and aged less than 60 months, we determined medically attended injuries per 100 child-years, Injury Severity Scores (ISS), and predictors of medically attended injuries by using New York State Medicaid claims from 1986 to 1992 linked to birth certificates. Injury rates and ISS were compared to those of a population of black, inner city children aged less than 60 months from emergency room records.

Molecular and clinical correlation study of Williams-Beuren syndrome: No evidence of molecular factors in the deletion region or imprinting affecting clinical outcome.

Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) results from a deletion of 7q11.23 in 90-95% of all clinically typical cases. Clinical manifestation can be variable and therefore, deletion size, inherited elastin (ELN) and LIM kinase 1 (LIMK1) alleles, gender, and parental origin of deletion have been investigated for associations with clinical outcome.

Molecular analysis of a null mutant for pea (Pisum sativum L.) seed lipoxygenase-2.

A mutant line of Pisum fulvum was identified that lacked seed lipoxygenase-2 (LOX-2). The mutant phenotype was introgressed into a standard Pisum sativum cv. Birte to provide near-isogenic lines with or without seed LOX-2.

Hyperornithinaemia-hyperammonaemia-homocitrullinuria syndrome is caused by mutations in a gene encoding a mitochondrial ornithine transporter.

Neurospora crassa ARG13 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae ARG11 encode mitochondrial carrier family (MCF) proteins that transport ornithine across the mitochondrial inner membrane. We used their sequences to identify EST candidates that partially encode orthologous mammalian transporters. We thereby identified such a gene (ORNT1) that maps to 13q14 and whose expression, similar to that of other urea cycle (UC) components, was high in liver and varied with changes in dietary protein.

Myotonic dystrophy: tissue-specific effect of somatic CTG expansions on allele-specific DMAHP/SIX5 expression.

Myotonic dystrophy (DM), the most common inherited muscle disorder, is caused by a CTG expansion in the 3"-untranslated region of a protein kinase gene ( DMPK ). The complex and variable phenotype is most likely caused by a complex molecular pathogenesis, including deficiency of the DMPK protein, a trans -dominant misregulation of RNA homeostasis and haploinsufficiency of a neighboring homeobox gene [DM locus-associated homeodomain protein (DMAHP )]. Here, we study the allele-specific transcriptional activity of the DMAHP/SIX5 gene in DM patient tissues.

Noninvasive surgery of prostate tissue by high intensity focused ultrasound: an updated report.

Objective: To establish clinical efficacy and safety of High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in a multiple site clinical study.

Methods: Seven clinical sites were set up for the studies, five in the USA, one in Canada and one in Japan respectively. Sixty two patients were enrolled in these three studies.

Pathologic findings of multiple sulfatase deficiency reflect the pattern of enzyme deficiencies.

Multiple sulfatase deficiency is a rare metabolic storage disorder that manifests in childhood. It is probably an autosomal-recessive inherited condition, the gene for which has not yet been identified. Clinical features include mental deficiency and a dysmorphic appearance reminiscent of a mucopolysaccharidosis.

Photodynamic therapy for corneal neovascularization.

Background And Objective: Photodynamic therapy with tin ethyl etiopurpurin (SnET2) was evaluated as a treatment modality for rat corneal neovascularization.

Materials And Methods: Escalating light doses at 664 nm were applied focally to corneal neovascularization in rats 10 minutes following an intravenous injection of SnET2 using a low-power diode laser. Controls consisted of light-only and drug-only treatments.

Three closely related herpesviruses are associated with fibropapillomatosis in marine turtles.

Green turtle fibropapillomatosis is a neoplastic disease of increasingly significant threat to the survivability of this species. Degenerate PCR primers that target highly conserved regions of genes encoding herpesvirus DNA polymerases were used to amplify a DNA sequence from fibropapillomas and fibromas from Hawaiian and Florida green turtles. All of the tumors tested (n = 23) were found to harbor viral DNA, whereas no viral DNA was detected in skin biopsies from tumor-negative turtles.

Characterization of authentic recombinant pea-seed lipoxygenases with distinct properties and reaction mechanisms.

The two major isoforms of lipoxygenase (LOX-2 and LOX-3) from pea (Pisum sativum L. cv. Birte) seeds have been cloned and expressed from full-length cDNAs as soluble, active, non-fusion proteins in Escherichia coli.