Thioredoxin targets fundamental processes in a methane-producing archaeon, Methanocaldococcus jannaschii.

Thioredoxin (Trx), a small redox protein, controls multiple processes in eukaryotes and bacteria by changing the thiol redox status of selected proteins. The function of Trx in archaea is, however, unexplored. To help fill this gap, we have investigated this aspect in methanarchaea--strict anaerobes that produce methane, a fuel and greenhouse gas.

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the Canada goose (Branta canadensis).

The Canada goose (Branta canadensis) entire mitochondrial genome of a bird from Western Pennsylvania has 16,760 bp (GenBank accession number NC 007011) and has been analyzed for gene locations, length, start codon and stop codons. This genome from a bird harvested during the non-migratory season is the REFSEQ and the haplotype is designated GCC-A. There are two rRNAs, 22 tRNAs, 13 protein-coding regions, and 1 displacement loop region.

A prospective study on the efficacy of mobilization of autologous peripheral stem cells in pediatric oncohematology patients.

Background: Peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) are the preferred source in autologous transplantation. We assessed prospectively the efficacy of mobilization in pediatric patients and risk factors associated with its failure.

Study Design And Methods: Patients, aged 0 to 17 years, needing a first collection of PBSCs for autologous stem cell transplantation were eligible.

Effect of a novel immunosuppressant, ST1959, on the immune system and renal allograft survival in rats.

Background: ST1959 is a 3,5-diaryl-s-triazole belonging to a novel class of contragestional agents with immunosuppressant activity. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of this drug on allogeneic immune response and on renal allograft survival in rats.

Methods: One group of naive and one group of allosensitized Lewis rats received ST1959 (0.

Antibody response to B19 parvovirus VP1 and VP2 linear epitopes in patients with haemophilic arthritis.

Parvovirus B19 infection occurs very frequently in patients with haemophilia on account of its transmission with plasma derivatives. In order to achieve a more defined serological pattern for the study of the role of B19 infection in haemophilic arthritis, 53 serum samples from 37 patients with haemophilic arthritis were investigated for the presence of IgG immune response against B19 VP2 and VP1 linear epitopes and VP2 conformational antigen compared to the serological reactivity against B19 NS1 and to the presence of B19 DNA in the synovial membranes. An IgG immune response against VP1 and VP2 linear epitopes was detected by immunoblot assay using recombinant proteins expressed in Escherichia coli.

The draft genome of Ciona intestinalis: insights into chordate and vertebrate origins.

The first chordates appear in the fossil record at the time of the Cambrian explosion, nearly 550 million years ago. The modern ascidian tadpole represents a plausible approximation to these ancestral chordates. To illuminate the origins of chordate and vertebrates, we generated a draft of the protein-coding portion of the genome of the most studied ascidian, Ciona intestinalis.

Appendectomy during pregnancy: a survey of two army medical activities.

Acute appendicitis is the most common nonobstetrical surgical condition of the abdomen complicating pregnancy. Appendectomy reportedly is performed during pregnancy once for every 1,500 deliveries. Although the incidence of appendicitis occurring in pregnant women is considered to be the same as in nonpregnant women, the signs and symptoms, and the laboratory findings usually associated with appendicitis in the nonpregnant condition, are frequently unreliable during pregnancy.

Uterine packing in the combined management of obstetrical hemorrhage.

Uterine packing to control obstetrical hemorrhage has been generally discouraged over the past several decades. Intractable uterine hemorrhage postpartum or following an abortion is an extremely vexing management problem for the physician and continues to be a leading cause of maternal mortality. Uterine packing should be considered as a presurgical management tool after lacerations of the lower genital tract, uterine rupture, or retained products have been ruled out and when conventional therapy fails to control uterine hemorrhage.

Fine needle aspiration of palpable breast masses with immediate cytologic interpretation in an OB/GYN residency training program: a preliminary report.

Increasing emphasis has been placed on the training of obstetrics and gynecology residents in the evaluation of patients with breast disease. In the past, one had to refer to the surgery, radiology, or pathology literature to obtain current information on fine needle aspiration. With the present mandate to include breast disease in the academic curricula of obstetrics and gynecology residency training, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tripler Army Medical Center, initiated training in breast evaluation.

Laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy in an Army medical center.

Over the past 5 years, laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH) has progressed from an experimental procedure to an alternative operation when abdominal hysterectomy is indicated. During a 15-month period, 31 patients underwent LAVH at Tripler Army Medical Center for treatment of gynecologic conditions that traditionally required abdominal hysterectomy. The benefits of the procedure and the complications encountered during surgery are discussed.

Echovirus 30 infection and aseptic meningitis in parents of children attending a child care center.

In July 1992, 13 parents with children attending a child care center (CCC) developed aseptic meningitis (AM) due to echovirus 30 (E30). To determine the extent of illness and risk factors for transmission, survey and blood specimens were collected from CCC families and teachers and from adult and pediatric controls. Infection was defined as the presence of anti-E30 IgM antibodies.

Effects of insulin on fatty acid reesterification in healthy subjects.

The effects of insulin on triacylglycerol/fatty acid cycling (fatty acid reesterification) were studied in 12 normal subjects during euglycemic hyperinsulinemia with the use of stable isotope dilution analysis ([2H5]glycerol and [1-13C]palmitate) in combination with indirect calorimetry. During basal conditions, 5.6 +/- 0.

Ethanol inhibits insulin action on lipolysis and on insulin release in elderly men.

We have studied effects of ethanol on insulin's ability to suppress its own release and on its antilipolytic action in 12 healthy elderly men during euglycemic hyperinsulinemia. Insulin secretion was estimated from plasma C-peptide concentrations. Lipolysis was determined with the two stable isotopes [2H5]glycerol and [1-13C]palmitate.

Evidence that suppression of insulin secretion by insulin itself is neurally mediated.

We examined the mechanism by which an increase in blood insulin concentration inhibits insulin secretion by the pancreas. To this end, we determined plasma C-peptide concentrations during euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic (approximately 500 pmol/L) clamps in five patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) after combined pancreas and kidney (P/K) transplantation, in five nondiabetic patients after kidney transplantation (K), and in six normal control subjects. Hyperinsulinemia decreased C-peptide concentrations in K patients (by 60%, P < .

Glucose metabolism and leg blood flow after pancreas/kidney transplantation.

Patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) who have undergone combined pancreas and kidney (P/K) transplantation, are hyperinsulinemic and have impaired insulin-stimulated whole body glucose uptake. We have investigated whether their reduced glucose uptake was due to insulin resistance at the tissue level or was caused by reduced muscle blood flow, previously reported to be present in patients with IDDM. Leg blood flow (LBF, determined with mercury strain-gauge plethysmography), glucose uptake (GRd, determined with 6,6 D2-glucose), and glucose oxidation (Gox, determined by indirect calorimetry) were obtained during euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic (approximately 500 pM) clamping in five P/K patients, five kidney transplant (K) patients, and six controls.

Effects of age and body fat on insulin resistance in healthy men.

Objective: Aging is known to be associated with increasing insulin resistance and declining glucose tolerance. The cause for the insulin resistance, however, remains uncertain. In this study, we examined the hypothesis that at least part of the insulin resistance may be attributable to age-related changes in body composition and muscle blood flow rather than age itself.

Effects of ethanol on carbohydrate metabolism in the elderly.

We have previously reported that in young men, ethanol caused acute insulin resistance, but compensatory insulin secretion prevented deterioration of glucose tolerance (1). In this study, we tested the hypothesis that elderly men, because of their pre-existing insulin resistance and compromised insulin secretory capacity, may experience worsening of their glucose tolerance after ethanol. Nine elderly men (65.

N-linked oligosaccharide changes with oncogenic transformation require sialylation of multiantennae.

Glycopeptides derived from NIH 3T3 fibroblasts and these cells transformed by transfection with human DNA containing oncogene H-ras were analyzed by 500-MHz 1H-NMR spectroscopy and binding to immobilized lectins. The cells were metabolically labeled with D-[3H]glucosamine or L-[3H]fucose and the glycopeptides included in Bio-Gel P-10 (Mr 5000-3500) were separated into neutral and charged fractions on DEAE-cellulose. The major portion (80%) of these [3H]fucose glycopeptides from the non-transformed NIH 3T3 fibroblasts were neutral or contained one or two charged residues, whereas 90% of the glycopeptides from the transformed cells contained two or more charged residues.

NIH 3T3 cells transfected with human tumor DNA lose the transformed phenotype when treated with swainsonine.

Phenotypic expression of transformation was inhibited by swainsonine at concentrations which affect the late stages of glycoprotein processing but not growth of cells. In the presence of swainsonine, NIH 3T3 fibroblasts transfected with human tumor DNA (al-l) no longer grew in soft agar or expressed complex type oligosaccharides characteristic of transformed cells. Thus, it appears that glycoproteins with fully processed oligosaccharides are necessary for the maintenance of the transformed phenotype in these cells.