Identification of molecular hinge points mediating alternating access in the vesicular monoamine transporter VMAT2.

Vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) catalyzes transport of monoamines into storage vesicles in a process that involves exchange of the charged monoamine with two protons. VMAT2 is a member of the DHA12 family of multidrug transporters that belongs to the major facilitator superfamily (MFS) of secondary transporters. Here we present a homology model of VMAT2, which has the standard MFS fold, that is, with two domains of six transmembrane helices each which are related by twofold pseudosymmetry and whose axis runs normal to the membrane and between the two halves.

Alignment of helical membrane protein sequences using AlignMe.

Few sequence alignment methods have been designed specifically for integral membrane proteins, even though these important proteins have distinct evolutionary and structural properties that might affect their alignments. Existing approaches typically consider membrane-related information either by using membrane-specific substitution matrices or by assigning distinct penalties for gap creation in transmembrane and non-transmembrane regions. Here, we ask whether favoring matching of predicted transmembrane segments within a standard dynamic programming algorithm can improve the accuracy of pairwise membrane protein sequence alignments.

The plastid genome of the hornwort Nothoceros aenigmaticus (Dendrocerotaceae): phylogenetic signal in inverted repeat expansion, pseudogenization, and intron gain.

Premise Of The Study: The previously sequenced plastome of the hornwort Anthoceros angustus differs from that of other bryophytes by an expanded inverted repeat (IR) and the presence of a type I intron in the 23S ribosomal RNA (rrn23) gene. We assembled the plastome of the hornwort Nothoceros aenigmaticus, contrasted its architecture to that of other bryophytes, and assessed the phylogenetic significance of genomic characters in hornwort evolution. •

Methods: The Nothoceros plastome was reconstructed from shotgun sequencing of genomic DNA.

Socioeconomic inequalities in lung cancer treatment: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Intervention-generated inequalities are unintended variations in outcome that result from the organisation and delivery of health interventions. Socioeconomic inequalities in treatment may occur for some common cancers. Although the incidence and outcome of lung cancer varies with socioeconomic position (SEP), it is not known whether socioeconomic inequalities in treatment occur and how these might affect mortality.

Dementia knowledge transfer project in a rural area.

Introduction: Rural Scotland has an ageing population. There has been an increase in the number of people with dementia and as the proportion of people aged over 75 years continues to rise, this will increase still further. The Scottish Government has produced a dementia strategy and implementing this will be a challenge for rural Scotland.

Organellar genome, nuclear ribosomal DNA repeat unit, and microsatellites isolated from a small-scale of 454 GS FLX sequencing on two mosses.

Recent innovations in high-throughput DNA sequencing methodology (next generation sequencing technologies [NGS]) allow for the generation of large amounts of high quality data that may be particularly critical for resolving ambiguous relationships such as those resulting from rapid radiations. Application of NGS technology to bryology is limited to assembling entire nuclear or organellar genomes of selected exemplars of major lineages (e.g.

Cysteine scanning mutagenesis of transmembrane helix 3 of a brain glutamate transporter reveals two conformationally sensitive positions.

Glutamate transporters in the brain remove the neurotransmitter from the synapse by cotransport with three sodium ions into the surrounding cells. Recent structural work on an archaeal homolog suggests that, during substrate translocation, the transport domain, including the peripheral transmembrane helix 3 (TM3), moves relative to the trimerization domain in an elevator-like process. Moreover, two TM3 residues have been proposed to form part of a transient Na3' site, and another, Tyr-124, appears close to both Na3' and Na1.

Dissecting a regulatory calcium-binding site of CLC-K kidney chloride channels.

The kidney and inner ear CLC-K chloride channels, which are involved in salt absorption and endolymph production, are regulated by extracellular Ca(2+) in the millimolar concentration range. Recently, Gradogna et al. (2010.

Stakeholder perceptions of a nurse led walk-in centre.

Background: As many countries face primary care medical workforce shortages and find it difficult to provide timely and affordable care they seek to find new ways of delivering first point of contact health care through developing new service models. In common with other areas of rural and regional Australia, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is currently experiencing a general practitioner (GP) workforce shortage which impacts significantly on the ability of patients to access GP led primary care services. The introduction of a nurse led primary care Walk-in Centre in the ACT aimed to fulfill an unmet health care need in the community and meet projected demand for health care services as well as relieve pressure on the hospital system.

Exercise-induced paradoxical vocal fold motion disorder: diagnosis and management.

Objectives/hypothesis: To review our experience with the diagnosis and treatment of exercise-induced paradoxical vocal fold motion disorder (EPVFMD).

Study Design: Single-institution retrospective review and cohort analysis.

Methods: A single-institution retrospective review was performed identifying patients with paradoxical vocal fold motion disorder (PVFMD).

Investigation of the sodium-binding sites in the sodium-coupled betaine transporter BetP.

Sodium-coupled substrate transport plays a central role in many biological processes. However, despite knowledge of the structures of several sodium-coupled transporters, the location of the sodium-binding site(s) often remains unclear. Several of these structures have the five transmembrane-helix inverted-topology repeat, LeuT-like (FIRL) fold, whose pseudosymmetry has been proposed to facilitate the alternating-access mechanism required for transport.

Nurse delivered lifestyle interventions in primary health care to treat chronic disease risk factors associated with obesity: a systematic review.

Nurses in primary health care (PHC) provide an increasing proportion of chronic disease management and preventive lifestyle advice. The databases MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE and PsychINFO were searched and the articles were systematically reviewed for articles describing controlled adult lifestyle intervention studies delivered by a PHC nurse, in a PHC setting. Thirty-one articles describing 28 studies were analysed by comparison group which revealed: (i) no difference of effect when the same intervention was delivered by a PHC nurse compared to other health professionals in PHC (n = 2); (ii) the provision of counselling delivered by a PHC nurse was more effective than health screening (n = 10); (iii) counselling based on behaviour change theory was more effective than the same dose of non-behavioural counselling when at least three counselling sessions were delivered (n = 3).

Interruption of poliovirus transmission in Ghana: molecular epidemiology of wild-type 1 poliovirus isolated from 1995 to 2008.

Described in detail is the molecular epidemiology of wild-type 1 poliovirus circulation in Ghana between 1995-2008, following the implementation of a surveillance system for cases of acute flaccid paralysis and poliovirus infection. Molecular phylogenetic analysis combined with a detailed evaluation of epidemiological indicators revealed that the geographical and temporal circulation of wild-type poliovirus in Ghana was determined by the quality of the implementation of global eradication strategies. The transmission of "indigenous" wild-type 1 poliovirus was eliminated in 1999.

What primary health-care services are Australian consumers willing to accept from nurse practitioners? A National Survey.

Background: Nurses are becoming increasingly important as providers of primary health care in Australia. In November 2010, Medicare provider rights and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme rights for nurse practitioners, working in private practice and in collaboration with a medical practitioner, were introduced in Australia. Although international evidence suggests that nurse practitioners would be appropriate and acceptable providers of care at the first point of contact, such as primary health care, there is little Australian evidence about what care consumers are willing to accept from nurse practitioners.

On-line monitoring system for chemical warfare agents using automated capillary micellar electrokinetic chromatography.

We present an automated analysis system for the detection of the chemical warfare blister agents, sulfur mustard (HD) and lewisite (L), in aqueous samples without any chemical derivatization. The system is compact in size and designed to operate in the field in a safe, autonomous manner for near real-time monitoring applications. It uses anionic surfactant-based capillary micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) to separate the sample followed by UV detection.

Helical tomotherapy setup variations in canine nasal tumor patients immobilized with a bite block.

The purpose of our study was to compare setup variation in four degrees of freedom (vertical, longitudinal, lateral, and roll) between canine nasal tumor patients immobilized with a mattress and bite block, versus a mattress alone. Our secondary aim was to define a clinical target volume (CTV) to planning target volume (PTV) expansion margin based on our mean systematic error values associated with nasal tumor patients immobilized by a mattress and bite block. We evaluated six parameters for setup corrections: systematic error, random error, patient-patient variation in systematic errors, the magnitude of patient-specific random errors (root mean square [RMS]), distance error, and the variation of setup corrections from zero shift.

Spatially resolved regression analysis of pre-treatment FDG, FLT and Cu-ATSM PET from post-treatment FDG PET: an exploratory study.

Purpose: To quantify associations between pre-radiotherapy and post-radiotherapy PET parameters via spatially resolved regression.

Materials And Methods: Ten canine sinonasal cancer patients underwent PET/CT scans of [(18)F]FDG (FDG(pre)), [(18)F]FLT (FLT(pre)), and [(61)Cu]Cu-ATSM (Cu-ATSM(pre)). Following radiotherapy regimens of 50 Gy in 10 fractions, veterinary patients underwent FDG PET/CT scans at 3 months (FDG(post)).

Paradoxical vocal cord motion: classification and treatment.

Paradoxical vocal cord motion (PVCM), or vocal cord dysfunction, is a descriptive term for inappropriate adduction of the vocal folds during respiration. The laryngeal mistiming leads to breathing difficulty and is often misdiagnosed as refractory asthma. The etiology of PVCM has been unclear but has long been hypothesized to be psychological.

A model-structure of a periplasm-facing state of the NhaA antiporter suggests the molecular underpinnings of pH-induced conformational changes.

The Escherichia coli NhaA antiporter couples the transport of H(+) and Na(+) (or Li(+)) ions to maintain the proper pH range and Na(+) concentration in cells. A crystal structure of NhaA, solved at pH 4, comprises 12 transmembrane helices (TMs), arranged in two domains, with a large cytoplasm-facing funnel and a smaller periplasm-facing funnel. NhaA undergoes conformational changes, e.

Investigation of porcine circovirus contamination in human vaccines.

DNA from porcine circovirus type 1 (PCV1) and 2 (PCV2) has recently been detected in two vaccines against rotaviral gastroenteritis from manufacturers A and B. We investigated if PCV1 sequences are present in other viral vaccines. We screened seeds, bulks and final vaccine preparations from ten manufacturers using qRT-PCR.

The competent community: toward a vital reformulation of professional ethics.

Psychologists are ethically obligated to ensure their own competence. When problems of professional competence occur, psychologists must take appropriate steps to regain competence while protecting those they serve. Yet conceptualizations of the competence obligation are thoroughly intertwined with Western ideals of individualism and a model of the person as self-contained, self-controlled, and perpetually rational.

Chloroplast, mitochondrial, and nuclear microsatellites from the southern Appalachian hornwort, Nothoceros aenigmaticus (Dendrocerotaceae).

Premise Of The Study: New microsatellite primers were developed for testing genetic differentiation within Nothoceros aenigmaticus and their potential use in other Nothoceros species. The microsatellites are designed to investigate partitioning of genetic variation in a taxon with a peculiar sex allopatry in the southern Appalachian Mountains and relationships with conspecific sexual populations from Mexico.

Methods And Results: We used two methods for microsatellite development: an enriched library and second-generation shotgun sequence reads.

An audit of clinical service examining the uptake of genetic testing by at-risk family members.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the uptake of genetic testing by at-risk family members for four genetic conditions: chromosomal translocations, fragile X syndrome, Huntington disease, and spinal muscular atrophy.

Methods: A clinical audit was undertaken using genetics files from Genetic Health Services Victoria. Data were extracted from the files regarding the number of at-risk family members and the proportion tested.