Identification of the protein target of myelin-binding ligands by immunohistochemistry and biochemical analyses.

The ability to visualize myelin is important in the diagnosis of demyelinating disorders and the detection of myelin-containing nerves during surgery. The development of myelin-selective imaging agents requires that a defined target for these agents be identified and that a robust assay against the target be developed to allow for assessment of structure-activity relationships. We describe an immunohistochemical analysis and a fluorescence polarization binding assay using purified myelin basic protein (MBP) that provides quantitative evidence that MBP is the molecular binding partner of previously described myelin-selective fluorescent dyes such as BMB, GE3082, and GE3111.

Ecosystem response to climatic change: the importance of the cold season.

Winter climate and snow cover are the important drivers of plant community development in polar regions. However, the impacts of changing winter climate and associated changes in snow regime have received much less attention than changes during summer. Here, we synthesize the results from studies on the impacts of extreme winter weather events on polar heathland and lichen communities.

Low cerebrospinal fluid sulfatide predicts progression of white matter lesions: The LADIS study.

Background/aims: Demyelination and axonal degeneration are the hallmarks of established white matter lesions (WML). The neurochemistry of ongoing WML is only partially known. We explored cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) substances as markers of brain tissue damage in relation to progression of WML rated on magnetic resonance imaging.

Characteristic clinical presentation and CSF biomarker pattern in cerebral small vessel disease.

To be able to live a good, independent life cognitive functions need to be intact. Dementia, stroke and neuropsychiatric disorders are the major disorders underlying disability. Stroke is usually a consequence of an underlying vessel wall disease that has lasted for a longer period.

Reference measurement procedures for Alzheimer's disease cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers: definitions and approaches with focus on amyloid β42.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) are increasingly used in clinical settings, research and drug trials. However, their broad-scale use on different technology platforms is hampered by the lack of standardization at the level of sample handling, determination of concentrations of analytes and the absence of well-defined performance criteria for in vitro diagnostic or companion diagnostic assays, which influences the apparent concentration of the analytes measured and the subsequent interpretation of the data. There is a need for harmonization of CSF AD biomarker assays that can reliably, across centers, quantitate CSF biomarkers with high analytical precision, selectivity and stability over long time periods.

Powdered red yeast rice and plant stanols and sterols to lower cholesterol.

Elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease. It is estimated that 42% of females and 34% of males in the USA have elevated total cholesterol. The current mainstay of lipid-lowering therapy utilizes 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor (i.

Dependence of Wilms tumor cells on signaling through insulin-like growth factor 1 in an orthotopic xenograft model targetable by specific receptor inhibition.

We have previously demonstrated an increased DNA copy number and expression of IGF1R to be associated with poor outcome in Wilms tumors. We have now tested whether inhibiting this receptor may be a useful therapeutic strategy by using a panel of Wilms tumor cell lines. Both genetic and pharmacological targeting resulted in inhibition of downstream signaling through PI3 and MAP kinases, G(1) cell cycle arrest, and cell death, with drug efficacy dependent on the levels of phosphorylated IGF1R.

[Pressure ulcers after spinal cord injury].

Background: Pressure ulcers are a serious and frequently occurring complication in patients with a traumatic spinal cord injury. The purpose of the article is to consider the causes of pressure ulcers and how to prevent them.

Method: The article is based on a non-systematic search in the PubMed database and own clinical experience.

Admission and stay in psychiatric hospitals in northern Norway among Sami and a control group: a registry-based study.

Background: The aim of this study was analyze the admission and inpatient stay at psychiatric hospital in northern Norway among people from the Sami-speaking municipalities (Sami group) and a control group (non-Sami group). Are they treated equally?

Methods: All admissions and inpatient stay from the administration area of the Sami language law (eight municipalities) was matched with a control group of 11 municipalities. All adult patients treated during the 2-year time period 2009-2010 and registered by the Norwegian Patient Registry (NPR) were included in the study.

A novel variant in plakophilin-2 gene detected in a family with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy.

Aims: Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is characterized by fibrofatty replacement of muscular fibers predominantly in the right ventricle and with ventricular arrhythmias as the main clinical manifestation. Mutations in several components of the desmosome genes have been identified and mutations of the plakophilin-2 (PKP-2) gene are a common cause of ARVC. The aim of this study is to investigate the correlation between genotype and phenotype in a family with a novel PKP-2 variant.

A mechanoresponsive cadherin-keratin complex directs polarized protrusive behavior and collective cell migration.

Collective cell migration requires maintenance of adhesive contacts between adjacent cells, coordination of polarized cell protrusions, and generation of propulsive traction forces. We demonstrate that mechanical force applied locally to C-cadherins on single Xenopus mesendoderm cells is sufficient to induce polarized cell protrusion and persistent migration typical of individual cells within a collectively migrating tissue. Local tension on cadherin adhesions induces reorganization of the keratin intermediate filament network toward these stressed sites.

Mother-to-child transmission of and multiple-strain colonization by Bacteroides fragilis in a cohort of mothers and their children.

Bacteroides fragilis represents an early infant colonizer with important host interactions. Our knowledge about the diversity, transmission, and persistence of this bacterium, however, is limited. Here, we addressed these questions using a combination of multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and variable-number tandem repeat (VNTR) sequence analyses.

Cerebrospinal fluid matrix metalloproteinases and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases in combination with subcortical and cortical biomarkers in vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD) are intertwined by mixed dementia (MD) harboring varying degrees of AD pathology in combination with cerebrovascular disease. The aim was to assess whether there is a difference in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) profile, of selected proteins, between patients with VaD and MD with subcortical vascular disease (SVD), AD, and healthy controls that could contribute in the separation of the groups. The study included 30 controls, 26 SVD patients (9 VaD and 17 MD) and 30 AD patients.

Cooperative transcriptional activation by Klf4, Meis2, and Pbx1.

The Kruppel-like factor Klf4 is implicated in tumorigenesis and maintaining stem cell pluripotency, and Klf4 can both activate and repress gene expression. We show that the Pbx1 and Meis2 homeodomain proteins interact with Klf4 and can be recruited to DNA elements comprising a Klf4 site or GC box, with adjacent Meis and Pbx sites. Meis2d and Pbx1a activate expression of p15(Ink4a) and E-cadherin, dependent on the Meis2d transcriptional activation domain.

Long-term results of open and endovascular revascularization of superficial femoral artery occlusive disease.

Background: First-line treatment for patients with superficial femoral arterial (SFA) occlusive disease has yet to be determined. This study compared long-term outcomes between primary SFA stent placement and primary femoral-popliteal bypass. Periprocedural patient factors were examined to determine their effect on these results.

Amyloid-β₄₂ is associated with cognitive impairment in healthy elderly and subjective cognitive impairment.

The aim of this study was to predict cognitive performance on the basis of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers total tau (T-tau) and amyloid-β₄₂ (Aβ₄₂) in controls and patients at various impairment levels. Previous studies have found an association of CSF T-tau levels with cognitive symptoms, but it has been difficult to relate Aβ to cognition, and it has thus been hypothesized that Aβ reaches a plateau level prior to cognitive symptoms. A comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests was subjected to factor analysis to yield aggregated cognitive domains.

Identification of Leptosphaeria maculans Pathogenicity Group 4 Causing Blackleg on Winter Canola in Oklahoma.

Winter canola (Brassica napus L.) is a relatively new crop to Oklahoma and other southern U.S.

The Nature Index: a general framework for synthesizing knowledge on the state of biodiversity.

The magnitude and urgency of the biodiversity crisis is widely recognized within scientific and political organizations. However, a lack of integrated measures for biodiversity has greatly constrained the national and international response to the biodiversity crisis. Thus, integrated biodiversity indexes will greatly facilitate information transfer from science toward other areas of human society.

Interpersonal problems among 988 Norwegian psychiatric outpatients. A study of pretreatment self-reports.

Objective: No studies, to our knowledge, have examined what specific kinds of interpersonal problems characterize a general psychiatric outpatient population. Do they differ from the normal population in any specific way, apart from the expected "more of everything"? The aim of this study was to map and categorize a large psychiatric outpatient sample with regard to self-reported interpersonal problems.

Method: First-admission psychiatric patients completed the 64-item version of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (Horowitz et al, Inventory of Interpersonal Problems Manual.

Prehospital diagnosis of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction using an "all-posterior" 12-lead electrocardiogram.

A prehospital 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) is commonly used for patients with suspected ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). This case report describes how paramedics diagnosed inferior STEMI with all ECG leads positioned on a patient's back (i.e.

Integrins and cadherins join forces to form adhesive networks.

Cell-cell and cell-extracellular-matrix (cell-ECM) adhesions have much in common, including shared cytoskeletal linkages, signaling molecules and adaptor proteins that serve to regulate multiple cellular functions. The term 'adhesive crosstalk' is widely used to indicate the presumed functional communication between distinct adhesive specializations in the cell. However, this distinction is largely a simplification on the basis of the non-overlapping subcellular distribution of molecules that are involved in adhesion and adhesion-dependent signaling at points of cell-cell and cell-substrate contact.