Geographical distribution of intestinal schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis and preventive chemotherapy strategies in Sierra Leone.

Background: A national baseline mapping of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) was performed in Sierra Leone. The aim was to provide necessary tools for the Ministry of Health and Sanitation to plan the intervention strategies in the national integrated control program on neglected tropical diseases according to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for preventative chemotherapy (PCT) and for future monitoring and evaluation.

Methodology/principal Findings: 53 primary schools were randomly selected through a two-staged random sampling throughout the country.

Fear of movement, quality of life, and self-reported disability in obese patients with chronic lumbar pain.

Objective: To compare fear of movement between obese and non-obese individuals seeking therapy for chronic low back pain and to examine whether fear of movement predicted disability due to back pain, self-reported walking disability, and flexibility.

Design: This was a cross-sectional study.

Setting: Outpatient physical therapy clinic associated with a tertiary care hospital.

PII is induced by WRINKLED1 and fine-tunes fatty acid composition in seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana.

The PII protein is an integrator of central metabolism and energy levels. In Arabidopsis, allosteric sensing of cellular energy and carbon levels alters the ability of PII to interact with target enzymes such as N-acetyl-l-glutamate kinase and heteromeric acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase, thereby modulating the biological activity of these plastidial ATP- and carbon-consuming enzymes. A quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction approach revealed a threefold induction of the AtGLB1 gene (At4g01900) encoding PII during early seed maturation.

Anatomic changes in multiple brainstem nuclei after incremental, near-complete neurotoxic destruction of the pre-Bötzinger Complex in adult goats.

Abrupt, bilateral destruction of the pre-Bötzinger Complex (preBötC) leads to terminal apnea in unanesthetized goats and rats. In contrast, respiratory rhythm and pattern and arterial blood gases in goats during wakefulness and sleep are normal after incremental (over a month) destruction of > 90% of the preBötC. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the difference in effects between abrupt and incremental destruction of the preBötC are a result of time-dependent plasticity, which manifests as anatomic changes at sites within the respiratory network.

Reconstructing the evolutionary history of the centriole from protein components.

Centrioles are highly conserved structures that fulfil important cellular functions, such as nucleation of cilia and flagella (basal-body function) and organisation of pericentriolar material to form the centrosome. The evolution of these functions can be inferred from the distribution of the molecular components of extant centrioles and centrosomes. Here, we undertake an evolutionary analysis of 53 proteins known either for centriolar association or for involvement in cilia-associated pathologies.

Bone marrow stromal cells use TGF-beta to suppress allergic responses in a mouse model of ragweed-induced asthma.

Bone marrow stromal cells [BMSCs; also known as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)] effectively suppress inflammatory responses in acute graft-versus-host disease in humans and in a number of disease models in mice. Many of the studies concluded that BMSC-driven immunomodulation is mediated by the suppression of proinflammatory Th1 responses while rebalancing the Th1/Th2 ratio toward Th2. In this study, using a ragweed induced mouse asthma model, we studied if BMSCs could be beneficial in an allergic, Th2-dominant environment.

Medullary serotonin neurons and their roles in central respiratory chemoreception.

Much progress has been made in our understanding of central chemoreception since the seminal experiments of Fencl, Loeschcke, Mitchell and others, including identification of new brainstem regions and specific neuron types that may serve as central "sensors" of CO(2)/pH. In this review, we discuss key attributes, or minimal requirements a neuron/cell must possess to be defined as a central respiratory chemoreceptor, and summarize how well each of the various candidates fulfill these minimal criteria-especially the presence of intrinsic chemosensitivity. We then discuss some of the in vitro and in vivo evidence in support of the conclusion that medullary serotonin (5-HT) neurons are central chemoreceptors.

Cytosolic NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase contributes to redox homeostasis and the regulation of pathogen responses in Arabidopsis leaves.

Cytosolic NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (cICDH) produces 2-oxoglutarate (2-OG) and NADPH, and is encoded by a single gene in Arabidopsis thaliana. Three allelic lines carrying T-DNA insertions in this gene showed less than 10% extractable leaf ICDH activity, but only relatively small decreases in growth compared to wild-type Col0. Metabolite profiling by gas chromatography-time of flight-mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) revealed that loss of cICDH function produced only small effects on leaf compounds involved in carbon and nitrogen assimilation.

A short-form functional capacity evaluation predicts time to recovery but not sustained return-to-work.

Objectives: To evaluate the ability of a short-form FCE to predict future timely and sustained return-to-work.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted using data collected during a cluster RCT. Subject performance on the items in the short-form FCE was compared to administrative recovery outcomes from a workers' compensation database.

Cross-phosphorylation between Arabidopsis thaliana sucrose nonfermenting 1-related protein kinase 1 (AtSnRK1) and its activating kinase (AtSnAK) determines their catalytic activities.

Arabidopsis thaliana sucrose nonfermenting 1-related protein kinase 1 complexes belong to the SNF1/AMPK/SnRK1 protein kinase family that shares an ancestral function as central regulators of metabolism. In A. thaliana, the products of AtSnAK1 and AtSnAK2, orthologous to yeast genes, have been shown to autophosphorylate and to phosphorylate/activate the AtSnRK1.

The role of medullary serotonin (5-HT) neurons in respiratory control: contributions to eupneic ventilation, CO2 chemoreception, and thermoregulation.

The functional roles of the medullary raphé, and specifically 5-HT neurons, are not well understood. It has previously been stated that the role of 5-HT has been so difficult to understand, because "it is implicated in virtually everything, but responsible for nothing"(Cowen PJ. Foreword.

In folio isotopic tracing demonstrates that nitrogen assimilation into glutamate is mostly independent from current CO2 assimilation in illuminated leaves of Brassica napus.

*Nitrogen assimilation in leaves requires primary NH(2) acceptors that, in turn, originate from primary carbon metabolism. Respiratory metabolism is believed to provide such acceptors (such as 2-oxoglutarate), so that day respiration is commonly seen as a cornerstone for nitrogen assimilation into glutamate in illuminated leaves. However, both glycolysis and day respiratory CO(2) evolution are known to be inhibited by light, thereby compromising the input of recent photosynthetic carbon for glutamate production.

Mild reductions in mitochondrial NAD-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase activity result in altered nitrate assimilation and pigmentation but do not impact growth.

Transgenic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants were generated expressing a fragment of the mitochondrial NAD-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase gene (SlIDH1) in the antisense orientation. The transgenic plants displayed a mild reduction in the activity of the target enzyme in the leaves but essentially no visible alteration in growth from the wild-type. Fruit size and yield were, however, reduced.

Chloroplast acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity is 2-oxoglutarate-regulated by interaction of PII with the biotin carboxyl carrier subunit.

The PII protein is a signal integrator involved in the regulation of nitrogen metabolism in bacteria and plants. Upon sensing of cellular carbon and energy availability, PII conveys the signal by interacting with target proteins, thereby modulating their biological activity. Plant PII is located to plastids; therefore, to identify new PII target proteins, PII-affinity chromatography of soluble extracts from Arabidopsis leaf chloroplasts was performed.

Differences between three inbred rat strains in number of K+ channel-immunoreactive neurons in the medullary raphé nucleus.

Ventilatory sensitivity to hypercapnia is greater in Dahl salt-sensitive (SS) rats than in Fawn Hooded hypertensive (FHH) and Brown Norway (BN) inbred rats. Since pH-sensitive potassium ion (K(+)) channels are postulated to contribute to the sensing and signaling of changes in CO(2)-H(+) in chemosensitive neurons, we tested the hypothesis that there are more pH-sensitive K(+) channel-immunoreactive (ir) neurons within the medullary raphé nuclei of the highly chemosensitive SS rats than in the other two strains. Medullary tissues from male and female BN, FHH, and SS rats were stained with cresyl violet or with antibodies targeting TASK-1, K(v)1.

Good research practices for measuring drug costs in cost-effectiveness analyses: an international perspective: the ISPOR Drug Cost Task Force report--Part VI.

Objective: The pharmacoeconomic guidelines available in the literature or promulgated in many countries are either vague or silent about how drug costs should be established or measured so an international comparison of cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) results can be made. The objective of this report is to provide guidance and recommendations on how drug costs should be measured for CEAs done from an internationally comparative perspective.

Methods: Members of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Task Force on Good Research Practices-Use of Drug Costs for Cost Effectiveness Analysis (Drug Cost Task Force [DCTF]) subgroup from several countries were experienced developers or users of CEA models, and worked in academia, industry, and as advisors to governments.

Transgenic mice lacking serotonin neurons have severe apnea and high mortality during development.

Central serotonin (5-HT) neurons modulate many vital brain functions, including respiratory control. Whether breathing depends critically on 5-HT neurons, or whether their influence is excitatory or inhibitory, remains controversial. Here we show that neonatal Lmx1b(flox/flox;ePet-Cre/+) mice (also called Lmx1b(f/f/p) mice), which selectively lack serotonin neurons, display frequent and severe apnea lasting as long as 55 s.

In folio respiratory fluxomics revealed by 13C isotopic labeling and H/D isotope effects highlight the noncyclic nature of the tricarboxylic acid "cycle" in illuminated leaves.

While the possible importance of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle reactions for leaf photosynthesis operation has been recognized, many uncertainties remain on whether TCA cycle biochemistry is similar in the light compared with the dark. It is widely accepted that leaf day respiration and the metabolic commitment to TCA decarboxylation are down-regulated in illuminated leaves. However, the metabolic basis (i.

Metabolite regulation of the interaction between Arabidopsis thaliana PII and N-acetyl-l-glutamate kinase.

The metabolic control of the interaction between ArabidopsisN-acetyl-l-glutamate kinase (NAGK) and the PII protein has been studied. Both gel exclusion and affinity chromatography analyses of recombinant, affinity-purified PII (trimeric complex) and NAGK (hexameric complex) showed that NAGK strongly interacted with PII only in the presence of Mg-ATP, and that this process was reversed by 2-oxoglutarate (2-OG). Furthermore, metabolites such as arginine, glutamate, citrate, and oxalacetate also exerted a negative effect on the PII-NAGK complex formation in the presence of Mg-ATP.

Ex vivo gene therapy using intravitreal injection of GDNF-secreting mouse embryonic stem cells in a rat model of retinal degeneration.

Purpose: Safe and prolonged drug delivery to the retina is a key obstacle to overcome in the development of new medicines aimed at treating progressive retinal disease. We took advantage of the ability of embryonic stem cells to survive long-term in foreign tissue and used these cells to deliver neuroprotectant molecules to the retina of the rhodopsin TgN S334ter-4 rat model of retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

Methods: Mouse embryonic stem (mES) cells, derived from the pluripotent embryonic stem cell line E14TG2a, were genetically engineered to oversecrete the glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF).

The impact of PEPC phosphorylation on growth and development of Arabidopsis thaliana: molecular and physiological characterization of PEPC kinase mutants.

Two phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) kinase genes (PPCk1 and PPCk2) are present in the Arabidopsis genome; only PPCk1 is expressed in rosette leaves. Homozygous lines of two independent PPCk1 T-DNA-insertional mutants showed very little (dln1), or no (csi8) light-induced PEPC phosphorylation and a clear retard in growth under our greenhouse conditions. A mass-spectrometry-based analysis revealed significant changes in metabolite profiles.

Preserving advanced practice nurse role integrity: One hospital's journey.

Specialists in nursing have existed since the turn of the century. The term denoted a nurse with extensive experience in a particular area of nursing who performed with technical expertise. The modern advanced practice nurse (APN) is a master's degree-prepared clinical expert who has a high level of expertise in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of the complex responses of individuals or populations to health problems.

Medullary serotonin neurons and central CO2 chemoreception.

Serotonergic (5-HT) neurons are putative central respiratory chemoreceptors, aiding in the brain's ability to detect arterial changes in PCO2 and implement appropriate ventilatory responses to maintain blood homeostasis. These neurons are in close proximity to large medullary arteries and are intrinsically chemosensitive in vitro, characteristics expected for chemoreceptors. 5-HT neurons of the medullary raphé are stimulated by hypercapnia in vivo, and their disruption results in a blunted hypercapnic ventilatory response.

Identification of 13 novel NLRP7 mutations in 20 families with recurrent hydatidiform mole; missense mutations cluster in the leucine-rich region.

Background: NLRP7 (NALP7) has recently been identified as the causative gene for familial recurrent hydatidiform mole (FRHM), a rare autosomal recessive condition in which affected women have recurrent molar pregnancies of diploid biparental origin. To date only a small number of affected families have been described. Our objectives were to investigate the diversity of mutations and their localisation to one or both isoforms of NLRP7, by screening a large series of women with FRHM and to examine the normal expression of NLRP7 in ovarian tissue.

A randomized trial of behavioral physical therapy interventions for acute and sub-acute low back pain (NCT00373867).

Psychological factors consistent with fear-avoidance models are associated with the development of chronic low back pain (LBP). As a result, graded activity (GA) and graded exposure (GX) have been suggested as behavioral treatment options. This clinical trial compared the effectiveness of treatment-based classification (TBC) physical therapy alone to TBC augmented with GA or GX for patients with acute and sub-acute LBP.