Frontal plane knee angle affects dynamic postural control strategy during unilateral stance.

Purpose: Center of plantar pressure (COPP) location moves toward the forefoot as ankle plantar flexor muscles attempt to maintain postural control during single leg stance. This study evaluated relationships between frontal plane tibiofemoral joint angulation during relaxed bilateral stance and mean COPP locations during vision-denied single leg stance at 20 degrees knee flexion.

Methods: Fifty-six nonimpaired athletes (29 female, 27 male) were evaluated for frontal plane tibiofemoral joint angulation and standing foot angle by using two-dimensional videography (30 Hz).

Elevated levels of a U4/U6.U5 snRNP-associated protein, Spp381p, rescue a mutant defective in spliceosome maturation.

U4 snRNA release from the spliceosome occurs through an essential but ill-defined Prp38p-dependent step. Here we report the results of a dosage suppressor screen to identify genes that contribute to PRP38 function. Elevated expression of a previously uncharacterized gene, SPP381, efficiently suppresses the growth and splicing defects of a temperature-sensitive (Ts) mutant prp38-1.

Progression through the spliceosome cycle requires Prp38p function for U4/U6 snRNA dissociation.

The elaborate and energy-intensive spliceosome assembly pathway belies the seemingly simple chemistry of pre-mRNA splicing. Prp38p was previously identified as a protein required in vivo and in vitro for the first pre-mRNA cleavage reaction catalyzed by the spliceosome. Here we show that Prp38p is a unique component of the U4/U6.