Hospital School Program: The Right to Education for Long-Term Care Children.

Education and health are two inseparable aspects of a single dynamic which aims to support and increase the physical and mental well-being of children and young people. Children must be guaranteed two rights: the right to study and the right to health. Schools capable of reconciling these two fundamental needs are represented by school in hospital and home schooling.

Characterization of bacterial NMN deamidase as a Ser/Lys hydrolase expands diversity of serine amidohydrolases.

NMN deamidase (PncC) is a bacterial enzyme involved in NAD biosynthesis. We have previously demonstrated that PncC is structurally distinct from other known amidohydrolases. Here, we extended PncC characterization by mutating all potential catalytic residues and assessing their individual roles in catalysis through kinetic analyses.

Probing pH-dependent dissociation of HdeA dimers.

HdeA protein is a small, ATP-independent, acid stress chaperone that undergoes a dimer-to-monomer transition in acidic environments. The HdeA monomer binds a broad range of proteins to prevent their acid-induced aggregation. To understand better HdeA's function and mechanism, we perform constant-pH molecular dynamics simulations (CPHMD) to elucidate the details of the HdeA dimer dissociation process.

Identification of nicotinamide mononucleotide deamidase of the bacterial pyridine nucleotide cycle reveals a novel broadly conserved amidohydrolase family.

The pyridine nucleotide cycle is a network of salvage and recycling routes maintaining homeostasis of NAD(P) cofactor pool in the cell. Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) deamidase (EC 3.5.

Comparative structural and functional characterization of putative protein effectors belonging to the PcF toxin family from Phytophthora spp.

The PcF Toxin Family (Pfam 09461) includes the characterized phytotoxic protein PcF from Phytophthora cactorum, as well as several predicted protein effectors from other Phytophthora species recently identified by comparative genomics. Here we provide first evidence that such 'putatives', recombinantly expressed in bacteria and purified to homogeneity, similarly to PcF, can trigger defense-related responses on tomato, that is leaf withering and phenylalanine ammonia lyase induction, although with various degrees of effectiveness. In addition, structural prediction by computer-aided homology modeling and subsequent structural/functional comparison after rational engineering of the disulfide-structured protein fold by site-directed mutagenesis, highlighted the surface-exposed conserved amino acid stretch SK(E/C)C as a possible structural determinant responsible for the differential phytotoxicity within this family of cognate protein effectors.

Characterization of human nicotinate phosphoribosyltransferase: Kinetic studies, structure prediction and functional analysis by site-directed mutagenesis.

Nicotinate phosphoribosyltransferase (NaPRT, EC 2.4.2.

Homology modeling and deletion mutants of human nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyltransferase isozyme 2: new insights on structure and function relationship.

Nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyltransferase (NMNAT) catalyzes the formation of NAD by means of nucleophilic attack by 5'-phosphoryl of NMN on the α-phosphoryl group of ATP. Humans possess three NMNAT isozymes (NMNAT1, NMNAT2, and NMNAT3) that differ in size and sequence, gene expression pattern, subcellular localization, oligomeric state and catalytic properties. Of these, NMNAT2, the least abundant isozyme, is the only one whose much-needed crystal structure has not been solved as yet.