Lumbar osteoporotic fractures develop in segments with less degenerated discs which then become more degenerated.

Purpose: Our aim was to study the influence of segmental variations in intervertebral disc degeneration on the location of acute osteoporotic compression fractures and to investigate chronic effect of such fractures on adjacent discs.

Methods: This retrospective study included 83 patients (69 females; mean ± SD age: 72.3 ± 14.

Is dental prophylaxis required following spinal fusion?-a systematic review and call for evidence.

Background: Controversy exists regarding the need for antimicrobial prophylaxis prior to dental procedures following spinal fusion. In this review, we attempt to synthesize a comprehensive summary of the published literature to provide recommendations on the use of antimicrobial prophylaxis before dental procedures in patients with a history of spinal fusion.

Methods: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases from inception to February 2018.

Group Gardening in a Native American Community: A Collaborative Approach.

. There is increasing awareness of the potential health benefits derived from gardening activities. Gardening practices are gaining momentum in Native American (NA) communities, yet no efforts have applied a community-based participatory research approach within a social-ecological model to understand opportunities and barriers for group gardening on an American Indian reservation.

Developing and piloting the Journey to Native Youth Health program in Northern Plains Indian communities.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a lifestyle change program for Native American youth by modifying the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) and assess implementation indicators and short term behavioral and physiological outcomes of the intervention among a small pilot sample.

Methods: Community members and project staff modified the original DPP to be developmentally and culturally appropriate for youth targeting healthy weight maintenance, lowering fat intake, and increasing physical activity. Modifications included incorporating cultural aspects and delivering the program in small groups led by community members.

Parental influence on obesity in Northern Plains American Indian youth.

Little is known regarding American Indian (AI) parental influence on children's diet and physical activity (PA), or if this influence is associated with childhood weight. We compared AI parents' diet, PA, and support for these behaviors with the child's body mass index. Scores for parental support of positive PA and diet were higher among parents of overweight/obese children.

Translating the diabetes prevention program for Northern Plains Indian youth through community-based participatory research methods.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to use a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to translate the original Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) to be age and culturally specific for American Indian (AI) youth.

Methods: Tribally enrolled members on 2 Montana Indian reservations conducted focus groups and interviews to discuss community members' perspectives of factors that encouraged or were barriers to healthy diet and exercise behaviors in AI youth. In total, 31 community members, aged 10 to 68 years old, participated in 4 focus groups and 14 individual interviews.

Trifluoromethyldiazirine: an effective photo-induced cross-linking probe for exploring amyloid formation.

The separative and analytical power of ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry combined with photo-induced cross-linking of site-specifically incorporated trifluoromethyldiazirine provides a powerful approach towards structural characterisation of amyloid fibrils.

Identification of amyloidogenic peptide sequences using a coarse-grained physicochemical model.

Cross-beta amyloid is implicated in over 20 human diseases. Experiments suggest that specific sequence elements within amyloidogenic proteins play a major role in seeding amyloid formation. Identifying these seeding sequences is important for rationalizing the molecular mechanisms of amyloid formation and for elaborating therapeutic strategies that target amyloid.

Time-averaged predictions of folded and misfolded peptides using a reduced physicochemical model.

Energy-based methods for calculating time-averaged peptide structures are important for rational peptide design, for defining local structure propensities in large protein chains, and for exploring the sequence determinants of amyloid formation. High-end methods are currently too slow to be practicable, and will remain so for the foreseeable future. The challenge is to create a method that runs quickly on limited computer resources and emulates reality sufficiently well.

A systematic analysis of backbone amide assignments achieved via combinatorial selective labelling of amino acids.

With the advent of high-yield cell-free expressions systems, many researchers are exploiting selective isotope labelling of amino acids to increase the efficiency and accuracy of the NMR assignment process. We developed recently a combinatorial selective labelling (CSL) method capable of yielding large numbers of residue-type and sequence-specific backbone amide assignments, which involves comparing cross-peak intensities in 1H- 15N HSQC and 2D 1H- 15N HNCO spectra collected for five samples containing different combinations of 13C- and 15N-labelled amino acids [Parker MJ, Aulton-Jones M, Hounslow A, Craven C J (2004) J Am Chem Soc 126:5020-5021]. In this paper we develop a robust method for establishing the reliability of these assignments.

Amyloid formation under physiological conditions proceeds via a native-like folding intermediate.

Although most proteins can assemble into amyloid-like fibrils in vitro under extreme conditions, how proteins form amyloid fibrils in vivo remains unresolved. Identifying rare aggregation-prone species under physiologically relevant conditions and defining their structural properties is therefore an important challenge. By solving the folding mechanism of the naturally amyloidogenic protein beta-2-microglobulin at pH 7.

Density guided importance sampling: application to a reduced model of protein folding.

Motivation: Monte Carlo methods are the most effective means of exploring the energy landscapes of protein folding. The rugged topography of folding energy landscapes causes sampling inefficiencies however, particularly at low, physiological temperatures.

Results: A hybrid Monte Carlo method, termed density guided importance sampling (DGIS), is presented that overcomes these sampling inefficiencies.

Water as a conformational editor in protein folding.

As molecules approach one another in aqueous solution, desolvation free energy barriers to association are encountered. Experiments suggest these (de)solvation effects contribute to the free energy barriers separating the folded and unfolded states of protein molecules. To explore their influence on the energy landscapes of protein folding reactions, we have incorporated desolvation barriers into a semi-realistic, off-lattice protein model that uses a simplified physico-chemical force-field determined solely by the sequence of amino acids.

A combinatorial selective labeling method for the assignment of backbone amide NMR resonances.

A combinatorial selective labeling (CSL) method is presented for the assignment of backbone amide NMR resonances, which has a particular application in the identification of protein-ligand interaction sites. The method builds on the dual amino acid selective labeling technique. In the CSL method a number of different samples are produced, each with a different pattern of labeled amino acids.

The disulphide mapping, folding and characterisation of recombinant Ber e 1, an allergenic protein, and SFA8, two sulphur-rich 2S plant albumins.

We have cloned and expressed genes encoding the allergenic brazil nut 2S albumin (Ber e 1) and the sunflower albumin 8 (SFA8) in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. We show that both proteins were secreted at high levels and that the purified proteins were properly folded. We also showed that Ber e 1 is glycosylated during secretion and that the glycan does not interfere with the folding or immunoreactivity.