Proteome-wide analysis of the serological response to vaccinia and smallpox.

The eradication of smallpox by vaccination with vaccinia virus was probably one of the greatest achievements of vaccinology. However, the immunological basis of this protection is not fully understood. To this end, we have used protein microarrays of the vaccinia (Western Reserve, WR) proteome to profile antibody reactivities after primary infection or boosting with the licensed smallpox vaccine, Dryvax, and with archival convalescent smallpox sera.

In vivo efficacy of anidulafungin and caspofungin against Candida glabrata and association with in vitro potency in the presence of sera.

In vitro studies have demonstrated that anidulafungin has greater potency than caspofungin against Candida glabrata. However, data from in vivo studies demonstrating that it has superior efficacy are lacking. The objective of this study was to compare the activities of anidulafungin and caspofungin against C.

Nutritional chemistry of foods eaten by gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda.

Foods eaten by gorillas (Gorilla beringei) in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP), Uganda, were analyzed for their nutrient content. The goal of the study was to assess the amounts of fiber, protein, and sugars in the foods eaten by the Bwindi gorillas, and to determine whether condensed tannins and cyanide are present in these foods. A total of 127 food plant parts representing 84 plant species eaten by two groups of Bwindi gorillas were collected, processed, and analyzed for their chemical contents.

Rapid typing of Moraxella catarrhalis subpopulations based on outer membrane proteins using mass spectrometry.

Moraxella catarrhalis is a major mucosal pathogen of the human respiratory tract both in children and in adults. Two subpopulations of this organism have been described that differ in 16S rRNA gene sequence and virulence traits. Three 16S rRNA types have been defined.

The reliability of immunoassay for determining the presence of opiates in the forensic setting.

Urine immunoassays are commonly used as a rapid screen for drugs of abuse in emergency room, hospital, clinic, and forensic settings. The authors were concerned whether or not a negative screen of the urine for opiates was of significance and indicative that analysis of blood for opiates was not necessary. Specifically, we wished to determine whether a negative test for opiates by immunoassay absolutely rules out an acute overdose, and if not, what percentage of cases with negative results have opiates in the blood.

Characterization of an ERK-binding domain in microphthalmia-associated transcription factor and differential inhibition of ERK2-mediated substrate phosphorylation.

Efficient and specific signaling by mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) is enhanced by docking sites found on many MAPK substrates and regulators. Here we show that the MAPKs ERK1 and ERK2 form a stable complex (Kd approximately 6 microm) with their substrate the microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF). Complex formation requires a domain of MITF of approximately 100 residues that is nearby, but C-terminal to, the MAPK phosphorylation site at Ser73.

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-docking sites in MAPK kinases function as tethers that are crucial for MAPK regulation in vivo.

Docking sites on targets of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) facilitate accurate and efficient substrate phosphorylation. MAPK/ERK kinases (MEKs, or MKKs), the upstream regulators of MAPKs, also contain N-terminal MAPK-docking sites, or 'D-sites'; however, the in vivo functions of MEK D-sites are incompletely understood. Here we found that the ability of constitutively-active human MEK1 and MEK2 to stimulate ERK phosphorylation and to induce the neoplastic transformation of NIH 3T3 cells required the integrity of the D-site.

Changes in the haemolymph proteome of Spodoptera littoralis induced by the parasitoid Chelonus inanitus or its polydnavirus and physiological implications.

The egg-larval parasitoid Chelonus inanitus induces in its host Spodoptera littoralis two major developmental effects, namely a precocious onset of metamorphosis followed by a developmental arrest in the prepupal stage. Along with each egg, the wasp injects polydnavirus and venom into the host egg. The polydnavirus has been shown to play a major role in inducing the developmental arrest while the parasitoid larva is instrumental in inducing the precocious onset of metamorphosis.

Determination of effective pair interactions from the structure factor.

In this work we present an efficient procedure to evaluate effective pair potentials, compatible with "experimental" structure factors, using a Monte Carlo simulation scheme. The procedure does not require the use of inverse Fourier transforms and is robust and rapidly convergent. As a test case the structure factor of liquid Selenium obtained from a Tight-Binding Molecular Dynamics simulation is inverted to obtain an effective pair potential and, as a by-product, the pair distribution function.

Real-coded memetic algorithms with crossover hill-climbing.

This paper presents a real-coded memetic algorithm that applies a crossover hill-climbing to solutions produced by the genetic operators. On the one hand, the memetic algorithm provides global search (reliability) by means of the promotion of high levels of population diversity. On the other, the crossover hill-climbing exploits the self-adaptive capacity of real-parameter crossover operators with the aim of producing an effective local tuning on the solutions (accuracy).

Viroids: the minimal non-coding RNAs with autonomous replication.

Viroids are small (246-401 nucleotides), non-coding, circular RNAs able to replicate autonomously in certain plants. Viroids are classified into the families Pospiviroidae and Avsunviroidae, whose members replicate in the nucleus and chloroplast, respectively. Replication occurs by an RNA-based rolling-circle mechanism in three steps: (1).

Acute hepatic allograft rejection: a comparison of patients with and without centrilobular alterations during first rejection episode.

The histologic diagnosis of acute hepatic allograft rejection is usually based upon the identification of characteristic portal tract features. In addition to these, centrilobular alterations such as central vein endothelialitis, zone 3 inflammation, and hepatocyte necrosis may also be seen during episodes of acute rejection. The purpose of this study was to identify any differences in the subsequent clinical course of patients with and without centrilobular alterations during their first biopsy-proven episode of acute rejection.

A conserved protein interaction network involving the yeast MAP kinases Fus3 and Kss1.

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) Fus3 and Kss1 bind to multiple regulators and substrates. We show that mutations in a conserved docking site in these MAPKs (the CD/7m region) disrupt binding to an important subset of their binding partners, including the Ste7 MAPK kinase, the Ste5 adaptor/scaffold protein, and the Dig1 and Dig2 transcriptional repressors. Supporting the possibility that Ste5 and Ste7 bind to the same region of the MAPKs, they partially competed for Fus3 binding.

Lymphangitic spread of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Pulmonary lymphangitic carcinomatosis is a well-documented phenomenon caused by spread of carcinoma to the pulmonary vasculature and lymphatics, often resulting in respiratory failure and cor pulmonale. It has been described in numerous types of carcinoma, most commonly occurring with carcinomas of the breast and stomach and with choriocarcinoma. We report the case of a patient who presented with increasing shortness of breath and dyspnea on exertion.

Sister chromatid exchanges produced by imipramine and desipramine in mouse bone marrow cells treated in vivo.

Imipramine and desipramine are two widely used tricyclic antidepressants which have shown conflicting results in regard to their in vitro genotoxic evaluation. The aim of this investigation was to determine the capacity of these compounds to induce in vivo sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in mouse bone marrow cells. For each compound, the animals were organized in five groups constituted by five individuals.

[High esterases as mechanism of resistance to organophosphate insecticides in Aedes aegypti strains].

Five strains of Aedes aegypti L. one from Cuba and 4 from Venezuela were evaluated to determine their resistance to organophosphate insecticides (temephos, chlorpiriphos and pirimiphos methyl). In the Venezuelan strains only APURE showed resistance to temephos.

[Adaptation of microtitration plate methods for quantification of the activity of esterases and glutathione-s-transferase in Aedes aegypti].

The detection techniques for the activity of non-specific esterases and glutathione-s-transferase in Culex quinquefasciatus were modified to detect such enzymes in Aedes aegypti(L). The optimal concentration values of substrate (saturating concentration) and the optimum reading time for reaction were determined for each enzyme by using 4 Aedes aegypti strains: one from Cuba 2 from Venezuela and one susceptible reference strain. The frequency of non-specific esterases turned out to be 0.

In vivo and in vitro induction of sister-chromatid exchanges by nordihydroguaiaretic acid.

Nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) is a phenolic lignan previously used as an antioxidant in commercial products, and with a number of properties potentially useful to man. As its genotoxic capacity has been poorly evaluated, in this investigation we determined its effect on the production of sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs), and on the level of mitotic index (MI) in cultured human lymphocytes and in mouse bone marrow cells in vivo. The proliferative index (PI), and the average generation time (AGT) were also determined for human lymphocytes and in mouse bone marrow cells respectively.

Buspirone vs. Haloperidol: A Double-Blind Trial for Agitation in a Nursing Home Population With Alzheimer's Disease.

The authors report on a pilot double-blind comparison of buspirone with haloperidol in the treatment of agitation manifested by physical tension and motor activity in Alzheimer's disease (AD). A group of 26 nursing home residents underwent a 10-week comparison of 15 mg buspirone (n = 12) vs. 1.

DNA interaction and electrochemical properties of bis-1-aminomethylnaphthalenes and related compounds. A correlation with their antineoplastic activity.

Bis-1-aminomethylnaphthalenes constitute a new type of molecule with antineoplastic activity. As a first approach to determine the action mechanism, the interaction degree of these compounds and some less active analogous, with calf thymus DNA, by UV spectrophotometry, and the redox performance by cyclic voltammetry was correlated with their activity on neoplastic cell lines. It suggests that the most active members interact closely with DNA but do not show any redox process at biological potentials.

Synthesis, DNA interaction and antineoplastic activity of semicarbazone derivatives.

A number of antineoplastic agents including procarbazine and bisantrene derive from hydrazine, but so far none have been developed from semicarbazide. In order to assay active minimal structures, thirteen new compounds were prepared by replacing hydrogen atoms in semicarbazone amine group by alkylamine moieties, employing an improved procedure. DNA binding was evaluated by treatment of a drug solution with DNA-cellulose complex and further measurement of remaining drug by UV spectroscopy and the affinity observed to range from medium to weak.