Golgi coiled-coil proteins contain multiple binding sites for Rab family G proteins.

Vesicles and other carriers destined for the Golgi apparatus must be guided to the correct cisternae. Golgins, long coiled-coil proteins that localize to particular Golgi subdomains via their C termini, are candidate regulators of vesicle sorting. In this study, we report that the GRIP domain golgins, whose C termini bind the Arf-like 1 G protein on the trans-Golgi, can also bind four members of the Rab family of G proteins.

Toward a better identification and treatment of schizophrenia prodrome.

The prodromal period leading to schizophrenia has been the focus of significant interest in recent years. This is due not only to the possibility of identification of preschizophrenic states but also to the potential for improving prognosis as a result of early intervention. There are many approaches to the identification of the schizophrenia prodrome.

Within-plant distribution of onion thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in onions.

Two aspects of the within-plant distribution of Thrips tabaci Lindeman (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) on onion, Allium cepa L., plants were investigated: 1) diurnal variations in the distribution of adults and larvae between basal and upper sections of onion leaves, and 2) between-leaf and within-leaf distribution of the eggs. The diurnal investigations showed that higher proportions of larvae than of adults congregated at the basal sections of plants, particularly when plants were young and thrips density was low.

When the trivial becomes meaningful: reflections on a process evaluation of a home visitation programme in South Africa.

This paper reflects on a process evaluation of a home visitation programme in South Africa. The programme, implemented in two low-income communities, focused on the reduction of risks to unintentional childhood injuries. The evaluation comprised a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, including observations in conjunction with an evaluator's journal, diaries kept by the home visitors, interviews and focus group discussions.

Psychiatry: organized and disorganized.

Psychiatrists have formed organizations for more than 100 years. The focuses of these organizations include education, clinical specialty, research, treatment modality, and psychiatrist identity. Psychiatrists in Canada and Britain also have formed organizations.

Effects of policy options for human resources for health: an analysis of systematic reviews.

Background: Policy makers face challenges to ensure an appropriate supply and distribution of trained health workers and to manage their performance in delivery of services, especially in countries with low and middle incomes. We aimed to identify all available policy options to address human resources for health in such countries, and to assess the effectiveness of these policy options.

Methods: We searched Medline and Embase from 1979 to September, 2006, the Cochrane Library, and the Human Resources for Health Global Resource Center database.

Preschool program improves cognitive control.

Cognitive control skills important for success in school and life are amenable to improvement in at-risk preschoolers without costly interventions.

Responses of hyperthermophilic crenarchaea to UV irradiation.

Background: DNA damage leads to cellular responses that include the increased expression of DNA repair genes, repression of DNA replication and alterations in cellular metabolism. Archaeal information processing pathways resemble those in eukaryotes, but archaeal damage response pathways remain poorly understood.

Results: We analyzed the transcriptional response to UV irradiation in two related crenarchaea, Sulfolobus solfataricus and Sulfolobus acidocaldarius.

Identification of upper respiratory tract pathogens using electrochemical detection on an oligonucleotide microarray.

Bacterial and viral upper respiratory infections (URI) produce highly variable clinical symptoms that cannot be used to identify the etiologic agent. Proper treatment, however, depends on correct identification of the pathogen involved as antibiotics provide little or no benefit with viral infections. Here we describe a rapid and sensitive genotyping assay and microarray for URI identification using standard amplification and hybridization techniques, with electrochemical detection (ECD) on a semiconductor-based oligonucleotide microarray.

The hepatic PP1 glycogen-targeting subunit interaction with phosphorylase a can be blocked by C-terminal tyrosine deletion or an indole drug.

The inhibition of hepatic glycogen-associated protein phosphatase-1 (PP1-G(L)) by glycogen phosphorylase a prevents the dephosphorylation and activation of glycogen synthase, suppressing glycogen synthesis when glycogenolysis is activated. Here, we show that a peptide ((280)LGPYY(284)) comprising the last five amino acids of G(L) retains high-affinity interaction with phosphorylase a and that the two tyrosines play crucial roles. Tyr284 deletion abolishes binding of phosphorylase a to G(L) and replacement by phenylalanine is insufficient to restore high-affinity binding.

Identification of a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Arf3, the yeast orthologue of mammalian Arf6.

Small G proteins of the Arf and Rab families are fundamental to the organisation and activity of intracellular membranes. One of the most well characterised of these G proteins is mammalian Arf6, a protein that participates in many cellular processes including endocytosis, actin remodelling and cell adhesion. Exchange of GDP for GTP on Arf6 is performed by a variety of guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs), principally of the cytohesin (PSCD) and EFA6 (PSD) families.

Patient adherence to tuberculosis treatment: a systematic review of qualitative research.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major contributor to the global burden of disease and has received considerable attention in recent years, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where it is closely associated with HIV/AIDS. Poor adherence to treatment is common despite various interventions aimed at improving treatment completion. Lack of a comprehensive and holistic understanding of barriers to and facilitators of, treatment adherence is currently a major obstacle to finding effective solutions.

A review of health behaviour theories: how useful are these for developing interventions to promote long-term medication adherence for TB and HIV/AIDS?

Background: Suboptimal treatment adherence remains a barrier to the control of many infectious diseases, including tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, which contribute significantly to the global disease burden. However, few of the many interventions developed to address this issue explicitly draw on theories of health behaviour. Such theories could contribute to the design of more effective interventions to promote treatment adherence and to improving assessments of the transferability of these interventions across different health issues and settings.

The small G proteins of the Arf family and their regulators.

Small G proteins play a central role in the organization of the secretory and endocytic pathways. The majority of such small G proteins are members of the Rab family, which are anchored to the bilayer by C-terminal prenyl groups. However, the recruitment of some effectors, including vesicle coat proteins, is mediated by a second class of small G proteins that is unique in having an N-terminal amphipathic helix that becomes available for membrane insertion upon GTP binding.

The Arl4 family of small G proteins can recruit the cytohesin Arf6 exchange factors to the plasma membrane.

The small GTPase Arf6 regulates endocytosis, actin dynamics, and cell adhesion, and one of its major activators is the exchange factor Arf nucleotide-binding site opener (ARNO), also called cytohesin-2 [1, 2]. ARNO must be recruited from the cytosol to the plasma membrane in order to activate Arf6, and in addition to a Sec7 nucleotide-exchange domain it contains a C-terminal pleckstrin homology (PH) domain that binds phosphoinositides [3, 4]. ARNO and its three relatives, cytohesin-1, Grp1/cytohesin-3, and cytohesin-4, are expressed as two splice variants, with either two or three glycines in a loop in the phosphoinositide-binding pocket of the PH domain [5, 6].

Surveying the attitudes of acute mental health nurses.

Recent UK policy and guidance indicates the importance of positive attitudes towards mental health service users. This is especially true in acute inpatient care, where service users are often at their most vulnerable and have higher levels of contact with mental health staff. The following paper details secondary analysis of data collected for the validation of an attitude measurement scale with a sample of 140 nursing staff in acute settings.

The yeast orthologue of GRASP65 forms a complex with a coiled-coil protein that contributes to ER to Golgi traffic.

The mammalian Golgi protein GRASP65 is required in assays that reconstitute cisternal stacking and vesicle tethering. Attached to membranes by an N-terminal myristoyl group, it recruits the coiled-coil protein GM130. The relevance of this system to budding yeasts has been unclear, as they lack an obvious orthologue of GM130, and their only GRASP65 relative (Grh1) lacks a myristoylation site and has even been suggested to act in a mitotic checkpoint.

The acceptability of physical activity programming within a smoking cessation service for individuals with severe mental illness.

Objective: There is a high prevalence of smoking and physical inactivity among individuals with severe mental illness (SMI). The current study assessed the acceptability of introducing physical activity, including perceived advantages and disadvantages, as an adjunct to a smoking cessation service within this population.

Methods: 109 participants with SMI who were receiving smoking cessation treatment completed a survey assessing perceived interest in physical activity and a 24-item decisional balance questionnaire reflecting potential advantages and disadvantages of becoming more physically active.

Equal rates of repair of DNA photoproducts in transcribed and non-transcribed strands in Sulfolobus solfataricus.

The nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway removes bulky lesions such as photoproducts from DNA. In both bacteria and eukarya, lesions located in transcribed strands are repaired significantly faster than those located in non-transcribed strands due to damage signalling by stalled RNA polymerase molecules: a phenomenon known as transcription-coupled repair (TCR). TCR requires a mechanism for coupling the detection of stalled RNA polymerase molecules to the NER pathway, provided in bacteria by the Mfd protein.

Effectiveness of an influenza vaccine programme for care home staff to prevent death, morbidity, and health service use among residents: cluster randomised controlled trial.

Objective: To determine whether vaccination of care home staff against influenza indirectly protects residents.

Design: Pair matched cluster randomised controlled trial.

Setting: Large private chain of UK care homes during the winters of 2003-4 and 2004-5.

Development of Epiphyas postvittana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) on leaves and fruit of orange trees.

Development of Epipyas postvittna (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), on leaves and fruit of 'Valencia', 'Washington navel', and 'Navelina' orange trees was studied under constant and fluctuating temperatures. E. postvittna was able to complete its life cycle feeding exclusively on leaves or fruit of orange trees.

Use of multiplex terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism for rapid and simultaneous analysis of different components of the soil microbial community.

A multiplex terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (M-TRFLP) fingerprinting method was developed and validated for simultaneous analysis of the diversity and community structure of two or more microbial taxa (up to four taxa). The reproducibility and robustness of the method were examined using soil samples collected from different habitats. DNA was PCR amplified separately from soil samples using individual taxon-specific primers for bacteria, archaea, and fungi.

A tool kit for new chairs.

Many chairs come to their position without the benefit of previous experience in the role of leading an academic department. The American Association of Chairs of Departments of Psychiatry (AACDP) identified the need for a manual designed to help a new chair get started. The "tool kit" that emerged contains sections that describe the AACDP, outline key issues and responsibilities of a department chair, and review a variety of resources available to assist a new chair.

CombiMatrix oligonucleotide arrays: genotyping and gene expression assays employing electrochemical detection.

Electrochemical detection has been developed and assay performances studied for the CombiMatrix oligonucleotide microarray platform that contains 12,544 individually addressable microelectrodes (features) in a semiconductor matrix. The approach is based on the detection of redox active chemistries (such as horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and the associated substrate TMB) proximal to specific microarray electrodes. First, microarray probes are hybridized to biotin-labeled targets, second, the HRP-streptavidin conjugate binds to biotin, and enzymatic oxidation of the electron donor substrate then occurs.