Management of Status Epilepticus by Different Pediatric Departments: Neurology, Intensive Care, and Emergency Medicine.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to explore the differences in status epilepticus (SE) management among pediatric neurology, emergency medicine, and intensive care specialists in Turkey.

Methods: A 22-item questionnaire regarding first-, second-, and third-line management strategies of SE including demographic characteristics and common etiologies according to the specialty of participants was mailed to 370 specialists working in Turkey.

Results: A total of 334 participants (response rate 90%) comprising 136 pediatric neurologists, 102 pediatric emergency medicine specialists, and 96 pediatric intensive care specialists completed the survey.

Sub-millisecond chain collapse of the Escherichia coli globin ApoHmpH.

Myoglobins are ubiquitous proteins that play a seminal role in oxygen storage, transport, and NO metabolism. The folding mechanism of apomyoglobins from different species has been studied to a fair extent over the last two decades. However, integrated investigations of the entire process, including both the early (sub-ms) and late (ms-s) folding stages, have been missing.

High-resolution conformation and backbone dynamics of a soluble aggregate of apomyoglobin119.

The structure and dynamics of soluble misfolded aggregates are poorly understood, despite their importance in protein science and disease. Water-soluble self-associated species that do not become insoluble over time are invaluable tools for high-resolution conformational studies aimed at dissecting the determinants of self-association. Here, we characterize the soluble model aggregate apomyoglobin(119) (apoMb(119)), generated upon truncating the residues corresponding to the C-terminal helix of sperm whale apomyoglobin.

Effects of epilepsy and antiepileptic drugs on nitric oxide, lipid peroxidation and xanthine oxidase system in children with idiopathic epilepsy.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of epilepsy, valproic acid and oxcarbazepine on nitric oxide levels, lipid peroxidation and xanthine oxidase levels in newly diagnosed epileptic children and healthy controls. A total of 49 patients with newly diagnosed idiopathic epilepsy and 15 healthy children were enrolled in this study. Of these 49 patients, 16 children were treated with valproate and 16 treated with oxcarbazepine.

Neonate with meroacrania: radiological findings and review of the literature.

Acrania is a developmental abnormality characterized by a partial or complete absence of calvaria with complete but abnormal development of brain tissue. Acrania is a relatively common malformation and affects about 1 in 1000 newborns. Meroacrania refers to absence of the cranium with the exception of the occipital bone.

Use of phototherapy for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia affects cytokine production and lymphocyte subsets.

Background: Most studies regarding the influence of ultraviolet radiation on levels of inflammatory cytokines were conducted mainly in cultures of human keratinocytes or in laboratory animals. Few studies were also performed in human subjects.

Objectives: To investigate the influence of the use of phototherapy on the levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, IL-8 such as cytokines expressed from keratinocytes and on the expression of some lymphocyte subsets in the prevention or treatment of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.

Nonrandom distribution of intramolecular contacts in native single-domain proteins.

The interplay of short- and long-range interactions in protein structure and folding is poorly understood. This study focuses on the distribution of intramolecular contacts across different regions of the polypeptide chain in soluble single-domain proteins. We show that while the average number of intramolecular interactions per residue is similar across all regions of the sequence, the interaction counterparts are distributed nonrandomly.

A prospective study of etiology of childhood acute bacterial meningitis, Turkey.

Determination of the etiology of bacterial meningitis and estimating cost of disease are important in guiding vaccination policies. To determine the incidence and etiology of meningitis in Turkey, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were obtained prospectively from children (1 month-17 years of age) with a clinical diagnosis of acute bacterial meningitis. Multiplex PCR was used to detect DNA evidence of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), and Neisseria meningitidis.

Residue-specific contact order and contact breadth in single-domain proteins: implications for folding as a function of chain elongation.

Cotranslational protein misfolding and aggregation are often responsible for inclusion body formation during in vivo protein expression. This study addresses the relations between protein folding/misfolding and the distribution of intramolecular interactions across different regions of the polypeptide chain in soluble single-domain proteins. The sequence regions examined here include the C terminus, which is synthesized last in the cell.

The levels of Ghrelin, TNF-alpha, and IL-6 in children with cyanotic and acyanotic congenital heart disease.

Background/aim: Ghrelin has effects on nutrient intake and growth. The cause of growth retardation in congenital heart disease is multifactorial. The aim of the present study is to investigate the ghrelin in congenital heart disease and the association of ghrelin with TNF-alpha and IL-6.

Serum IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-alpha levels in early diagnosis and management of neonatal sepsis.

Aim: To determine serum IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-alpha levels in neonatal sepsis at the time of diagnosis and after therapy, and to show the meaningful on the follow up.

Methods: This prospective study was performed on newborns who were hospitalized for neonatal sepsis and who were classified as culture-proven sepsis (n=12), as culture-negative sepsis (n=21), and as healthy newborns (n=17).

Results: At the time of diagnosis, serum IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-alpha levels of culture-proven sepsis were significantly higher than those of the control groups (P<.

Nonnative helical motif in a chaperone-bound protein fragment.

The effect of cotranslationally active chaperones on the conformation of incomplete protein chains is poorly understood. The secondary structure of a 77-residue chaperone-bound N-terminal protein fragment corresponding to the first five helices (A-E) of apomyoglobin (apoMb(1-77)) is investigated here at the residue-specific level by multidimensional NMR. The substrate-binding domain of DnaK, DnaK-beta, is employed as a chaperone model.

Thermodynamic and kinetic characterization of apoHmpH, a fast-folding bacterial globin.

Despite the widespread presence of the globin fold in most living organisms, only eukaryotic globins have been employed as model proteins in folding/stability studies so far. This work introduces the first thermodynamic and kinetic characterization of a prokaryotic globin, that is, the apo form of the heme-binding domain of flavohemoglobin (apoHmpH) from Escherichia coli. This bacterial globin has a widely different sequence but nearly identical structure to its eukaryotic analogues.

Age-specific seroprevalence of serogroup C meningococcal serum bactericidal antibody activity and serogroup A, C, W135 and Y-specific IgG concentrations in the Turkish population during 2005.

Like many other developing countries; there is no accurate information about the antibody levels against Neisseria meningitidis in Turkey. We collected serum samples from four health centers located in different geographic regions and stratified according to age in order to obtain a baseline seroprevalence of protective antibodies to meningococcal serogroup C and provide data on seroprevalence of IgG antibodies to serogroups A, C, W135 and Y. Sera were tested for serum bactericidal antibodies (SBA) to serogroup C meningococci using rabbit serum as the complement source and by a bead based assay for serogroup A, C, W135 and Y-specific IgG.

Serum endothelin-1 and transforming growth factor-beta levels in the newborns with respiratory distress.

The purpose of this present study was to evaluate the serum levels of ET-1 and TGF-beta in the newborns with respiratory distress. In this study, newborns with respiratory distress hospitalized into the Newborn Intensive Care Unit were included. The highest values of ET-1 and TGF-beta were obtained from newborns with diagnosis as meconium aspiration syndrome (5.

Malignant infantile osteopetrosis: a rare cause of neonatal hypocalcemia.

Malignant infantile osteopetrosis is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by presentation in the first few months of life with manifestations relating to an underlying defect in osteoclastic bone resorption. This report describes a 10 day-old boy in whom neonatal hypocalcemia was present and whose brother had died with the diagnosis of osteopetrosis.

Binding specificity of an alpha-helical protein sequence to a full-length Hsp70 chaperone and its minimal substrate-binding domain.

Hsp70 chaperones are involved in the prevention of misfolding, and possibly the folding, of newly synthesized proteins. The members of this chaperone family are capable of interacting with polypeptide chains both co- and posttranslationally, but it is currently not clear how different structural domains of the chaperone affect binding specificity. We explored the interactions between the bacterial Hsp70, DnaK, and the sequence of a model all-alpha-helical globin (apoMb) by cellulose-bound peptide scanning.

Secondary structure mapping of DnaK-bound protein fragments: chain helicity and local helix unwinding at the binding site.

Little is known about polypeptide conformation and folding in the presence of molecular chaperones participating in protein biosynthesis. In vitro studies on chaperone-substrate complexes have been mostly carried out with small peptide ligands. However, the technical challenges associated with either competing aggregation or spectroscopically unfavorable size and exchange rates have typically prevented analysis of larger substrates.

Effect of hsp70 chaperone on the folding and misfolding of polypeptides modeling an elongating protein chain.

Virtually nothing is known about the interaction of co-translationally active chaperones with nascent polypeptides and the resulting effects on peptide conformation and folding. We have explored this issue by NMR analysis of apomyoglobin N-terminal fragments of increasing length, taken as models for different stages of protein biosynthesis, in the absence and presence of the substrate binding domain of Escherichia coli Hsp70, DnaK-beta. The incomplete polypeptides misfold and self-associate under refolding conditions.

The burial of solvent-accessible surface area is a predictor of polypeptide folding and misfolding as a function of chain elongation.

The hydrophobic effect is a major driving force in all chemical and biological events involving chain collapse in aqueous solution. Here, we show that the burial of nonpolar solvent-accessible surface area (NSASA) is a powerful criterion to predict the folding and misfolding behavior of small single-domain proteins as a function of chain elongation. This bears fundamental implications for co- and post-translational protein folding in the cell and for understanding the interplay between noncovalent interactions and formation of native-like structure and topology.

Structural characterization of apomyoglobin self-associated species in aqueous buffer and urea solution.

The biophysical characterization of nonfunctional protein aggregates at physiologically relevant temperatures is much needed to gain deeper insights into the kinetic and thermodynamic relationships between protein folding and misfolding. Dynamic and static laser light scattering have been employed for the detection and detailed characterization of apomyoglobin (apoMb) soluble aggregates populated at room temperature upon dissolving the purified protein in buffer at pH 6.0, both in the presence and absence of high concentrations of urea.

The differential diagnostic values of cytokine levels in pleural effusions.

The aim is to examine whether the changes in pleural fluid interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-2, IL-6, and IL-8 levels were significant in differential diagnosis of childhood pleural effusions. IL-1beta, IL-2, IL-6, and IL-8 levels in pleural fluids of all 36 patients were measured. The levels of IL-1beta, IL-2, IL-6, and IL-8 in pleural fluids were statistically significantly higher in the transudate group compared with those of the exudate group.

Structure-based prediction of potential binding and nonbinding peptides to HIV-1 protease.

HIV-1 protease is a major drug target against AIDS as it permits viral maturation by processing the gag and pol polyproteins of the virus. The cleavage sites in these polyproteins do not have obvious sequence homology or a binding motif and the specificity of the protease is not easily determined. We used various threading approaches, together with the crystal structures of substrate complexes which served as template structures, to study the substrate specificity of HIV-1 protease with the aim of obtaining a better differentiation between binding and nonbinding sequences.