The C4 cycle and beyond: diverse metabolic adaptations accompany dual-cell photosynthetic functions in Setaria.

C4 photosynthesis is typically characterized by the spatial compartmentalization of the photosynthetic reactions into mesophyll (M) and bundle sheath (BS) cells. Initial carbon fixation within M cells gives rise to C4 acids, which are transported to the BS cells. There, C4 acids are decarboxylated so that the resulting CO2 is incorporated into the Calvin cycle.

Treatment of blepharospasm with botulinum neurotoxin type A: long-term results.

Purpose: To describe the long-term efficacy and side effects of treatment of blepharospasm with botulinum neurotoxin type A (Botox).

Methods: A total of 178 patients with blepharospasm were treated by injections of botulinum toxin in the Eye Clinic of the University of Naples from 1980 to 2001. The severity of spasm for each patient was graded on a four-point scale.

Distribution of FMRFamide-like immunoreactivity in the amphibian brain: comparative analysis.

FMRFamide is a small neuropeptide present in particular neurons of the basal forebrain and midbrain of the vertebrate groups studied, especially fishes and mammals. In order to assess interspecies variation, the distribution of FMRFamide-like immunoreactivity was studied in the brains of 13 species of amphibian. Although FMRFamide-immunoreactive (IR) terminals occurred throughout much of the brain, IR cell groups were noted in circumscribed regions of the CNS.

A case of Parinaud's syndrome in a boy with delayed puberty.

The authors describe a case of Parinaud's syndrome in a 14-year-old boy with delayed puberty. The neurological examination and the neuroradiological work-up excluded the presence of cerebral pathological processes except for a pituitary microadenoma. As the sole presence of the microadenoma cannot justify gonadotropin deficiency, the authors in this case favor a form of isolated gonadotropin deficiency, and they suggest that the elevation paralysis can be put in the range of median line defects, such as labiopalatoschisis and hypoplasia of the olfactory bulbs, frequently associated with isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism.

Friedreich's ataxia: clinical involvement and evoked potentials.

In 15 patients definitely affected by Friedreich's ataxia, precocious SEP abnormalities were constantly recorded independent of the duration of symptoms and the severity of clinical involvement; VEPs were frequently involved, but neither VEP abnormalities, nor visual impairment could be correlated with the severity or duration of Friedreich's ataxia clinical involvement; BAEPs were, to different extents, abnormal. These were completely dissociated from hearing disorders and significantly correlated (P less than 0.001) with Friedreich's ataxia clinical disability.