The yeast p5 type ATPase, spf1, regulates manganese transport into the endoplasmic reticulum.

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a large, multifunctional and essential organelle. Despite intense research, the function of more than a third of ER proteins remains unknown even in the well-studied model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae. One such protein is Spf1, which is a highly conserved, ER localized, putative P-type ATPase.

Ergosterol content specifies targeting of tail-anchored proteins to mitochondrial outer membranes.

Tail-anchored (TA) proteins have a single C-terminal transmembrane domain, making their biogenesis dependent on posttranslational translocation. Despite their importance, no dedicated insertion machinery has been uncovered for mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM) TA proteins. To decipher the molecular mechanisms guiding MOM TA protein insertion, we performed two independent systematic microscopic screens in which we visualized the localization of model MOM TA proteins on the background of mutants in all yeast genes.

Getting the whole picture: combining throughput with content in microscopy.

The increasing availability and performance of automated scientific equipment in the past decades have brought about a revolution in the biological sciences. The ease with which data can now be generated has led to a new culture of high-throughput science, in which new types of biological questions can be asked and tackled in a systematic and unbiased manner. High-throughput microscopy, also often referred to as high-content screening (HCS), allows acquisition of systematic data at the single-cell level.

Accelerating molecular dynamic simulation on the cell processor and Playstation 3.

Implementation of molecular dynamics (MD) calculations on novel architectures will vastly increase its power to calculate the physical properties of complex systems. Herein, we detail algorithmic advances developed to accelerate MD simulations on the Cell processor, a commodity processor found in PlayStation 3 (PS3). In particular, we discuss issues regarding memory access versus computation and the types of calculations which are best suited for streaming processors such as the Cell, focusing on implicit solvation models.

Long-term lamivudine therapy for chronic hepatitis B infection in children unresponsive to interferon.

Objectives: Prolonged lamivudine treatment in adults has been shown to improve hepatitis B e (HBe) seroconversion rates in patients with chronic hepatitis B. This prospective open study reports the results of prolonged lamivudine treatment in a group of children with chronic hepatitis B.

Patients And Methods: Twenty-two children and adolescents age 13.

The effect of early treatment in children with chronic hepatitis.

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of interferon alpha (IFN) or IFN and ribavirin (IFN+RIB) combination therapy in children with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Most children were infected during treatment for pediatric malignancies.

Patients And Methods: We reviewed the charts of 20 patients (11 boys and 9 girls) aged 10.

Lamivudine treatment for chronic hepatitis B infection in children unresponsive to interferon.

Background/aims: Lamivudine is a potent inhibitor of hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication. This prospective open study reports the results of lamivudine treatment in children with chronic hepatitis B infection who did not respond to previous interferon treatment.

Patients And Methods: Lamivudine, 3 mg/kg/day (maximum, 100 mg/day), was given for 52 weeks to 20 children and adolescents, ages 8.

Interferon treatment in children with chronic hepatitis B: an Israeli experience.

Objective: To summarize the experience of two pediatric gastroenterology centers in northern Israel using interferon alpha to treat children with chronic hepatitis B.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 59 children with chronic HBV. Forty-nine children were treated with subcutaneous IFN alpha at dosages of 10 MU/m (n = 12) or 5 MU/m (n = 37) three times a week for 6 months.

Control of a community-wide outbreak of hepatitis A by mass vaccination with inactivated hepatitis A vaccine.

The epidemiology and control of hepatitis A virus was investigated during an outbreak of hepatitis A in a village in Israel. Postexposure administration of immune globulin to contacts was ineffective in controlling the outbreak. However, within 2 weeks of starting a mass immunization campaign with hepatitis A vaccine, the incidence of hepatitis A declined dramatically; the last case occurred 6 weeks after the immunization program began.

Evaluation of screening for hepatitis B surface antigen during pregnancy in a population with a high prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen-positive/hepatitis B e antigen-negative carriers.

Background: Universal hepatitis B vaccination in infancy was implemented in Israel in 1992. The program consists of active vaccination at birth and at 1 and 6 months of age, without hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) screening during pregnancy. Infants of HBsAg carrier mothers do not receive specific hepatitis B immunoglobulin in addition to vaccine at birth.

Anamnestic response to hepatitis B vaccine in nonalcoholic liver cirrhosis patients with and without HBV-DNA.

Two methods were used to unveil a possible previous hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in patients with postnecrotic liver cirrhosis. The anamnestic response to a booster injection of HB vaccine was assessed, and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique for the detection of HBV-DNA in serum and liver tissue, using primers to span the precore and core regions, was employed. Seventeen patients with postnecrotic liver cirrhosis were selected from a population with a high prevalence of HBV infection and were compared with 11 liver cirrhosis patients who were positive for antibodies to surface antigen (anti-HBs) IgG antibodies.

A hepatitis B virus mutant associated with an epidemic of fulminant hepatitis.

Background: A nosocomial outbreak of fulminant hepatitis B occurred in five patients in Haifa, Israel. Previous investigations identified the suspected source as a carrier of hepatitis B surface antigen who was positive for antibodies to hepatitis B e antigen and had chronic liver disease. We examined the strain of hepatitis B virus (HBV) that caused this epidemic, in order to identify specific mutations in the precore or core region.

Hepatitis B virus infection in patients with idiopathic liver disease.

We studied 67 HBsAg-negative Israeli patients (36 negative for all HBV serological markers as group 1 and 31 positive for antibodies to HBs and HBc as group 2) with chronic liver disease and cirrhosis of unknown origin using a rapid, sensitive and specific assay for the detection of low levels of hepatitis B virus in serum. This technique uses a high-affinity monoclonal antibody to HBs against an a domain epitope of HBsAg to capture the virion, followed by hepatitis B virus DNA amplification with the polymerase chain reaction. In addition, 55 subjects without liver disease served as controls: Group 3 (n = 32) was negative for all hepatitis B virus markers; group 4 (n = 23) was positive for antibodies to HBs and HBc.

Hepatitis B virus infection in Ethiopian immigrants to Israel.

Two groups of immigrants from Ethiopia, one of 86 and the other of 165 individuals, aged 0-40, were examined for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in 1987-88, 3-7 years after their arrival in Israel. The results were compared with those obtained in the same age-group among Ethiopians who immigrated to Israel in 1980-82. The immigrants were found to be in good physical condition, their liver function tests were normal and no clinical evidence of chronic liver disease was found.