Impact of Acquired Brain Injury on Quality of Life.

Background: An injury to the brain affects a person in some or all cognitive, emotional, behavioural and physical domains impacting quality of life. Quality of life is essential to well-being and optimum functioning of a person in daily life. It is influenced by various individual and social aspects like physical, psychological, social relationships and environment.

Mini-medical school programs decrease perceived barriers of pursuing medical careers among underrepresented minority high school students.

Context: The percent of underrepresented minority (URM) students who apply to medical school has changed minimally in the past 40 years. Due to the lack of URM applicants, the consequent matriculation of URMs is grossly disproportionate from their percent representation of the US population. Increasing diversity among medical students and physicians has previously been identified as essential to decreasing healthcare disparities among US minorities.

Correction: ExtremeDB: A Unified Web Repository of Extremophilic Archaea and Bacteria.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Mitochondrial dynamics following global cerebral ischemia.

Global brain ischemia/reperfusion induces neuronal damage in vulnerable brain regions, leading to mitochondrial dysfunction and subsequent neuronal death. Induction of neuronal death is mediated by release of cytochrome c (cyt c) from the mitochondria though a well-characterized increase in outer mitochondrial membrane permeability. However, for cyt c to be released it is first necessary for cyt c to be liberated from the cristae junctions which are gated by Opa1 oligomers.

Molecular Characterization and Functional Analysis of Annulate Lamellae Pore Complexes in Nuclear Transport in Mammalian Cells.

Annulate lamellae are cytoplasmic organelles containing stacked sheets of membranes embedded with pore complexes. These cytoplasmic pore complexes at annulate lamellae are morphologically similar to nuclear pore complexes at the nuclear envelope. Although annulate lamellae has been observed in nearly all types of cells, their biological functions are still largely unknown.

The Protein Complex of Neurodegeneration-related Phosphoinositide Phosphatase Sac3 and ArPIKfyve Binds the Lewy Body-associated Synphilin-1, Preventing Its Aggregation.

The 5-phosphoinositide phosphatase Sac3, in which loss-of-function mutations are linked to neurodegenerative disorders, forms a stable cytosolic complex with the scaffolding protein ArPIKfyve. The ArPIKfyve-Sac3 heterodimer interacts with the phosphoinositide 5-kinase PIKfyve in a ubiquitous ternary complex that couples PtdIns(3,5)P2 synthesis with turnover at endosomal membranes, thereby regulating the housekeeping endocytic transport in eukaryotes. Neuron-specific associations of the ArPIKfyve-Sac3 heterodimer, which may shed light on the neuropathological mechanisms triggered by Sac3 dysfunction, are unknown.

Biodegradation of kerosene: Study of growth optimization and metabolic fate of P. janthinellum SDX7.

Penicillum janthinellum SDX7 was isolated from aged petroleum hydrocarbon-affected soil at the site of Anand, Gujarat, India, and was tested for different pH, temperature, agitation and concentrations for optimal growth of the isolate that was capable of degrading upto 95%, 63% and 58% of 1%, 3% and 5% kerosene, respectively, after a period of 16 days, at optimal growth conditions of pH 6.0, 30 °C and 180 rpm agitation. The GC/MS chromatograms revealed that then-alkane fractions are easily degraded; however, the rate might be lower for branched alkanes, n-alkylaromatics, cyclic alkanes and polynuclear aromatics.

Unfolding the unfolded protein response: unique insights into brain ischemia.

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is responsible for processing of proteins that are destined to be secreted, enclosed in a vesicle, or incorporated in the plasma membrane. Nascent peptides that enter the ER undergo a series of highly regulated processing steps to reach maturation as they transit the ER. Alterations in the intracellular environment that induce ER stress are thought to interrupt these processing steps, and result in unfolding of proteins in the ER.

Release of mitochondrial Opa1 following oxidative stress in HT22 cells.

Cellular mechanisms involved in multiple neurodegenerative diseases converge on mitochondria to induce overproduction of reactive oxygen species, damage to mitochondria, and subsequent cytochrome c release. Little is currently known regarding the contribution mitochondrial dynamics play in cytochrome c release following oxidative stress in neurodegenerative disease. Here we induced oxidative stress in the HT22 cell line with glutamate and investigated key mediators of mitochondrial dynamics to determine the role this process may play in oxidative stress induced neuronal death.

Cytochrome C is tyrosine 97 phosphorylated by neuroprotective insulin treatment.

Recent advancements in isolation techniques for cytochrome c (Cytc) have allowed us to discover post-translational modifications of this protein. We previously identified two distinct tyrosine phosphorylated residues on Cytc in mammalian liver and heart that alter its electron transfer kinetics and the ability to induce apoptosis. Here we investigated the phosphorylation status of Cytc in ischemic brain and sought to determine if insulin-induced neuroprotection and inhibition of Cytc release was associated with phosphorylation of Cytc.

Exiguobacterium alkaliphilum sp. nov. isolated from alkaline wastewater drained sludge of a beverage factory.

A facultatively anaerobic, alkaliphilic, Gram-stain-positive, rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain 12/1(T), isolated from alkaline wastewater drained sludge of a beverage industry facility located near New Delhi, India, was subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons revealed that strain 12/1(T) belonged to the genus Exiguobacterium and was most closely related to Exiguobacterium aurantiacum DSM 6208(T) (99.46 %), E.

Combination therapy with insulin-like growth factor-1 and hypothermia synergistically improves outcome after transient global brain ischemia in the rat.

Objectives: Hypothermia has a well-established neuroprotective effect and offers a foundation for combination therapy for brain ischemia. The authors evaluated the effect of combination therapy with insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and hypothermia on brain structure and function in the setting of global brain ischemia and reperfusion in rats.

Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to groups by a registrar.

ExtremeDB: a unified web repository of extremophilic archaea and bacteria.

Extremophiles are the microorganisms which can survive under extreme conditions of temperature, pressure, pH, salinity etc. They have gained much attention for their potential role in biotechnological and industrial applications. The large amount of experimental data in the literature is so diverse, that it becomes difficult and time consuming for the researcher to implement it in various areas of research.

Mitochondrial dynamics: an emerging paradigm in ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Cardiomyocytes and neurons are highly susceptible to ischemia-reperfusion injury; accordingly, considerable effort has been devoted to elucidating the cellular mechanisms responsible for ischemia-reperfusion-induced cell death and developing novel strategies to minimize ischemia-reperfusion injury. Maintenance of mitochondrial integrity is, without question, a critical determinant of cell fate. However, there is emerging evidence of a novel and intriguing extension to this paradigm: mitochondrial dynamics (that is, changes in mitochondrial morphology achieved by fission and fusion) may play an important but as-yet poorly understood role as a determinant of cell viability.

Molecular mechanisms of ischemia-reperfusion injury in brain: pivotal role of the mitochondrial membrane potential in reactive oxygen species generation.

Stroke and circulatory arrest cause interferences in blood flow to the brain that result in considerable tissue damage. The primary method to reduce or prevent neurologic damage to patients suffering from brain ischemia is prompt restoration of blood flow to the ischemic tissue. However, paradoxically, restoration of blood flow causes additional damage and exacerbates neurocognitive deficits among patients who suffer a brain ischemic event.

Restructuring BOD : COD ratio of dairy milk industrial wastewaters in BOD analysis by formulating a specific microbial seed.

BOD (Biochemical oxygen demand) is the pollution index of any water sample. One of the main factors influencing the estimation of BOD is the nature of microorganisms used as seeding material. In order to meet the variation in wastewater characteristics, one has to be specific in choosing the biological component that is the seeding material.

An effective strategy for a whole-cell biosensor based on putative effector interaction site of the regulatory DmpR protein.

Introduction And Rationale: The detection of bioavailable phenol is a very important issue in environmental and human hazard assessment. Despite modest developments recently, there is a stern need for development of novel biosensors with high sensitivity for priority phenol pollutants. DmpR (Dimethyl phenol regulatory protein), an NtrC-like regulatory protein for the phenol degradation of Pseudomonas sp.

Computational screening for new inhibitors of M. tuberculosis mycolyltransferases antigen 85 group of proteins as potential drug targets.

The group of antigen 85 proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is responsible for converting trehalose monomycolate to trehalose dimycolate, which contributes to cell wall stability. Here, we have used a serial enrichment approach to identify new potential inhibitors by searching the libraries of compounds using both 2D atom pair descriptors and binary fingerprints followed by molecular docking. Three different docking softwares AutoDock, GOLD, and LigandFit were used for docking calculations.

Usefulness of organic acid produced by Exiguobacterium sp. 12/1 on neutralization of alkaline wastewater.

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of organic acids produced by Exiguobacterium sp. strain 12/1 (DSM 21148) in neutralization of alkaline wastewater emanated from beverage industry. This bacterium is known to be able to grow in medium of pH as high as pH 12.

Bioremediation of agro-based pulp mill effluent by microbial consortium comprising autochthonous bacteria.

Small-scale agro-based pulp and paper mills are characterized as highly polluting industries. These mills use Kraft pulping process for paper manufacturing due to which toxic lignified chemicals are released into the environment. Lack of infrastructure, technical manpower, and research and development facilities restricts these mills to recover these chemicals.

Seasonal variation in heavy metal contamination in water and sediments of river Sabarmati and Kharicut canal at Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

The objective of the study is to reveal the seasonal variations in the river water and sediment quality with respect to heavy metal contamination. To get the extent of trace metals contamination, water and sediment samples were collected from five different sites along the course of Sabarmati River and its tributary Kharicut canal in pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. The concentration of trace metals such as chromium, copper, lead, nickel and zinc was determined using inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy.

Biodegradation of sewage wastewater using autochthonous bacteria.

The performance of isolated designed consortia comprising Bacillus pumilus, Brevibacterium sp, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa for the treatment of sewage wastewater in terms of reduction in COD (chemical oxygen demand), BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) MLSS (mixed liquor suspended solids), and TSS (total suspended solids) was studied. Different parameters were optimized (inoculum size, agitation, and temperature) to achieve effective results in less period of time. The results obtained indicated that consortium in the ratio of 1 : 2 (effluent : biomass) at 200 rpm, 35°C is capable of effectively reducing the pollutional load of the sewage wastewaters, in terms of COD, BOD, TSS, and MLSS within the desired discharge limits, that is, 32 mg/L, 8 mg/L, 162 mg/L, and 190 mg/L.

CO₂ utilizing microbes--a comprehensive review.

CO₂ fixing microbes are the species primarily engaged in complexing the inorganic carbon dioxide to organic carbon compounds. There are many microorganisms from archaeal and bacterial domain that can fix carbon dioxide through six known CO₂ fixing pathways. These organisms are ubiquitous and can survive in wide range of aerobic and anaerobic habitats.

Interaction studies of novel cell selective antimicrobial peptides with model membranes and E. coli ATCC 11775.

Cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAMPs) are novel candidates for drug development. Here we describe design of six short and potent CAMPs (SA-1 to SA-6) based on a minimalist template of 12 residues H+HHG+HH+HH+NH2 (where H: hydrophobic amino acid and +: charged hydrophilic amino acid). Designed peptides exhibit good antibacterial activity in micro molar concentration range (1-32 mug/ml) and rapid clearance of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains at concentrations higher than MIC.

Three dimensional model for N-terminal A domain of DmpR (2-dimethylphenol) protein based on secondary structure prediction and fold recognition.

DmpR (dimethylphenol regulatory protein) is a member of the NtrC family of transcriptional activators and controls the transcription of the dmp operons in response to aromatic effector compounds. Secondary structure and fold recognition prediction of N-terminal A domain of this protein (210 amino acid) was performed in Genesilico Metaserver and 3DJury. The consensus result from these servers suggested MJ_1460 as a template.