Anti-Hu antibodies in Merkel cell carcinoma.

Anti-Hu antibody is an antineuronal autoantibody found in a subset of patients with paraneoplastic neurological disease. The antibody was first associated with small cell carcinoma of the lung and is most often used as a marker for this neoplasm in patients presenting with suspected paraneoplastic syndromes. Here we report a patient with a multifaceted neurological disorder in the setting of Merkel cell carcinoma.

Overexpression of polyphenol oxidase in transgenic tomato plants results in enhanced bacterial disease resistance.

Polyphenol oxidases (PPOs; EC 1.10.3.

[Contrast media-enhanced 3D MR angiography before endovascular treatment of aneurysm in the abdominal aorta, iliac artery and peripheral vessels].

Purpose: The value of DSA for the measurement of aortic and peripheral arterial aneurysm dimensions before endovascular treatment is limited by projection effects. It was evaluated if additional gadolinium-enhanced three-dimensional MR angiography (3D-CEMRA) could compensate for the disadvantages of DSA.

Materials And Methods: 21 patients with 35 aneurysms in the abdominal aorta (14), iliac (9) and femoropopliteal vessels (12) were assessed with DSA (7 with calibrated catheter, 14 with yardstick) and 3D-CEMRA (TR/TE 7.

Paraffinoma of the external genitalia after autoinjection of vaseline.

Five cases of sclerosing lipogranulomas of the external genitalia after previous injection of vaseline are presented. The public should be informed about the disastrous effects of paraffin injections and the importance of a radical but organ-preserving surgical treatment.

Genetic control and evolution of sesquiterpene biosynthesis in Lycopersicon esculentum and L. hirsutum.

Segregation analysis between Lysopersicon esculentum (cultivated tomato) and L. hirsutum (wild form) in conjunction with positional verification by using near-isogenic lines demonstrated that biosynthesis of two structurally different classes of sesquiterpenes in these species is controlled by loci on two different chromosomes. A locus on chromosome 6, Sesquiterpene synthase1 (Sst1), was identified for which the L.

Crystal structure of saccharopine reductase from Magnaporthe grisea, an enzyme of the alpha-aminoadipate pathway of lysine biosynthesis.

Background: The biosynthesis of the essential amino acid lysine in higher fungi and cyanobacteria occurs via the alpha-aminoadipate pathway, which is completely different from the lysine biosynthetic pathway found in plants and bacteria. The penultimate reaction in the alpha-aminoadipate pathway is catalysed by NADPH-dependent saccharopine reductase. We set out to determine the structure of this enzyme as a first step in exploring the structural biology of fungal lysine biosynthesis.

Politano-leadbetter ureteroneocystostomy. A 30-year experience.

Purpose: We evaluated the results and complications of children with reflux treated with the Politano-Leadbetter ureteroneocystostomy. In particular, we evaluated pre- and postoperative renal parenchymal scarring and the late development of hypertension.

Materials And Methods: From 1965 through 1996, 666 children (814 renal units) were reimplanted by nine urologists.

Quantitation of renal perfusion using arterial spin labeling with FAIR-UFLARE.

Quantitative perfusion imaging of human kidneys was performed using arterial spin labeling MRI with a fast spin echo readout-sequence. Perfusion maps of centrally located single slices were obtained in axial and coronal orientations. In ten healthy volunteers, the mean value of perfusion was 213+/-55 mL/(100g min) with a range from 140 to 319 mL/(100g min).

Ectopic refluxing ureter entering a seminal vesicle cyst associated with ipsilateral renal dysplasia.

The unusual case of a 10-month-old infant with an ectopic refluxing ureter entering into a seminal vesical cyst associated with ipsilateral renal dysplasia is described. The embryology, differential diagnosis, and therapy are discussed.

Tight binding inhibitors of scytalone dehydratase: effects of site-directed mutations.

We explore the use of site-directed mutations of scytalone dehydratase to study inhibitor binding interactions. The enzyme is the physiological target of new fungicides and the subject of inhibitor design and optimization. X-ray structures show that potent inhibitors (K(i)'s approximately 10(-)(11) M) interact mostly with 11 amino acid side chains and, in some cases, with a single backbone amide.

An acyltransferase catalyzing the formation of diacylglucose is a serine carboxypeptidase-like protein.

1-O-beta-acyl acetals serve as activated donors in group transfer reactions involved in plant natural product biosynthesis and hormone metabolism. However, the acyltransferases that mediate transacylation from 1-O-beta-acyl acetals have not been identified. We report the identification of a cDNA encoding a 1-O-beta-acylglucose-dependent acyltransferase functioning in glucose polyester biosynthesis by Lycopersicon pennellii.

Cloning, expression, purification and crystallization of saccharopine reductase from Magnaporthe grisea.

The gene coding for saccharopine reductase (E.C. 1.

Intravascular ultrasound evaluation of peripheral arterial stent-grafts.

Rationale And Objectives: To evaluate neointimal hyperplasia, plaque distribution, and morphologic features of peripheral arterial stent-grafts with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS).

Methods: Twenty-three patients with stenoses or occlusions of the pelvic or femoral arteries were treated with 31 stent-grafts. Angiography and IVUS of the stented artery were performed 13.

Biosynthesis and elongation of short- and medium-chain-length fatty acids.

Short- and medium-chain-length fatty acids (FAs) are important constituents of a wide array of natural products. Branched and straight short-chain-length FAs originate from branched chain amino acid metabolism, and serve as primers for elongation in FA synthase-like reactions. However, a recent model proposes that the one-carbon extension reactions that utilize 2-oxo-3-methylbutyric acid in leucine biosynthesis also catalyze a repetitive one-carbon elongation of short-chain primers to medium-chain-length FAs.

Glucose polyester biosynthesis. Purification and characterization of a glucose acyltransferase.

Glandular trichomes of the wild tomato species Lycopersicon pennellii secrete 2,3,4-O-tri-acyl-glucose (-Glc), which contributes to insect resistance. A Glc acyltransferase catalyzes the formation of diacyl-Glc by disproportionating two equivalents of 1-O-acyl-beta-Glc, a high-energy molecule formed by a UDP-Glc dependent reaction. The acyltransferase was purified 4,900-fold from L.

[MR arthrography of the labrum acetabulare--a radiological-anatomical correlation in 20 cadaveric hips].

Purpose: To investigate frequency of acetabular labral lesions in elderly hip joints, and to determine sensitivity and specificity of MR arthrography (MRa) for the detection of these abnormalities.

Materials And Methods: Twenty cadaveric hip joints were examined by MRa. For MRa, 15 ml of a solution of iodinated contrast solution (Solutrast 300) and Gd-DTPA (100:1) were injected under fluoroscopic guidance.

Iliofemoral arterial occlusive disease: contrast-enhanced MR angiography for preinterventional evaluation and follow-up after stent placement.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of contrast material-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) angiography for the diagnosis of peripheral arterial occlusion and follow-up after stent placement.

Materials And Methods: Sixty-seven patients (21 women, 46 men; mean age, 64.6 years) were examined.

High-resolution structures of scytalone dehydratase-inhibitor complexes crystallized at physiological pH.

Scytalone dehydratase is a molecular target of inhibitor design efforts aimed at preventing the fungal disease caused by Magnaporthe grisea. A method for cocrystallization of enzyme with inhibitors at neutral pH has produced several crystal structures of enzyme-inhibitor complexes at resolutions ranging from 1.5 to 2.

Prepubic urethrectomy with urethral stripping.

Purpose: Prepubic urethrectomy is a simple, safe alternative to perineal urethrectomy. The lithotomy position can be avoided and, thus, operative time and risk of deep venous thrombosis are decreased. We developed a simple modification because of difficulty in dissecting the bulbous urethra.

Catalytic mechanism of scytalone dehydratase: site-directed mutagenisis, kinetic isotope effects, and alternate substrates.

On the basis of the X-ray crystal structure of scytalone dehydratase complexed with an active center inhibitor [Lundqvist, T., Rice, J., Hodge, C.

Functional and high-resolution computed tomographic studies of divers' lungs.

Objectives: Several cross-sectional studies have described a decrease in the expiratory flow rates of divers. The objective of this study was to determine whether the combined application of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and lung function testing supports the reported development of small airway obstruction in divers.

Methods: Thirty-two navy divers, 27 commercial divers, and 48 referents matched for age and smoking history underwent pulmonary function testing and HRCT of the lungs supplemented by a limited number of expiratory scans.

Lower extremity occlusive disease: diagnostic imaging with a combination of cardiac-gated 2D phase-contrast and cardiac-gated 2D time-of-flight MRA.

Purpose: The goal of this work was to test the ability of a combination of 2D phase-contrast MR angiography (2D-PC-MRA) and triggered 2D time-of-flight MRA (2D-TOF-MRA) in comparison to intraarterial digital subtraction angiography (DSA) to correctly diagnose the location and shape of occlusive lesions in the iliac and femoral arteries and to determine whether 2D-TOF-MRA is helpful to clarify questionable lesions demonstrated by 2D-PC-MRA.

Methods: In 50 patients with claudication, 2D-PC-MRA was performed in three consecutive coronal positions from the aortic bifurcation to below the trifurcation. Axial 2D-TOF-MRA was performed additionally at the site of detected lesions of >50% and lesions in doubt to obtain more precise information about the stenosis.

The utility of contrast-enhanced MR-angiography for posterior fossa giant cerebral aneurysm management.

The utility of magnetic resonance angiography is sometimes limited in the diagnostic workup of cerebral aneurysms with low flow and/or partial thrombosis when weighed against digital subtraction angiography. We present the case of a rare superior cerebellar artery giant, partially thrombosed aneurysm in which additional i.v.