The impact of social restrictions on the incidence and microbiology of severe acute tonsillitis.

Introduction: We aimed to explore the impact of social distancing on the incidence, severity and microbiology of patients with acute tonsillitis (AT).

Methods: In this single-centre study, we retrospectively included all patients with AT referred to the Ear-Nose-Throat Department, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, in the two years preceding versus the two years after the COVID-19 lockdown in Denmark (11 March 2020).

Results: In total, 425 patients were included.

Prospects for membrane protein crystals in NMX.

Adding hydrogen atoms and protonation states to structures of membrane proteins requires successful implementation of neutron macromolecular crystallography (NMX). This information would significantly increase our fundamental understanding of the transport processes membrane proteins undertake. To grow the large crystals needed for NMX studies requires significant amounts of stable protein, but once that challenge is overcome there is no intrinsic property of membrane proteins preventing the growth of large crystals per se.

Rate and predictors for non-attendance of patients undergoing hospital outpatient treatment for chronic diseases: a register-based cohort study.

Background: Failure to keep medical appointments results in inefficiencies and, potentially, in poor outcomes for patients. The aim of this study is to describe non-attendance rate and to investigate predictors of non-attendance among patients receiving hospital outpatient treatment for chronic diseases.

Methods: We conducted a historic, register-based cohort study using data from a regional hospital and included patients aged 18 years or over who were registered in ongoing outpatient treatment courses for seven selected chronic diseases on July 1, 2013.

Time trends in patients managed simultaneously in multiple hospital outpatient specialty clinics for chronic diseases: A register-based cross-sectional study.

Background: The increasing prevalence of patients with multimorbidity in the general population affects the health-care system. There is a lack of knowledge of the proportion of patients attending multiple hospital outpatient specialty clinics simultaneously.

Objective: This study describes the development in the proportion of patients managed simultaneously in multiple hospital outpatient specialty clinics.

Calcium-Induced Protein Folding in Calumenin and Calmodulin.

Binding of calcium - and small molecules in general - often induce conformational changes in large molecules and complexes. The degree and type of change varies, but the resulting shift in specific affinities ultimately induces a physiological response. It is therefore important for our understanding of responses at the cellular level to define coupled changes at the molecular level.

Growth of children in Greenland exceeds the World Health Organization growth charts.

Aim: Previous studies have found high rates of stunted linear growth in Greenlandic children. We measured growth patterns in Greenland and compared them with international growth charts.

Methods: The study cohort comprised 279 healthy children aged 6-10 years in 2012.

Clinical features and prognosis of patients with acute non-specific chest pain in emergency and cardiology departments after the introduction of high-sensitivity troponins: a prospective cohort study.

Objectives: To determine the incidence of clinical, cardiac-related endpoints and mortality among patients presenting to an emergency or cardiology department with non-specific chest pain (NSCP), and who receive testing with a high-sensitivity troponin. A second objective was to identify risk factors for the above-noted endpoints during 12 months of follow-up.

Design: A prospective multicentre study.

Dynamics of P-type ATPase transport revealed by single-molecule FRET.

Phosphorylation-type (P-type) ATPases are ubiquitous primary transporters that pump cations across cell membranes through the formation and breakdown of a phosphoenzyme intermediate. Structural investigations suggest that the transport mechanism is defined by conformational changes in the cytoplasmic domains of the protein that are allosterically coupled to transmembrane helices so as to expose ion binding sites to alternate sides of the membrane. Here, we have used single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer to directly observe conformational changes associated with the functional transitions in the Listeria monocytogenes Ca-ATPase (LMCA1), an orthologue of eukaryotic Ca-ATPases.

Children in Greenland: disease patterns and contacts to the health care system.

Background: Previous studies of Greenlandic children's disease pattern and contacts to the health care system are sparse and have focused on the primary health care sector.

Objective: We aimed to identify the disease pattern and use of health care facilities of children aged 0-10 in two Greenlandic cohorts.

Methods And Design: In a retrospective, descriptive follow-up of the Ivaaq (The Greenland Child Cohort) and the CLEAR (climate changes, environmental contaminants and reproductive health) birth cohorts (total n=1,000), we reviewed medical records of children aged 6-10 in 2012 with residence in Nuuk or Ilulissat (n=332).

Delta chirality ruthenium 'light-switch' complexes can bind in the minor groove of DNA with five different binding modes.

[Ru(phen)(dppz)] has been studied since the 1990s due to its 'light-switch' properties. It can be used as a luminescent DNA probe, with emission switched on through DNA binding. The luminescence observed is dependent on the solvent accessibility of the pyrazine nitrogen atoms, and therefore is sensitive to changes in both binding site of the cation and chromophore orientation.

A generic protocol for protein crystal dehydration using the HC1b humidity controller.

Dehydration may change the crystal lattice and affect the mosaicity, resolution and quality of X-ray diffraction data. A dehydrating environment can be generated around a crystal in several ways with various degrees of precision and complexity. This study uses a high-precision crystal humidifier/dehumidifier to provide an airstream of known relative humidity in which the crystals are mounted: a precise yet hassle-free approach to altering crystal hydration.

Efficacy of Tailored Physical Activity or Chronic Pain Self-Management Programme on return to work for sick-listed citizens: A 3-month randomised controlled trial.

Objectives: The aim was to evaluate the efficacy of 'Tailored Physical Activity' (TPA) and a 'Chronic Pain Self-management Programme' (CPSMP) compared with a reference group (REF) on return to work after 3 months as sick-listed citizens with pain related to the back or the upper body.

Methods: Using a randomised controlled trial design all participants (n= 141) received health guidance for 1.5 hours and were randomised to TPA, CPSMP or REF.

Efficacy of 'Tailored Physical Activity' on reducing sickness absence among health care workers: A 3-months randomised controlled trial.

Aim: The aim was to evaluate efficacy of "Tailored Physical Activity" (TPA) versus a reference group (REF) in reducing the number of self-reported days of sickness absence for health care workers in the Sonderborg Municipality.

Methods: In this randomised controlled trial, all participants (n = 54) received health guidance for 1.5 h and were randomised to TPA or REF.

Efficacy of 'Tailored Physical Activity' in reducing sickness absence among health care workers: design of a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Health care workers have high physical work demands, involving patient handling and manual work tasks. A strategy for prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders can enhance the physical capacity of the health care worker. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of 'Tailored Physical Activity' for health care workers in the Sonderborg Municipality.

Optimisation of recombinant production of active human cardiac SERCA2a ATPase.

Methods for recombinant production of eukaryotic membrane proteins, yielding sufficient quantity and quality of protein for structural biology, remain a challenge. We describe here, expression and purification optimisation of the human SERCA2a cardiac isoform of Ca(2+) translocating ATPase, using Saccharomyces cerevisiae as the heterologous expression system of choice. Two different expression vectors were utilised, allowing expression of C-terminal fusion proteins with a biotinylation domain or a GFP- His8 tag.

An x-ray scattering study into the structural basis of corneal refractive function in an avian model.

Avian vision diseases in which eye growth is compromised are helping to define what governs corneal shape and ultrastructural organization. The highly specific collagen architecture of the main corneal layer, the stroma, is believed to be important for the maintenance of corneal curvature and hence visual quality. Blindness enlarged globe (beg) is a recessively inherited condition of chickens characterized by retinal dystrophy and blindness at hatch, with secondary globe enlargement and loss of corneal curvature by 3-4 months.

Efficacy of 'Tailored Physical Activity' or 'Chronic Pain Self-Management Program' on return to work for sick-listed citizens: design of a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Pain affects quality of life and can result in absence from work. Treatment and/or prevention strategies for musculoskeletal pain-related long-term sick leave are currently undertaken in several health sectors. Moreover, there are few evidence-based guidelines for such treatment and prevention.

Automatic epileptic seizure onset detection using matching pursuit: a case study.

An automatic alarm system for detecting epileptic seizure onsets could be of great assistance to patients and medical staff. A novel approach is proposed using the Matching Pursuit algorithm as a feature extractor combined with the Support Vector Machine (SVM) as a classifier for this purpose. The combination of Matching Pursuit and SVM for automatic seizure detection has never been tested before, making this a pilot study.

Antimicrobial resistance surveillance among commensal Escherichia coli in rural and urban areas in Southern India.

Objective: To assess antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Tamil Nadu, India.

Methods: Data on AMR of commensal and uropathogenic Escherichia coli were collected from one urban (Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore) and one rural (CMCH Rural Unit for Health and Social Affairs) centre in Tamil Nadu at monthly intervals for 1 year.

Results: Forty-two per cent of commensal E.

Crystal structure of the sodium-potassium pump.

The Na+,K+-ATPase generates electrochemical gradients for sodium and potassium that are vital to animal cells, exchanging three sodium ions for two potassium ions across the plasma membrane during each cycle of ATP hydrolysis. Here we present the X-ray crystal structure at 3.5 A resolution of the pig renal Na+,K+-ATPase with two rubidium ions bound (as potassium congeners) in an occluded state in the transmembrane part of the alpha-subunit.

Ca2+ versus Mg2+ coordination at the nucleotide-binding site of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase.

The recently determined crystal structure of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA1a) with a bound ATP analogue (AMPPCP) reveals a compact state, similar to that found in the presence of ADP and aluminium fluoride. However, although the two Ca2+-binding sites in the membrane are known to be occluded in the latter state, in the AMPPCP-bound state the Ca2+-binding sites are not occluded under conditions with physiological levels of Mg2+ and Ca2+. It has been shown that the high concentration (10 mM) of Ca2+ used for crystallization (in the presence of Mg2+) may be responsible for the discrepancy.

New light for science: synchrotron radiation in structural medicine.

Macromolecular crystallography (MX) is a powerful method for obtaining detailed three-dimensional structural information about macromolecules. MX using synchrotron X-rays has contributed, significantly, to both fundamental and applied research, including the structure-based design of drugs to combat important diseases. New third-generation synchrotrons offer substantial improvements in terms of quality and brightness of the X-ray beams they produce.

Membrane's Eleven: heavy-atom derivatives of membrane-protein crystals.

A database has been assembled of heavy-atom derivatives used in the structure determination of membrane proteins. The database can serve as a guide to the design of experiments in the search for heavy-atom derivatives of new membrane-protein crystals. The database pinpoints organomercurials, platinum(II) and trimethyllead compounds as being particularly useful.

Modulatory and catalytic modes of ATP binding by the calcium pump.

We present crystal structures of the calcium-free E2 state of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ -ATPase, stabilized by the inhibitor thapsigargin and the ATP analog AMPPCP. The structures allow us to describe the ATP binding site in a modulatory mode uncoupled from the Asp351 phosphorylation site. The Glu439 side chain interacts with AMPPCP via an Mg2+ ion in accordance with previous Fe2+ -cleavage studies implicating this residue in the ATPase cycle and in magnesium binding.