Poststroke aphasia recovery assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging and a picture identification task.

Stroke patients often display deficits in language function, such as correctly naming objects. Our aim was to evaluate the reliability and the patterns of poststroke language recovery using a picture identification task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at 4 T. Four healthy subjects and 4 subjects with left middle cerebral artery stroke with chronic (>1 year) aphasia were enrolled in the study.

Inhibition of trigeminovascular dural nociceptive afferents by Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (MaxiK/BK(Ca)) channel opening.

Migraine is an episodic brain disorder with a significant morbidity. It is thought that activation of trigeminal afferents innervating the dura mater and large cerebral blood vessels is involved in the expression of the disorder. The selective large conductance calcium-activated potassium channels, the BK(Ca) or MaxiK channels, are intrinsic membrane proteins that are widely distributed in the brain.

Epitheliocystis in Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., farmed in fresh water in Ireland is associated with 'Candidatus Clavochlamydia salmonicola' infection.

Intracellular inclusions containing chlamydia-like organisms are frequently observed in the gill epithelial cells of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., cultured in fresh water in Ireland. In this study, the causative agent was identified in four separate freshwater sites, using 16s rRNA sequencing, as 'Candidatus Clavochlamydia salmonicola'.

Nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease prevalence at four integrated health care delivery systems.

Rationale: Single-site clinic-based studies suggest an increasing prevalence of pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) disease, but systematic data are lacking.

Objectives: To describe prevalence and trends for NTM lung disease at four geographically diverse integrated heath care delivery systems in the United States.

Methods: We abstracted mycobacterial culture results from electronic laboratory databases and linked to other datasets containing clinical and demographic information.

Three-coordinate terminal imidoiron(III) complexes: structure, spectroscopy, and mechanism of formation.

Reaction of 1-adamantyl azide with iron(I) diketiminate precursors gives metastable but isolable imidoiron(III) complexes LFe=NAd (L = bulky beta-diketiminate ligand; Ad = 1-adamantyl). This paper addresses (1) the spectroscopic and structural characterization of the Fe=N multiple bond in these interesting three-coordinate iron imido complexes, and (2) the mechanism through which the imido complexes form. The iron(III) imido complexes have been examined by (1)H NMR and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopies and temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility (SQUID), and structurally characterized by crystallography and/or extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) measurements.

Optimal nitrogen supply as a key to increased and sustained production of a monoclonal full-size antibody in BY-2 suspension culture.

Plant cell cultures have been used as expression hosts for recombinant proteins for over two decades. The quality of plant cell culture-produced proteins such as full-size monoclonal antibodies has been shown to be excellent in terms of protein folding and binding activity, but the productivity and yield fell short of what was achieved using mammalian cell culture, in which the key to gram-per-liter expression levels was strain selection and medium/process optimization. We carried out an extensive media analysis and optimization for the production of the full-size human anti-HIV antibody 2G12 in N.

High-dose continuous infusion beta-lactam antibiotics for the treatment of resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in immunocompromised patients.

Objective: To report a case series of high-dose continuous infusion beta-lactam antibiotics for the treatment of resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections.

Case Summary: Continuous infusion ceftazidime or aztreonam was administered to achieve target drug concentrations at or above the minimum inhibitory concentration, when possible, in 3 patients with P. aeruginosa infections.

The structure of late-life depressive symptoms across a 20-year span: a taxometric investigation.

Past studies of the underlying structure of depressive symptoms have yielded mixed results, with some studies supporting a continuous conceptualization and others supporting a categorical one. However, no study has examined this research question with an exclusively older adult sample, despite the potential uniqueness of late-life depressive symptoms. In the present study, the underlying structure of late-life depressive symptoms was examined among a sample of 1,289 individuals across 3 waves of data collection spanning 20 years.

New Routes to Low-Coordinate Iron Hydride Complexes: The Binuclear Oxidative Addition of H(2).

The oxidative addition and reductive elimination reactions of H(2) on unsaturated transition-metal complexes are crucial in utilizing this important molecule. Both biological and man-made iron catalysts use iron to perform H(2) transformations, and highly unsaturated iron complexes in unusual geometries (tetrahedral and trigonal planar) are anticipated to give unusual or novel reactions. In this paper, two new synthetic routes to the low-coordinate iron hydride complex [L(tBu)Fe(μ-H)](2) are reported.

Attenuation of proliferation in oligodendrocyte precursor cells by activated microglia.

Activated microglia can influence the survival of neural cells through the release of cytotoxic factors. Here, we investigated the interaction between Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-activated microglia and oligodendrocytes or their precursor cells (OPC). Primary rat or N9 microglial cells were activated by exposure to TLR4-specifc lipopolysaccharide (LPS), resulting in mitogen-activated protein kinase activation, increased CD68 and inducible nitric oxide synthase expression, and release of the proinflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin-6 (IL-6).

Lopinavir protein binding in HIV-1-infected pregnant women.

Background: Pregnancy may alter protein binding (PB) of highly bound protease inhibitors due to changes in plasma concentrations of albumin and alpha-1 acid glycoprotein (AAG). Small changes in PB can greatly impact the fraction of drug unbound (FU) exerting pharmacological effect. We report lopinavir (LPV) PB during third trimester (antepartum, AP) compared to > or =1.

The cytolytic molecules Fas ligand and TRAIL are required for murine thymic graft-versus-host disease.

Thymic graft-versus-host disease (tGVHD) can contribute to profound T cell deficiency and repertoire restriction after allogeneic BM transplantation (allo-BMT). However, the cellular mechanisms of tGVHD and interactions between donor alloreactive T cells and thymic tissues remain poorly defined. Using clinically relevant murine allo-BMT models, we show here that even minimal numbers of donor alloreactive T cells, which caused mild nonlethal systemic graft-versus-host disease, were sufficient to damage the thymus, delay T lineage reconstitution, and compromise donor peripheral T cell function.

Genetic linkage mapping for molecular dissection of chilling requirement and budbreak in apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.).

Commercial production of apricot is severely affected by sensitivity to climatic conditions, an adaptive feature essential for cycling between vegetative or floral growth and dormancy. Yield losses are due to late winter or early spring frosts and inhibited vegetative or floral growth caused by unfulfilled chilling requirement (CR). Two apricot cultivars, Perfection and A.

Structure and dynamics of aromatic residues in spider silk: 2D carbon correlation NMR of dragline fibers.

The structure of aromatic residues in spider silk has remained relatively uncharacterized. This is primarily due to the relatively low abundance of aromatic residues in dragline spider silk. NMR characterization has been further hindered by the inability to (13)C-isotopically enrich these amino acids in the silk effectively.

Direct mapping of density response in a population of B73 x Mo17 recombinant inbred lines of maize (Zea Mays L.).

Maize yield per unit area has dramatically increased over time as have plant population densities, but the genetic basis for plant response to density is unknown as is its stability over environments. To elucidate the genetic basis of plant response to density in maize, we mapped QTL for plant density-related traits in a population of 186 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from the cross of inbred lines B73 and Mo17. All RILs were evaluated for growth, development, and yield traits at moderate (50 000 plants per hectare) and high (100 000 plants per hectare) plant densities.

Electrocochleographic and mechanical assessment of round window stimulation with an active middle ear prosthesis.

Mechanical stimulation of the round window (RW) with an active middle ear prosthesis (AMEP) has shown functional benefit in clinical reports in patients with mixed hearing loss (MHL). Further objective physiological data on the efficacy of RW stimulation is needed, however, to demonstrate that RW stimulation with an AMEP can generate input to the inner ear comparable to acoustic input. Cochlear microphonic (CM) and mechanical (stapes velocity) responses to sinusoidal stimuli were measured by electrode and laser Doppler vibrometry in eight chinchillas in response to normal acoustic stimulation via sealed calibrated insert earphones and to AMEP stimulation (Otologics MET, Boulder, CO, USA) of the RW with and without lateral ossicular chain disarticulation.

Finding comfort in a joke: consolatory effects of humor through cognitive distraction.

This study aimed to demonstrate that the cognitive demands involved in humor processing can attenuate negative emotions. A primary aspect of humor is that it poses cognitive demands needed for incongruency resolution. On the basis of findings that cognitive distraction prevents mood-congruent processing, the authors hypothesized that humorous stimuli attenuate negative emotions to a greater extent than do equally positive nonhumorous stimuli.

Three-coordinate and four-coordinate cobalt hydride complexes that react with dinitrogen.

We report the formation and N(2) reactivity of novel cobalt hydride complexes supported by bulky beta-diketiminate ligands (L). Addition of KHBEt(3) to LCoCl gives [LCo(mu-H)](2) (1) or K(2)[LCoH](2) (2), depending on the amount of borohydride used. Compound 2 is the first example of a crystallographically characterized hydride complex in which a transition metal is three-coordinate.

Macrocyclic diamide ligand systems: potential chelators for 64Cu- and 68Ga-based positron emission tomography imaging agents.

The N(4)-macrocyclic ligand 2,10-dioxo-1,4,8,11-tetraazabicyclo[11.4.0]1,12-heptadeca-1(12),14,16-triene H(2)L has been synthesized by the [1 + 1] condensation reaction between N,N'-bis(chloroacetyl)-1,2-phenylenediamine and 1,3-propylenediamine.

A dyad of lymphoblastic lysosomal cysteine proteases degrades the antileukemic drug L-asparaginase.

l-Asparaginase is a key therapeutic agent for treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). There is wide individual variation in pharmacokinetics, and little is known about its metabolism. The mechanisms of therapeutic failure with l-asparaginase remain speculative.

Iron(II) complexes with redox-active tetrazene (RNNNNR) ligands.

This paper describes the redox chemistry of a tetrazene ligand on (beta-diketiminato)iron complexes. Addition of 1-adamantyl azide to an iron(I) source gives the tetrazene complex L(Me)Fe(AdNNNNAd), most likely through an imidoiron(III) intermediate. Spectroscopic, magnetic, crystallographic, and computational investigations of the tetrazene complex show that one unpaired spin occupies a primarily ligand-based orbital, and is antiferromagnetically coupled to a high-spin iron(II) ion to give an S = 3/2 ground state.

Structural basis for autoinhibition and activation of Auto, a virulence-associated peptidoglycan hydrolase of Listeria monocytogenes.

During a bacterial infection, each successive step is orchestrated by a dedicated set of virulence factors. In Gram-positive bacteria, the presentation or release of such factors is crucially dependent on the continual remodelling of the cell wall. We have investigated the autolysin or peptidoglycan hydrolase Auto (Lmo1076) from the human pathogen Listeria monocytogenes to structurally and biochemically underpin its role in host cell invasion.

A correlation electron cyclotron emission diagnostic and the importance of multifield fluctuation measurements for testing nonlinear gyrokinetic turbulence simulations.

A correlation electron cyclotron emission (CECE) diagnostic has been used to measure local, turbulent fluctuations of the electron temperature in the core of DIII-D plasmas. This paper describes the hardware and testing of the CECE diagnostic and highlights the importance of measurements of multifield fluctuation profiles for the testing and validation of nonlinear gyrokinetic codes. The process of testing and validating such codes is critical for extrapolation to next-step fusion devices.

LineageSpecificSeqgen: generating sequence data with lineage-specific variation in the proportion of variable sites.

Background: Commonly used phylogenetic models assume a homogeneous evolutionary process throughout the tree. It is known that these homogeneous models are often too simplistic, and that with time some properties of the evolutionary process can change (due to selection or drift). In particular, as constraints on sequences evolve, the proportion of variable sites can vary between lineages.