Efficacy of intravaginal dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on moderate to severe dyspareunia and vaginal dryness, symptoms of vulvovaginal atrophy, and of the genitourinary syndrome of menopause.

Objective: The aim of this study is to confirm the local beneficial effects of intravaginal dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA, Prasterone) on moderate to severe dyspareunia or pain at sexual activity, the most frequent symptom of vulvovaginal atrophy due to menopause or genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM).

Methods: In a prospective, randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled phase III clinical trial, the effect of daily intravaginal 0.50% DHEA (6.

Bacteriophage Applications for Food Production and Processing.

Foodborne illnesses remain a major cause of hospitalization and death worldwide despite many advances in food sanitation techniques and pathogen surveillance. Traditional antimicrobial methods, such as pasteurization, high pressure processing, irradiation, and chemical disinfectants are capable of reducing microbial populations in foods to varying degrees, but they also have considerable drawbacks, such as a large initial investment, potential damage to processing equipment due to their corrosive nature, and a deleterious impact on organoleptic qualities (and possibly the nutritional value) of foods. Perhaps most importantly, these decontamination strategies kill indiscriminately, including many—often beneficial—bacteria that are naturally present in foods.

Quantitative analysis of the impact of a human pathogenic mutation on the CCT5 chaperonin subunit using a proxy archaeal ortholog.

The human chaperonin complex is a ~ 1 MDa nanomachine composed of two octameric rings formed from eight similar but non-identical subunits called CCT. Here, we are elucidating the mechanism of a heritable CCT5 subunit mutation that causes profound neuropathy in humans. In previous work, we introduced an equivalent mutation in an archaeal chaperonin that assembles into two octameric rings like in humans but in which all subunits are identical.

A bacteriophage cocktail targeting Escherichia coli reduces E. coli in simulated gut conditions, while preserving a non-targeted representative commensal normal microbiota.

Antibiotics offer an efficient means for managing diseases caused by bacterial pathogens. However, antibiotics are typically broad spectrum and they can indiscriminately kill beneficial microbes in body habitats such as the gut, deleteriously affecting the commensal gut microbiota. In addition, many bacteria have developed or are developing resistance to antibiotics, which complicates treatment and creates significant challenges in clinical medicine.

Flibanserin for Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder: An Open-Label Safety Study.

Background: To evaluate the safety of flibanserin in premenopausal and naturally postmenopausal women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in an open-label extension (OLE) study.

Aim: To examine the safety and tolerability of flibanserin 100 mg once daily at bedtime in the treatment of premenopausal and naturally postmenopausal women with HSDD in a multicenter 28-week OLE study.

Methods: Patients entering this study received flibanserin or placebo in the double-blinded, placebo-controlled trials of premenopausal and postmenopausal women and in a pharmacokinetic study of postmenopausal women.

Chaperonin of Group I: Oligomeric Spectrum and Biochemical and Biological Implications.

Chaperonins play various physiological roles and can also be pathogenic. Elucidation of their structure, e.g.

Immunohistochemistry of Human Hsp60 in Health and Disease: From Autoimmunity to Cancer.

Hsp60 (also called Cpn60) is a chaperonin with essential functions for cell physiology and survival. Additionally, its involvement in the pathogenesis of a variety of diseases (e.g.

Isolation and Tissue Distribution of an Insulin-Like Androgenic Gland Hormone (IAG) of the Male Red Deep-Sea Crab, Chaceon quinquedens.

The insulin-like androgenic gland hormone (IAG) found in decapod crustaceans is known to regulate sexual development in males. IAG is produced in the male-specific endocrine tissue, the androgenic gland (AG); however, IAG expression has been also observed in other tissues of decapod crustacean species including and . This study aimed to isolate the full-length cDNA sequence of IAG from the AG of male red deep-sea crabs, (), and to examine its tissue distribution.

Isolation and Selection of Microalgal Strains from Natural Water Sources in Viet Nam with Potential for Edible Oil Production.

Industrial vegetable oil production in Viet Nam depends on oil seeds and crude plant oils that are currently more than 90% imported. As the first step in investigating the feasibility of using microalgae to provide Viet Nam with a domestic source of oil for food and edible oil industries, fifty lipid-producing microalgae were isolated and characterized. The microalgae were isolated from water sources ranging from freshwater to brackish and marine waters from a wide geographic distribution in Viet Nam.

Flibanserin in Postmenopausal Women With Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder: Results of the PLUMERIA Study.

Background: Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) is a common sexual disorder in younger and older women. Flibanserin is approved for the treatment of acquired generalized HSDD in premenopausal women only. The efficacy of flibanserin for postmenopausal women with HSDD was demonstrated in the first of two North American randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trials (SNOWDROP).

In Situ Enzymatic Conversion of IMET1 Biomass into Fatty Acid Methyl Esters.

Conventionally, production of methyl ester fuels from microalgae occurs through an energy-intensive two-step chemical extraction and transesterification process. To improve the energy efficiency, we performed in situ enzymatic conversion of whole algae biomass from an oleaginous heterokont microalga IMET1 with the immobilized lipase from . The fatty acid methyl ester yield reached 107.

The presence of an insulin-like androgenic gland factor (IAG) and insulin-like peptide binding protein (ILPBP) in the ovary of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus and their roles in ovarian development.

Insulin-like androgenic gland factor (IAG) that is produced by the male androgenic gland (AG), plays a role in sexual differentiation and maintenance of male secondary sex characteristics in decapod crustaceans. With an earlier finding of IAG expression in a female Callinectes sapidus ovary, we aimed to examine a putative role of IAG during the ovarian development of this species. To this end, the full-length cDNA sequence of the ovarian CasIAG (termed CasIAG-ova) has been isolated.

qPCR assays for and (Dinophyceae) identified from Alaskan waters and a review of species-specific molecular assays.

Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) poses a serious health threat in Alaska and prevents effective utilization of shellfish resources by subsistence and recreational harvesters. Substantial economic losses also affect shellfish growers during PSP events. The toxins responsible for PSP are produced by dinoflagellates in the genus Despite the persistent threat posed by PSP and the long history of shellfish toxicity research, there is still confusion concerning the species that cause PSP in Alaska.

Functions of galectins as 'self/non-self'-recognition and effector factors.

Carbohydrate structures on the cell surface encode complex information that through specific recognition by carbohydrate-binding proteins (lectins) modulates interactions between cells, cells and the extracellular matrix, or mediates recognition of potential microbial pathogens. Galectins are a family of ß-galactoside-binding lectins, which are evolutionary conserved and have been identified in most organisms, from fungi to invertebrates and vertebrates, including mammals. Since their discovery in the 1970s, their biological roles, initially understood as limited to recognition of endogenous carbohydrate ligands in embryogenesis and development, have expanded in recent years by the discovery of their roles in tissue repair and regulation of immune homeostasis.

Comparison of proteomic profiles in the zebrafish retina during experimental degeneration and regeneration.

Zebrafish spontaneously regenerate the retina after injury. Although the gene expression profile has been extensively studied in this species during regeneration, this does not reflect protein function. To further understand the regenerative process in the zebrafish, we compared the proteomic profile of the retina during injury and upon regeneration.

The dissociation of the Hsp60/pro-Caspase-3 complex by bis(pyridyl)oxadiazole copper complex (CubipyOXA) leads to cell death in NCI-H292 cancer cells.

Cell survival and proliferation are central to carcinogenesis, involving various mechanisms among which those that impede apoptosis are important. In this, the role of the molecular chaperone Hsp60 is unclear since it has been reported that it can be both, pro- or anti-apoptotic. A solution to this riddle is crucial to the development of anti-cancer therapies targeting Hsp60.

Prokaryotic Chaperonins as Experimental Models for Elucidating Structure-Function Abnormalities of Human Pathogenic Mutant Counterparts.

All archaea have a chaperonin of Group II (thermosome) in their cytoplasm and some have also a chaperonin of Group I (GroEL; Cpn60; Hsp60). Conversely, all bacteria have GroEL, some in various copies, but only a few have, in addition, a chaperonin (tentatively designated Group III chaperonin) very similar to that occurring in all archaea, i.e.

Doxorubicin anti-tumor mechanisms include Hsp60 post-translational modifications leading to the Hsp60/p53 complex dissociation and instauration of replicative senescence.

The chaperone Hsp60 is pro-carcinogenic in certain tumor types by interfering with apoptosis and with tumor cell death. In these tumors, it is not yet known whether doxorubicin anti-tumor effects include a blockage of the pro-carcinogenic action of Hsp60. We found a doxorubicin dose-dependent viability reduction in a human lung mucoepidermoid cell line that was paralleled by the appearance of cell senescence markers.

Does a blue crab putative insulin-like peptide binding protein (ILPBP) play a role in a virus infection?

Insulin-like peptides (ILPs) have regulatory roles in reproduction, development and metabolism in invertebrates. The mode of ILP actions has not been well studied in invertebrates in regard to the role of binding partners, i.e.

Complete genome sequence of the Antarctic Halorubrum lacusprofundi type strain ACAM 34.

Halorubrum lacusprofundi is an extreme halophile within the archaeal phylum Euryarchaeota. The type strain ACAM 34 was isolated from Deep Lake, Antarctica. H.

Quantitative patterns of Hsps in tubular adenoma compared with normal and tumor tissues reveal the value of Hsp10 and Hsp60 in early diagnosis of large bowel cancer.

Large bowel carcinogenesis involves accumulation of genetic alterations leading to transformation of normal mucosa into dysplasia and, lastly, adenocarcinoma. It is pertinent to elucidate the molecular changes occurring in the pre-neoplastic lesions to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment. Heat shock proteins (Hsps), many of which are molecular chaperones, are implicated in carcinogenesis, and their variations with tumor progression encourage their study as biomarkers.

Alzheimer's Disease and Molecular Chaperones: Current Knowledge and the Future of Chaperonotherapy.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a dementia, a neurodegenerative condition, and a protein-misfolding disease or proteinopathy, characterized by protein deposits, extracellular plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles, which contain the AD's typical pathological proteins, abnormal β-amyloid and hyperphosphorylated tau, respectively, and are located predominantly in the cortex of the frontal, parietal, and temporal brain lobes. What is the role of molecular chaperones in AD? Data indicate that molecular chaperones, also known as Hsp, are involved in AD, probably displaying protective roles and/or acting as pathogenic factors as it occurs in chaperonopathies in which case AD would be suitable to chaperonotherapy. Hsp60, Hsp70, and Hsp90 can be augmented and overexpressed or diminished and downregulated in various situations in AD affected tissues and cells, indicating they are active during disease development and progression.

Bremelanotide for female sexual dysfunctions in premenopausal women: a randomized, placebo-controlled dose-finding trial.

Aim: Evaluate efficacy/safety of bremelanotide (BMT), a melanocortin-receptor-4 agonist, to treat female sexual dysfunctions in premenopausal women.

Methods: Patients randomized to receive placebo or BMT 0.75, 1.