Leftward lateralization of auditory cortex underlies holistic sound perception in Williams syndrome.

Background: Individuals with the rare genetic disorder Williams-Beuren syndrome (WS) are known for their characteristic auditory phenotype including strong affinity to music and sounds. In this work we attempted to pinpoint a neural substrate for the characteristic musicality in WS individuals by studying the structure-function relationship of their auditory cortex. Since WS subjects had only minor musical training due to psychomotor constraints we hypothesized that any changes compared to the control group would reflect the contribution of genetic factors to auditory processing and musicality.

Key factors regulating Plasmodium berghei sporozoite survival and transformation revealed by an automated visual assay.

Malaria is transmitted to the host when Plasmodium sporozoites are injected by a mosquito vector. Sporozoites eventually enter hepatocytes, where they differentiate into liver-stage parasites. During the first hours after hepatocyte invasion, the crescent-shaped sporozoites transform into spherical intracellular exoerythrocytic parasites.

Imaging parasites at different scales.

Pathogens interact with their hosts at different spatial and temporal scales. Studying these interactions therefore requires a wide range of imaging tools and approaches that bridge physics and biology, as shown by this Minireview focusing on recent studies of the causative agents of malaria, toxoplasmosis, and sleeping sickness.

Rapid quantification of the effects of blotting for correlation of light and cryo-light microscopy images.

Recent technical developments allowed the accurate correlation of fluorescently labelled organelles in living cells to cryo-electron micrographs. We aimed at expanding this approach to Plasmodium berghei sporozoites, the motile forms of a rodent malaria parasite, which can be imaged by cryo-electron tomography in toto without the need for sectioning. Sporozoites are crescent shaped eukaryotic cells that move on flat supports including EM grids in a circular, unidirectional manner.

Is there a role for benzodiazepines in the management of lumbar disc prolapse with acute sciatica?

Patients with acute lumbar disc prolapse with sciatica who are not considered candidates for surgery are usually treated with physiotherapy and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents. Moreover, the treatment with benzodiazepines is common practice in the absence of class I or II level of evidence. Here we assessed the role of benzodiazepines in the conservative management of acute lumbar disc prolapse.

Geometric constrains for detecting short actin filaments by cryogenic electron tomography.

Polymerization of actin into filaments can push membranes forming extensions like filopodia or lamellipodia, which are important during processes such as cell motility and phagocytosis. Similarly, small organelles or pathogens can be moved by actin polymerization. Such actin filaments can be arranged in different patterns and are usually hundreds of nanometers in length as revealed by various electron microscopy approaches.

Multistep adhesion of Plasmodium sporozoites.

Adhesion of eukaryotic cells is a complex process during which interactions between extracellular ligands and cellular receptors on the plasma membrane modulate the organization of the cytoskeleton. Pathogens particularly rely often on adhesion to tissues or host cells in order to establish an infection. Here, we examined the adhesion of Plasmodium sporozoites, the motile form of the malaria parasite transmitted by the mosquito, to flat surfaces.

Insulin-resistant brain state after intracerebroventricular streptozotocin injection exacerbates Alzheimer-like changes in Tg2576 AbetaPP-overexpressing mice.

For studying rare hereditary Alzheimer's disease (AD), transgenic (Tg) animal models overexpressing amyloid-beta protein precursor (AbetaPP) followed by increased amyloid-beta (Abeta) formation are used. In contrast, sporadic AD has been proposed to start with an insulin-resistant brain state (IRBS).We investigated the effect of IRBS induced by intracerebroventricularly (icv) administered streptozotocin (STZ) on behavior, glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK) alpha/beta content, and the formation of AD-like morphological hallmarks Abeta and tau protein in AbetaPP Tg2576 mice.

Synergistic and additive effects of epigallocatechin gallate and digitonin on Plasmodium sporozoite survival and motility.

Background: Most medicinal plants contain a mixture of bioactive compounds, including chemicals that interact with intracellular targets and others that can act as adjuvants to facilitate absorption of polar agents across cellular membranes. However, little is known about synergistic effects between such potential drug candidates and adjuvants. To probe for such effects, we tested the green tea compound epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and the membrane permeabilising digitonin on Plasmodium sporozoite motility and viability.

Plasmodium sporozoite motility is modulated by the turnover of discrete adhesion sites.

Sporozoites are the highly motile stages of the malaria parasite injected into the host's skin during a mosquito bite. In order to navigate inside of the host, sporozoites rely on actin-dependent gliding motility. Although the major components of the gliding machinery are known, the spatiotemporal dynamics of the proteins and the underlying mechanism powering forward locomotion remain unclear.

Positioning of large organelles by a membrane- associated cytoskeleton in Plasmodium sporozoites.

Cellular organelles are usually linked to the cytoskeleton, which often provides a scaffold for organelle function. In malaria parasites, no link between the cytoskeleton and the major organelles is known. Here we show that during fast, stop-and-go motion of Plasmodium sporozoites, all organelles stay largely fixed in respect to the moving parasite.

Transient protective effect of B-vitamins in experimental epilepsy in the mouse brain.

The regulation of programmed cell death in the nervous system of vertebrates is a complex mechanism aimed to remove superfluous or damaged cells. Epileptic seizures can lead to an activation of pathways resulting in neuronal cell death. B-vitamins might have a neuroprotective potential reducing cell death following appropriate stimulation.

Catch me if you can--the use of image guidance in the radiotherapy of an unusual case of esophageal cancer.

Background: Despite maximum therapy the prognosis of esophageal carcinoma still remains extremely poor. New treatment strategies including improved radiation therapy techniques promise better outcome by improving local control through precise dose delivery due to higher conformality.

Case Report: A 62-year-old patient with locally advanced carcinoma of the gastroesophageal junction underwent definitive radiochemotherapy with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).

Distinct in situ structures of the Borrelia flagellar motor.

Bacteria can be propelled in liquids by flagellar filaments that are attached to and moved by flagellar motors. These motors are rotary nanomachines that use the electrochemical potential from ion gradients. The motor can spin in both directions with specific proteins regulating the direction in response to chemotactic stimuli.

Bendamustine hydrochloride - a renaissance of alkylating strategies in anticancer medicine.

Alkylating drugs represent one of the oldest classes of anticancer medicine used in a broad variety of clinical indications. Bendamustine hydrochloride (Ribomustine, Treanda) is a newer alkylating agent which has already been under intensive clinical investigation and has gained emerging interest due to its unique pharmacological properties, particularly in resistant or refractory diseases. This article provides basic information on the molecular mechanisms of action of bendamustine and its pharmacological characteristics and an overview on published clinical trials where bendamustine is analyzed as a single agent as well as in combination therapies for the treatment of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies.

Primary chondrosarcoma of the kidney: case report and review of the literature.

We present a case of primary renal chondrosarcoma, its diagnosis and management.

TableButler - a Windows based tool for processing large data tables generated with high-throughput methods.

Background: High-throughput "omics" based data analysis play emerging roles in life sciences and molecular diagnostics. This emphasizes the urgent need for user-friendly windows-based software interfaces that could process the diversity of large tab-delimited raw data files generated by these methods. Depending on the study, dozens to hundreds of these data tables are generated.

Functional results 1 year after laser vaporization of the prostate: the impact of age.

Purpose: To test the hypothesis that age affects functional results after 80W photoselective vaporization of the prostate (PVP).

Patients And Methods: In 156 patients who were undergoing PVP for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), we assessed the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and Quality of Life (QoL) score preoperatively and at 12 months. We calculated the association between age and IPSS and QoL results and corrected it for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) value, whose impact on PVP functional results is well accepted.

Lipopolysaccharide-induced activation of coagulation in neonatal cord and adult blood monitored by thrombelastography.

Introduction: Although precisely balanced hemostasis in newborns is rapidly changing during early development. During gram-negative sepsis, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) activates toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 and induces complex responses of immune system and hemostasis. In the present study we compared LPS-induced activation of coagulation in cord blood (CB) samples of healthy newborns to whole blood (WB) samples from healthy adult volunteers.

Automated classification of Plasmodium sporozoite movement patterns reveals a shift towards productive motility during salivary gland infection.

The invasive stages of malaria and other apicomplexan parasites use a unique motility machinery based on actin, myosin and a number of parasite-specific proteins to invade host cells and tissues. The crucial importance of this motility machinery at several stages of the life cycle of these parasites makes the individual components potential drug targets. The different stages of the malaria parasite exhibit strikingly diverse movement patterns, likely reflecting the varied needs to achieve successful invasion.

Human adult mesenchymal stem cells improve rat spatial cognitive function after systemic hemorrhagic shock.

The aim of the present study was to examine whether a single infusion of human adult mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) has protective effects on rat cognitive functions after systemic hemorrhagic shock. Systemic hemorrhagic rat shock model of pronounced (30 min) systemic hypotension [30-40 mmHg mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) reduction] was used to induce cerebral oligemia. Immediately after the experimental transient hypotension period ended, human processed lipoaspirate-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC, 1 x 10(6)) were administered via the femoral vein.

Altered somatosensory processing in trigeminal neuralgia.

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a pain state characterized by intermittent unilateral pain attacks in one or several facial areas innervated by the trigeminal nerve. The somatosensory cortex is heavily involved in the perception of sensory features of pain, but it is also the primary target for thalamic input of nonpainful somatosensory information. Thus, pain and somatosensory processing are accomplished in overlapping cortical structures raising the question whether pain states are associated with alteration of somatosensory function itself.