Illuminating the agent of syphilis: the Treponema pallidum genome project.

As the causative agent of the common sexually transmitted disease syphilis and a fastidious, microaerophilic obligate parasite of humans, Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum is one of the few prominent infectious agents that has not been cultured continuously in vitro. T pallidum therefore represents an attractive candidate for genomic sequencing.

Desensitization of beta2-adrenergic receptors with mutations of the proposed G protein-coupled receptor kinase phosphorylation sites.

Tentative identification of the G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 and 5 (GRK2 and GRK5) sites of phosphorylation of the beta2-adrenergic receptor (betaAR) was recently reported based on in vitro phosphorylation of recombinant receptor (Fredericks, Z. L., Pitcher, J.

Complications of lumbar puncture.

This article reviews historical aspects and the following complications of lumbar puncture: cerebral and spinal herniation, postdural puncture headache, cranial neuropathies, nerve root irritation, low back pain, stylet associated problems, infections, and bleeding complications. The incidence of postdural puncture headache can be greatly reduced by pointing the face of the bevel in the direction of the patient's side, replacing the stylet and rotating the needle 90;dg before withdrawing the needle, and using the Sprotte atraumatic needle, especially in high risk patients.

Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis in a renal transplant patient: case report and review of the literature.

Background: Human ehrlichiosis, a newly described zoonotic infection, can be classified as human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME) or human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE). Although the clinical manifestations of HME and HGE are similar, the type of leukocyte infected, the etiologic agent, and the tick vector are distinct.

Methods: We report the first case of HGE in a solid organ transplant recipient and review the literature on HGE.

Migrainelike headache in a patient with a hemorrhagic pituitary macroadenoma.

A 23-year-old woman presented with a 4-day history of a severe migrainelike headache with a normal neurological examination. The headache resolved after a ketorolac injection, but recurred a few hours later. An MRI scan of the brain showed a hemorrhagic pituitary macroadenoma for which she underwent transsphenoidal removal of the tumor 1 month later.

Influence of the Ward colon tumor on the host response to endotoxin.

Cachexia and a decreased immune function are negative prognostic factors for cancer patients. While the decreased immunity results in a greater susceptibility to bacterial infection, the response of the host to the resulting infection is not clear. The experiments reported here were designed to evaluate the toxicity of endotoxin to rats with a transplantable Ward colon tumor (WCT) and to evaluate the mechanism of the observed increase in lethal toxicity.

Cholecystokinin-induced protection against gastric injury is independent of endogenous somatostatin.

Cholecystokinin (CCK) prevents macroscopic injury to the stomach from luminal irritants by an unknown mechanism. The present study was undertaken in conscious rats to ascertain what role gastric mucosal blood flow, sensory neurons, and endogenous somatostatin play in CCK-induced gastric protection. Subcutaneous administration of CCK (10-100 micrograms/kg) significantly reduced macroscopic injury to the acid-secreting portion of the stomach caused by 1 ml of orally administered acidified ethanol (150 mM HCl, 50% ethanol) and augmented gastric mucosal blood flow (fluorescent microspheres) in a dose-dependent fashion.

Translational control of puf operon expression in Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1.

The puf operon of Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1 encode the beta- and alpha-polypeptides of the B875 complex, the L and M polypeptides of the reaction centre and the pufX gene product.

Delayed presentation of cerebral arterial gas embolism following proven intraoperative venous air embolism.

We describe the case of a 33-year-old woman who suffered a delayed-onset arterial gas embolism following a significant venous air embolism during surgery to remove an acoustic neuroma. We report the management of the problem and discuss the mechanisms by which this event might have occurred.

A survey of injuries among Broadway performers.

To obtain more information about injuries of Broadway performers, 313 performers appearing in 23 Broadway companies were surveyed. The percentage of performers injured was 55.5%, with a mean of 1.

Motor neuronal control of tail-directed and head-directed siphon responses in Aplysia californica.

1. Cutaneous stimulation of opposite ends of the body causes qualitatively different siphon responses: tail stimulation causes flaring and backward bending (the siphon T response), whereas head stimulation causes constriction and slight anterior bending (the siphon H response). This paper characterizes the motor neuronal control of siphon T and siphon H responses.

Protective effect of a 21-aminosteroid against hemorrhage-induced ischemia-reperfusion injury in the rat stomach: role of lipid peroxidation.

We investigated the role that lipid peroxidation plays in a hemorrhage-induced ischemia-reperfusion model of gastric injury. Rats were pretreated with an inhibitor of this process, a 21-aminosteroid (U-74389G, 10 mg/kg), or an appropriate control solution intravenously 15 min prior to 20 min of ischemia, followed by 20 min of reperfusion. Results indicated that U-74389G pretreatment significantly attenuated gastric damage compared with corresponding control animals (19.