RKS Ahmed, C Nilsson, Y Wang, T Lehner, G Biberfeld and R Thorstensson
Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control and Microbiology and Tumorbiology Centre, Karolinska Institute, S-171 82 Solna, ...Sweden
Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) uses the CCR5 chemokine receptor as the
main co-receptor to enter CD4(+) cells. RANTES, MIP-1alpha and MIP-1beta
have been suggested as the major human immunodeficiency virus-suppressor
factors produced by CD8(+) T-cells. The aim of this study was to
investigate the CD8(+) T-cell production of anti-viral factors and of
beta-chemokines in six cynomolgus macaques vaccinated with live attenuated
SIVmacC8 in relation to protection against infectious intrarectal SIVsm
challenge. Three of the vaccinated animals were completely protected and
one was partially protected against the challenge virus. Interestingly,
these monkeys showed higher in vitro anti-viral CD8(+) cell suppressor
activity and beta-chemokine production both before and after vaccination as
compared to the infected monkeys. The results indicate that beta-chemokines
may play a role in protective immunity but also that genetic and/or
environmental factors may influence their production.
The presence of Keteleeria in the Miocene of eastern China is confirmed by the discovery of a cone, winged seeds, and leafy shoots. These are described and compared with other fossil and recent ...representatives. The best match was with K. rujadana, a K. fortunei-like fossil from the Oligocene of Oregon, U.S.A. The presence of similar, if not identical taxa, on both sides of the Pacific indicates that in the Mid-Tertiary exchange between East Asia and North America via the Beringian land-bridge was still possible. With global cooling in the Tertiary, this thermophilic conifer became scarce. Its present restricted distribution dates from the Quaternary.
Oral and pharyngeal cancer (OC) mortality is very low in Greece, especially among men, compared to other European countries. We conducted a case-control study of OC in Athens, and obtained ...information on tobacco, alcohol use and other potential risk factors and confounding variables for 110 incident cases and 115 hospital-based controls. We used multivariate logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Tobacco smoking (packyears,
P
trend=0.01) and alcohol use (drinks/week,
P
trend=0.07) were independent risk factors, with a multiplicative effect for combined exposures (OR, 8.3; 95% CI, 2.4–29.1, for >28 alcohol drinks/week and >50 packyears of cigarette smoking). The type of alcoholic beverage also seemed important: drinking ouzo and tsipouro (liquors of high ethanol concentration) was associated with greater increased OC risk than drinking comparable amounts of wine, beer or dark spirits. While alcohol drinking is more common for male cases versus controls, few men reported regularly consuming large quantities of ethanol associated with highest risk of OC in other studies. This may partially explain the low rates of male OC mortality in Greece. Among the 38% of our cases who were women, however, neither smoking nor alcohol drinking frequencies were significantly elevated compared to controls, and so the etiology of OC risk in females requires further investigation.
BmKK4 is a 30 amino acid peptide purified from the venom of the Chinese scorpion Buthus martensi Karsch. It has been classified as the first member of scorpion toxin subfamily α-KTx 17. The 3D ...structure of BmKK4 in solution has been determined by 2D NMR spectroscopy. This toxin adopts a common α/β-motif, but shows a distinctive local conformation. The most novel feature is that the regular arrangements of the side chains of the residues involved in the β-sheet of BmKK4 are distorted by a classic β-bulge structure, which involves two residues (Asp18 and Arg19) in the first strand opposite a single residue (Tyr26) in the second strand. The bulge produces two main changes in the structure of the antiparallel β-sheet: (1) It disrupts the normal alteration of the side chain direction; the side chain of Asp18 turns over to form a salt bridge with that of Arg19. (2) It accentuates the twist of the sheet, and alters the direction of the antiparallel β-sheet. The unusual structural feature of the toxin is attributed to the shorter peptide segment (Leu15−Arg19) between the third and fourth Cys residues and two unique residues (Asp18 and Arg19) at the position preceding the fourth Cys. In addition, the lower affinity of the peptide for the Kv channel is correlated to the structural features: residue Arg19 instead of a Lys residue at the critical position for binding and the salt bridge formed between residues Arg19 and Asp18.
Cross-linked enzyme crystals (CLECs) of subtilisin exhibit excellent activity in aqueous and various organic solvents. This catalyst is more stable than the native enzyme in both aqueous and mixed ...aqueous/organic solutions. Subtilisin-CLEC was shown to be a versatile catalyst. It was used for the syntheses of peptides and peptidomimetics, mild hydrolysis of amino acid and peptide amides, enantio- and regioselective reactions, and transesterifications.
Objectives: To determine the proportion of older patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) incorporated in a commonly used set of AMI quality indicators.
Design: Retrospective ...analysis of a medical record database.
Setting: Nongovernmental U.S. acute care hospitals.
Participants: Medicare patients hospitalized for AMI between January 1994 and February 1996.
Measurements: Proportion of patients aged 65 and older classified as ideal candidates (without absolute or relative contraindications) for six Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services AMI quality indicators: aspirin (admission, discharge), beta‐blocker (admission, discharge), angiotensin‐converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors at discharge, and time to reperfusion therapy.
Results: Of the 149,996 patients eligible for admission therapies, 10.1% were ideal candidates for reperfusion therapy, 65.0% for aspirin, and 34.7% for beta‐blockers. Of the 116,919 patients eligible for discharge therapies, 47.7% were ideal candidates for aspirin, 17.6% for beta‐blockers, and 15.2% for ACE inhibitors. More than one‐quarter (26.8%) of all patients were ineligible for any of the six quality indicators; this proportion increased with age, ranging from 23.7% of patients aged 65 to 69 to 30.2% of patients aged 85 and older.
Conclusion: A substantial proportion of older patients were not included in AMI process quality measurement, with the proportion excluded higher in successively older age groups. The data highlight the need for additional research to determine effective treatment strategies for patients for whom the evidence base for clinical decision‐making remains weak.
We examined the structural and functional basis for pacemaking by interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) in circular smooth muscle of the canine ileum. Gap junctions were found between ICC of myenteric ...plexus (MyP), occasionally between MyP ICC and outer circular smooth muscle cells, between individual outer circular smooth muscle cells, between them and ICC of the deep muscular plexus (DMP), and between DMP ICC. No visible gap junctions connected MyP ICC to longitudinal muscle cells or inner circular muscle cells. Occasionally contacts occurred between the two muscle layers. No special structures were found to connect MyP and DMP ICC networks. Octanol concentration dependently reduced the amplitude and frequency of, but did not abolish, slow waves in circular muscle in isolated ileum recorded near the MyP or the DMP. Slow waves triggered from MyP ICC by a current pulse also persisted. Contractile activity was abolished, cells were depolarized, and fast inhibitory junction potentials were reduced by octanol. We conclude that ICC pacemakers of the MyP and DMP utilize gap junctional conductances for pacemaking function but may not require them. Coupling between the two ICC networks may utilize the circular muscle syncytium.
Vegetative shoots and a newly discovered fruit of Ceratophyllum are described from diatomite of the middle Miocene Shanwang Formation in Shandong Province, eastern China. Based on the fruit, the ...fossil can be referred to C. muricatum subsp. muricatum. The presence of this Ceratophyllum indicates that the climate was slightly warmer and more equable than today.
In the past decade, the booming of Internet challenges the middleware in three aspects: quality of service, balance of changes and stabilization, and across-Internet integration. This paper presents ...our work on distributed object computing middleware technology for these challenges, as well as the research and development on StarBus+, which is a CORBA standard-compliant middleware suite with the features such as object request broker supporting multi-* quality of service, component model, and integration with Web Service. This paper comprehensively presents the design and characteristics of StarBus+, and demonstrates how StarBus+ is enhanced to address the challenges of Internet computing through three case studies: inter-enterprise integration over Internet, application evolution through dynamic reconfiguration, and great massive information system building. The paper also suggests some research directions which are important for Internet computing.
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