tmRNA and SmpB are the main components of the trans-translation rescue machinery that releases stalled ribosomes from defective mRNAs. Little is known about how SmpB binding affects the conformation ...of the tRNA-like domain (TLD) of tmRNA. It has been previously hypothesized that the absence of a D-stem in the TLD provides flexibility in the elbow region of tmRNA, which can be stabilized by its interaction with SmpB. Here, we have used fluorescence Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) to characterize the global structure of the tRNA-like domain of tmRNA in the presence and absence of SmpB and as a function of Mg
2+
. Our results show tight and specific binding of SmpB to tmRNA. Surprisingly, our data shows that the global conformation and flexibility of tmRNA does not change upon SmpB binding. However, Mg
2+
ions induce an 8 Å compaction in the tmRNA structure, suggesting that the flexibility in the H2a stem may allow different conformations of tmRNA as the tRNA like domain (TLD) and mRNA like domain (MLD) need to be positioned differently while moving through the ribosome.
Several studies report that practicing Yoga may lead to numerous psychophysiological benefits in patients undergoing treatment for cancer. Moreover, it may result in an effective alternative for ...coping with sleep disturbances, anxiety, depression and fatigue symptoms. A study based on the "Yoga in Oncology" project of the Foundation Poliambulanza was carried out, and it was designed to explore the benefits of Yoga, therefore corroborating Yoga as a therapeutic activity that can have a beneficial impact on patients diagnosed with cancer.
Seventy patients were recruited, of whom 20% were males and 80% were females 18 years of age and older. All patients were being treated at the oncology department for gastrointestinal, mammary or genital carcinoma, and the disease was metastatic in 80% of patients. Data were collected between April 2013 and May 2017. The protocol consisted of a weekly 90-minute Yoga lesson for 8 consecutive weeks, and the data collection was carried out in 2 phases: (T0) preprotocol assessment and (T1) postprotocol assessment. Psychophysiological assessment was carried out with the following scales: the (BFI) Brief Fatigue Inventory, (HADS) Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and (PSQI) Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index.
Data analysis showed a significant difference between the (T0) and (T1) HADS (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) scores. The constructs of this scale consist of psychological variables for the assessment of anxiety and depression. In contrast, scores from the (BFI) Brief Fatigue Inventory and (PSQI) Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index did not show significant differences between (T0) and (T1): such scales are relative to psychophysiological variables for an assessment of the perception of fatigue and quality of sleep.
It is noteworthy that the data, once analyzed, showed a significant difference between preprotocol and postprotocol levels of anxiety and depression but not for the perception of fatigue or the quality of sleep. In accordance with the scientific literature, data from this study highlight that practicing Yoga may promote changes in the levels of perceived anxiety and depression in patients undergoing treatment for cancer, thus positively affecting their (QoL). It is clear that the difference in significance between the psychological and physiological variables considered here and the statistical significance found only in levels of anxiety and depression encourage further studies to account for the nature of fatigue and sleep disturbances and how to address these symptoms in oncological patients. Moreover, other points of interest for future clinical research regard the evaluation of the reason for the possible denial to participate to this kind of study, as well as the social-cultural differences in patients' behavior.
The incorporation of additional information into discriminant rules is receiving in- creasing attention as the rules including this information perform better than the usual rules. In this paper we ...introduce an R package called dawai, which provides the functions that allow to define the rules that take into account this additional information expressed in terms of restrictions on the means, to classify the samples and to evaluate the accuracy of the results. Moreover, in this paper we extend the results and definitions given in previous papers (Fernndez, Rueda, and Salvador 2006, Conde, Fernndez, Rueda, and Salvador 2012, Conde, Salvador, Rueda, and Fernndez 2013) to the case of unequal co-variances among the populations, and consequently define the corresponding restricted quadratic discriminant rules. We also define estimators of the accuracy of the rules for the general more than two populations case. The wide range of applications of these procedures is illustrated with two data sets from two different fields, i.e., biology and pattern recognition.
Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is a recognized and serious complication of renal transplantation. Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), a subset of TMA, occurs in the setting of dysregulation ...of the alternative complement pathway and can cause disease in native kidneys as well as recurrence in allografts. De novo TMA represents a classification of TMA post‐transplant in the absence of clinical or histopathological evidence of TMA or aHUS in the native kidney. De novo TMA is a more heterogeneous syndrome than aHUS and the pathogenesis and risk factors for de novo TMA are poorly understood. The association between calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) and de novo TMA is controversial. Anti‐complement blockade therapy with eculizumab is effective in some cases, but more studies are needed to identify appropriate candidates for therapy. We present two cases of de novo TMA occurring immediately in recipients from the same deceased donor and provoking the question of whether deceased donor‐related factors could represent risks for developing de novo TMA.
Wing lengths of parous (P) and nulliparous (NP) PCR-identified female Anopheles belenrae, An. kleini, An. pullus, and An. sinensis were determined from weekly trap collections at Camp Humphreys (CH), ...Ganghwa Island (GH), and Warrior Base (WB), Republic of Korea (ROK) during Jun-Oct, 2009. Wing length was greatest at the beginning and end of the study period. Wing length of NPs tended to be less than that of Ps before the period of maximum greening (Jul-Aug) but greater thereafter. Larger specimens tended to be Ps, and weekly wing length of Ps appeared less variable than NPs, possibly due to selection. A bimodal wing length frequency distribution of An. sinensis suggested two forms comprising small- (≤4.5 mm, SW) and large-winged females (>4.5 mm, LW). LW comprised the majority of peaks in abundance, however %SW, while still a minority, often increased during these times suggesting a density-dependent effect. At WB and GH, a two to three-week periodicity in %SW was obvious for An. sinensis and An. kleini. Analyses of weather station and satellite data showed that smaller-winged An. sinensis were associated with warmer, more humid, and greener times of the year. SW and LW specimens possibly result from agricultural practices that are common across large areas; regular synchronous peaks of SW and LW were observed from different sites. Peaks in SW Ps followed peaks in NPs in a 'ripple effect' one to two weeks apart, suggesting that wing length combined with parity could be used to follow the emergence and survival of mosquito cohorts.
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