Oral mucositis with features of psoriasis: report of a case and review of the literature

There complete 18S ribosomal RNA gene sequences from the rumen ciliates, Entodinium caudatum (1,639 bp), Epidinium caudatum (1,638 bp), and Polyplastron multivesiculatum (1,640 bp) were determined and confirmed in the opposite direction. Trees produced using maximum parsimony and distance-matrix methods (least squares and neighbour-joining), with strong bootstrap support, depict the rumen ciliates as a monophyletic group. Entodinium caudatum is the earliest branching rumen ciliate. However, Entodinium simplex does not pair with En. caudatum, but rather with Polyplastron multivesiculatum. Signature sequences for these rumen ciliates reveal that the published SSrRNA gene sequence from En. simplex is in fact a Polyplastron species. The free-living haptorian ciliates, The Loxophyllum, Homalozoon and Spathidium (Subclass Haptoria), are monophyletic and are the sister group to the rumen ciliates. The litostomes (Class Litostomatea), consisting of the haptorians and the rumen ciliates, are also a monophyletic group.     

Autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type I. A case report

Calcineurin is a Ca2+ calmodulin dependent protein phosphatase which has an important role in the control of intracellular Ca2+ signalling. The protein is a heterodimer of one catalytic (CnA) subunit and one regulatory (CnB) subunit. As suggested by the protein sequence and confirmed by the crystallographic structure, the catalytic subunit of calcineurin (CnA) has high homologies with other protein phosphatases. The regulatory subunit (CnB) belongs to the EF-hand Ca2+ binding protein family. Despite its similarity with calmodulin, it has a different tertiary structure. Calcineurin is the target of two important immunosuppressant drugs: cyclosporin A and FK506. Subsequently, a detailed clarification of the role of calcineurin in the cytokine mediated activation of the T-cells has been possible. The understanding of the role of calcineurin in other cells, in particular neurons, is also progressing rapidly.     

Gastrin and its role in the development of ulcer disease

Helicobacter pylori infected patients have increased gastrin release which shows a marked fall after cure of the infection. Recent studies indicate that inflammatory cells and cytokines play an important role in the pathogenesis of Helicobacter-associated hypergastrinemia. Views differ regarding the impact of gastrin on acid secretion. Current evidence suggests that gastrin is responsible for at least some of the increased acid secretion seen in duodenal ulcer patients.     

Distortion of Palmaz-Schatz stent geometry following side-branch balloon dilation through the stent in a rabbit model

In this prospective study, we have compared women undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy, laparoscopic gynaecological surgery and laparoscopic minor gynaecological procedures (diagnostic, tubal, ligation) (n = 10 in each group) to determine if lower abdominal laparoscopy results in less postoperative pulmonary dysfunction than upper abdominal laparoscopy. Pulmonary testing was performed before operation, and 3 and 6 h after operation, on the first and second days after surgery. After operation, a significant reduction in forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 s and peak expiratory flow rate occurred after laparoscopic cholecystectomy at each time. There were no significant changes after minor gynaecologic laparoscopy, whereas laparoscopic gynaecological surgery resulted in minor pulmonary dysfunction on the day of surgery only. We conclude that postoperative pulmonary function was less impaired after gynaecological laparoscopy than after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This study suggests that the site of surgery is an important determinant of lung dysfunction after laparoscopy.     

Surface chemistry of wood‐based phosphoric acid‐activated carbons and its effects on adsorptivity

The surface oxygen content of selected wood‐based phosphoric acid‐activated carbons was quantified using X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and correlated with the residual bulk phosphate levels of the carbons and their adsorptivity in solution. The adsorption of Al³⁺, Cu²⁺, and para‐chlorophenol, respectively, from water decreased as a function of increasing surface oxygen content of the carbons. When the carbon of lowest surface oxygen content was oxidized with ozone to impart a surface oxygen content comparable to that of a carbon with a much higher phosphate level, adsorption of Al³⁺, Cu²⁺, and para‐chlorophenol from water decreased proportionally. The increase in polarity of the carbon surface was accompanied by a decrease in pH and appeared to be the dominant factor with respect to the adsorption of the target species from water. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Inactivation of salmonella in biofilms and on chicken cages and preharvest poultry by levulinic Acid and sodium dodecyl sulfate

Surface contamination (skin and feathers) of broilers with Salmonella occurs primarily during growth and transportation. Immediately after transporting chickens, chicken cage doors were sprayed with a foam containing 3% levulinic acid plus 2% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Samples were collected for Salmonella assay after 45 min. Salmonella on cage doors was reduced from 19% (19 of 100 doors) before treatment to 1% (1 of 100 doors) after treatment, coliform counts were reduced from 6 to 8 to 2 to 4 log CFU/9 cm(2), and aerobic plate counts were reduced from 7 to 9 to 4 to 6 log CFU/9 cm(2). Whole chicken carcasses with feathers were inoculated with 10(8) CFU of Salmonella Enteritidis, soaked for 5 min at 21°C in 72 liters of a treatment or control solution, and assayed for Salmonella. Salmonella counts on chickens treated with water were 6.8 to 8.5 log CFU/9 cm(2), those treated with 50 ppm of calcium hypochlorite were 7.6 to 8.9 log CFU/9 cm(2), and those treated with 3% levulinic acid plus 2% SDS were <1.7 to 2.8 CFU/9 cm(2) (>4-log reduction). Results of biofilm studies on surfaces of various materials revealed that a 3% levulinic acid plus 2% SDS treatment used as either a foam or liquid for 10 min effectively reduced Salmonella populations by 5 and >6 log CFU/cm(2), respectively.     

Genomic characterization of the coding region of the human type II 5''-deiodinase gene

The conserved residue Asp477 in yeast transketolase is located in the substrate channel of the enzyme and forms a hydrogen bond with the C2-hydroxyl group of the acceptor substrate. The significance of this interaction for the recognition of the preferred acceptor substrates, D-alpha-hydroxyaldehydes was investigated by site-directed mutagenesis. In the wild-type enzyme the kcat/KM values are by three to four orders of magnitude lower for 2-deoxyaldoses or substrates with L-configuration at the C2-atom. In the Asp477 Ala mutant, the kcat/KM values for D-alpha-hydroxyaldehydes are decreased by a thousandfold, while the kcat/KM values for substrates with L-configuration or 2-deoxyaldoses are similar to wild-type enzyme. These results indicate that Asp477 is involved in determining the enantioselectivity of transketolase.     

The rare metastasis of osteosarcoma of a long bone associated with von Recklinghausen''s neurofibromatosis

Benign mesothelioma of the pleura is a very rare tumor. The cells responsible originate from either the mesothelium or the submesothelium. This is why such tumors are described in the literature as fibroma of the pleura, mesothelial fibroma, localized fibrous mesothelioma and monophasic spindle cell tumor. Their growth, is very slow taking several years or even decades. In contrast to the more common malignant mesothelioma of the pleura, it is not related to asbestos exposure. This report deals with a 47-year-old woman patient with a giant benign mesothelioma of the pleura in the region of the right thorax, which was completely removed by thoracotomy.     

HAH1 is a copper-binding protein with distinct amino acid residues mediating copper homeostasis and antioxidant defense

HAH1 is a 68-amino acid protein originally identified as a human homologue of Atx1p, a multi-copy suppressor of oxidative injury in sod1 delta yeast. Molecular modeling of HAH1 predicts a protein structure of two alpha-helices overlaying a four-stranded antiparallel beta-sheet with a potential metal binding site involving two conserved cysteine residues. Consistent with this model, in vitro studies with recombinant HAH1 directly demonstrated binding of Cu(I), and site-directed mutagenesis identified these cysteine residues as copper ligands. Expression of wild type and mutant HAH1 in atx1 delta yeast revealed the essential role of these cysteine residues in copper trafficking to the secretory compartment in vivo, as expression of a Cys-12/Cys-15 double mutant abrogated copper incorporation into the multicopper oxidase Fet3p. In contrast, mutation of the highly conserved lysine residues in the carboxyl terminus of HAH1 had no effect on copper trafficking to the secretory pathway but eliminated the antioxidant function of HAH1 in sod1 delta yeast. Taken together, these data support the concept of a unique copper coordination environment in HAH1 that permits this protein to function as an intracellular copper chaperone mediating distinct biological processes in eucaryotic cells.     

Primary gamma delta cell clones can be defined phenotypically and functionally as Th1/Th2 cells and illustrate the association of CD4 with Th2 differentiation

The division of CD4+ alpha beta T cells into Th1 and Th2 subsets has become an established and important paradigm. The respective activities of these subsets appear to have profound effects on the course of infectious and autoimmune diseases. It is believed that specific programs of differentiation induce the commitment of an uncommitted Th0 precursor cell to Th1 or Th2. A component of these programs is hypothesized to be the nature of MHC-peptide antigen presentation to the alpha beta T cell. It has heretofore remained uncertain whether a Th1/Th2 classification likewise defines, at the clonal level, gamma delta T cells. Such cells do not, as a general rule, express either CD4 or CD8 alpha beta, and they do not commonly recognize peptide-MHC. In this report, gamma delta cell clones are described that conform strikingly to the Th1/Th2 classification, both by cytokine expression and by functional activities of the clones in vitro and in vivo. Provocatively, both the gamma delta cell clones and primary gamma delta cells in vivo showed a strong association of the Th2 phenotype with CD4 expression. These results are discussed with regard to the immunoregulatory role that is increasingly emerging for gamma delta cells.