Insertion/deletion polymorphism in the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene associated with macroangiopathy and blood pressure in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

In the search for new risk factors for diabetic macroangiopathy the insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism in the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene was studied in 237 consecutive patients (125 men and 112 women) with non-insulin-dependent diabetes. The female population showed an excess of ischemic electrocardiographic changes or definite myocardial infarctions in the patients homozygous for the deletion [D/D; odds ratio (OR) 2.8; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.4-5.3] and in the insertion/deletion heterozygotes (I/D; OR 1.8; CI 1.1-3.1) compared with the patients homozygous for the insertion (I/I). In the total series coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and claudication were more often observed in the patients with I/D (OR 1.5; CI 1.0-2.2) or the D/D genotype patients (OR 1.7; CI 1.1-2.6) than in those with the genotype I/I. The systolic blood pressure was lower in patients with genotype I/I (138 +/- 19 mmHg) than in those with the genotype I/D (149 +/- 22 mmHg) or D/D (150 +/- 21 mmHg; P < 0.02). The prevalence of hypertension and the median urinary albumin excretion rate also tended to be lowest in the I/I genotype patients. Multiple logistic analysis revealed that in women the angiotensin-converting enzyme D/D genotype is independently associated with coronary heart disease. Our findings suggest that variation at the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene locus is one of the factors involved in the predisposition of diabetic patients to the development of arterial disease and hypertension.     

A Profile of Psychologists' Views of Critical Risk Factors for Completed Suicide in Older Adults.

The ability to accurately and reliably predict whether an older adult will commit suicide has eluded clinicians and researchers. A random national sample of psychologists who work with older adults was surveyed regarding their perception of 36 risk factors for completed suicide and indirect self-destructive behavior in older adults. This study produced a profile of psychologists' assessment and treatment practices when working with suicidal older adults. Determining what psychologists consider to be the most salient risk factors for completed suicide is important in identifying a minimum standard that clinicians should follow when assessing older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special series: HIV infection among drug abusers.

Drug users are particularly at risk for contracting the human immunodeficiency virus and serve as a major mechanism for spreading the virus to other sectors of the population. As a result drug abuse treatment and potential behavioral change strategies are primary public health issues. The purpose of this article is to review the contributions included in this special edition, which represent an effort to describe the most current thinking in the field with a blend of theoretical, review, and empirical articles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Telephone booster sessions for optimizing smoking cessation for patients in rehabilitation centers.

Smokers with smoking-related diseases who are hospitalized in rehabilitation centers should be offered smoking cessation. This is the first study evaluating whether telephone booster sessions after intensive inpatient treatment are an effective strategy. The present study was conducted in 13 rehabilitation centers for somatic disorders as a prospective multicenter study with a randomized treatment-control group design. We compared abstinence rates after hospital discharge from treatment that included a group smoking cessation program with (treatment group) and without telephone booster sessions (control group). Data from 290 smokers were analyzed. After 6 and 12 months the treatment group achieved abstinence rates twice as high as those of the control group. Men profited more from telephone booster sessions than did women. Results indicated that telephone booster sessions were highly effective (even) after an inherently intensive group program during a hospital stay. Further research should focus on the special needs of women receiving telephone counseling.     

A detailed analysis of ambipolar diffusion in nanostructured metal oxide films

In this paper a transport equation is derived which describes the behaviour of the nanostructured metal oxide films in a photoelectrochemical cell. It is shown that a detailed analysis of the charge compensation mechanism necessarily leads to a transport equation with characteristics similar to but logically distinct from the pure diffusion equation. The studied phenomenon was named ambipolar diffusion in the early 1950s. It takes into account the fact that the diffusion processes of ions and electrons occur at different speeds. A weak electric field therefore couples the processes together to preserve charge neutrality. The electric field in turn affects the transport resulting in a deviation from purely diffusive behaviour. However, this has not been widely recognised in the literature for nanostructured semiconductor films until very recently. In this paper a detailed analysis is presented. It is based on the assumption that the current density is solenoidal. It is shown that application of the ambipolar diffusion model to a photoelectrochemical cell based on a nanostructured metal oxide film leads to an additional term in the transport equation, rather than only a new diffusion coefficient as in earlier work. It is also shown that the boundary conditions interact closely with the equation to form a transport model.     

The T Cell Repertoires from Nickel Sensitized Joint Implant Failure Patients

Nickel (Ni²⁺) is one of the most common allergens, affecting around 10–15% of the general population. As the demand for orthopedic implant surgery rises, the number of surgical revisions due to joint implant failure also increases. There is evidence that some patients develop joint failure due to an immune response to a component of the implant, and we have found that Ni²⁺ is an especially important cause. Hence, understanding the mechanisms by which Ni²⁺ allergy induces joint implant failure becomes a critical research question. The structural basis of Ni²⁺ activation of pathogenic T cells is still not clear. The purpose of this study was to characterize Ni²⁺-reactive T cell repertoires derived from the peripheral blood of joint failure patients due to Ni²⁺ sensitization using single-cell sequencing techniques. We stimulated the proliferation of Ni²⁺ -reactive T cells from two implant failure patients in vitro, and sorted them for single-cell VDJ sequencing (10× genomics). We identified 2650 productive V-J spanning pairs. Both TCR α chains and β chains were enriched. TRBV18 usage is the highest in the P7 CD4+ population (18.1%), and TRBV5-1 usage is the highest in the P7 CD8+ population (12.1%). TRBV19 and TRBV20-1 segments are present in a high percentage of both P7 and P9 sequenced T cells. Remarkably, the alpha and beta chain combination of TRAV41-TRBV18 accounts for 13.5% of the CD4+ population of P7 patient. Compared to current Ni specific T cell repertoire studies of contact dermatitis, the Vα and Vβ usages of these joint implant failure patients were different. This could be due to the different availability of self-peptides in these two different tissues. However, TRBV19 (Vβ17) was among frequently used TCR β chains, which are common in previous reports. This implies that some pathogenic T cells could be similar in Ni²⁺ hypersensitivities in skin and joints. The alignment of the TCR CDR3β sequences showed a conserved glutamic acid (Glu) that could potentially interact with Ni²⁺. The study of these Ni²⁺ specific TCRs may shed light on the molecular mechanism of T cell activation by low molecular weight chemical haptens.     

Structural Basis for The Recognition of Deaminated Nucleobases by An Archaeal DNA Polymerase

With increasing temperature, nucleobases in DNA become increasingly damaged by hydrolysis of exocyclic amines. The most prominent damage includes the conversion of cytosine to uracil and adenine to hypoxanthine. These damages are mutagenic and put the integrity of the genome at risk if not repaired appropriately. Several archaea live at elevated temperatures and thus, are exposed to a higher risk of deamination. Earlier studies have shown that DNA polymerases of archaea have the property of sensing deaminated nucleobases in the DNA template and thereby stalling the DNA synthesis during DNA replication providing another layer of DNA damage recognition and repair. However, the structural basis of uracil and hypoxanthine sensing by archaeal B-family DNA polymerases is sparse. Here we report on three new crystal structures of the archaeal B-family DNA polymerase from Thermococcus kodakarensis (KOD) DNA polymerase in complex with primer and template strands that have extended single stranded DNA template 5’-overhangs. These overhangs contain either the canonical nucleobases as well as uracil or hypoxanthine, respectively, and provide unprecedented structural insights into their recognition by archaeal B-family DNA polymerases.     

Polylactide films formed by immersion precipitation: Effects of additives,nonsolvent, and temperature

The influence of nonsolvent, crystallinity of the polymer film, and addition of dodecane (a poor solvent for the polymer and for the nonsolvent) on the morphology of polylactides films has been investigated and was related to phase separation behavior. Both amorphous poly‐DL ‐lactide (PDLLA) and crystalline poly‐L ‐lactide (PLLA) were dissolved in dichloromethane, and subsequently films were made by immersion in nonsolvent baths. PDLLA gave dense films without any internal structure, since the structure was not solidified by crystallization or glassification. PLLA films show varying structure depending on the nonsolvent. With methanol, asymmetric morphologies were observed as a result from combined liquid‐liquid demixing and crystallization, while with water symmetric spherulitic structures were formed. As a next step, dodecane was added, which is not miscible with the nonsolvent, and we found it to have a strong influence on the morphology of the films. The PDLLA films with dodecane did not collapse: a closed cell structure was obtained. In PLLA films, dodecane speeds up phase separation and induces faster crystallization in the films, and the porosity, size of the pores, and interconnectivity increased. When the PLLA solutions were subjected to a heat pretreatment, crystallization could be postponed, which yielded a cellular structure around dodecane, which did not contain spherulites anymore. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 959–971, 2007