Detection of a C-insertion polymorphism within the human tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFA) gene

We have identified a C-insertion polymorphism in the 5'UTR of the first exon of the human tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFA) gene. TNFA is a cytokine that plays an important role in the inflammatory response.     

Disparity in Physician Perception of Patients' Adherence to Medications by Obesity Status

Physician perception of medication adherence may alter prescribing patterns. Perception of patients has been linked to readily observable factors, such as race and age. Obesity shares a similar stigma to these factors in society. We hypothesized that physicians would perceive patients with a higher BMI as nonadherent to medication. Data were collected from the baseline visit of a randomized clinical trial of patient–physician communication (240 patients and 40 physicians). Physician perception of patient medication adherence was measured on a Likert scale and dichotomized as fully adherent or not fully adherent. BMI was the predictor of interest. We performed Poisson regression analyses with robust variance estimates, adjusting for clustering of patients within physicians, to examine the association between BMI and physician perception of medication adherence. The mean (s.d.) BMI was 32.6 (7.7) kg/m². Forty‐five percent of patients were perceived as nonadherent to medications by their physicians. Higher BMI was significantly and negatively associated with being perceived as adherent to medication (prevalence ratio (PrR) 0.76, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.64–0.90; P = 0.002; per 10 kg/m² increase in BMI). BMI remained significantly and negatively associated with physician perception of medication adherence after adjustment for patient and physician characteristics (PrR 0.80, 95% CI: 0.66–0.96; P = 0.020). In this study, patients with higher BMI were less likely to be perceived as adherent to medications by their providers. Physician perception of medication adherence has been shown to affect prescribing patterns in other studies. More work is needed to understand how this perception may affect the care of patients with obesity.     

Three-dimensional structure of the quinoprotein methylamine dehydrogenase from Paracoccus denitrificans determined by molecular replacement at 2.8 A resolution.

The three-dimensional structure of the quinoprotein methylamine dehydrogenase from Paracoccus dentrificans (PD-MADH) has been determined at 2.8 A resolution by the molecular replacement method combined with map averaging procedures, using data collected from an area detector. The structure of methylamine dehydrogenase from Thio-bacillus versutus, which contains an "X-ray" sequence, was used as the starting search model. MADH consists of 2 heavy (H) and 2 light (L) subunits related by a molecular 2-fold axis. The H subunit is folded into seven four-stranded beta segments, forming a disk-shaped structure, arranged with pseudo-7-fold symmetry. A 31-residue elongated tail exists at the N-terminus of the H subunit in MADH from T. versutus but is partially digested in this crystal form of MADH from P. denitrificans, leaving the H subunit about 18 residues shorter. Each L subunit contains 127 residues arranged into 10 beta-strands connected by turns. The active site of the enzyme is located in the L subunit and is accessible via a hydrophobic channel between the H and L subunits. The redox cofactor of MADH, tryptophan tryptophylquinone is highly unusual. It is formed from two covalently linked tryptophan side chains at positions 57 and 107 of the L subunit, one of which contains an orthoquinone.     

The Fc-receptor III of cultured human monocytes. Structural similarity with FcRIII of natural killer cells and role in the extracellular lysis of sensitized erythrocytes

FcRIII is not present on peripheral blood monocytes, but becomes expressed upon culturing and can be demonstrated on tissue macrophages. We studied the expression of FcRIII of cultured monocytes in detail and compared its structure with FcRIII of neutrophils and NK cells. The cell density of FcRIII reached a plateau within 3 days of culturing. During that time, the expression of FcRI and FcRIIa, also present on monocytes, did not change significantly. FcRIII on cultured monocytes lacked, as did NK cell FcRIII, the NA1-allotypic variant of the NA system present on the neutrophil FcRIII. Studies with glycosyl-phosphatidyl-inositol-specific phospholipase C and analysis of cells of patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria revealed that FcRIII on cultured monocytes is not anchored by phosphatidyl-inositol-glycan in the cell membrane. Similarly, FcRIII on NK cells was resistant to glycosyl-phosphatidyl-inositol-specific phospholipase C treatment, suggesting that NK cell FcRIII is also not anchored by a phosphatidyl-inositol-glycan moiety, in contrast to neutrophil FcRIII. Analysis by SDS-PAGE showed that the FcRIII of cultured monocytes had a similar mobility as the FcRIII on NK cells, but was clearly distinct from neutrophil FcRIII. Treatment with N-glycanase showed that the protein backbone of deglycosylated FcRIII of cultured monocytes was similar to that of FcRIII of NK cells, but deglycosylated neutrophil FcRIII was different. Specific blocking of FcRIII of cultured monocytes with an anti-FcRIII mAb did not reduced the lytic action of the cultured monocytes towards sensitized erythrocytes. However, FcRIII was modulated from the cell surface by incubation with sensitized E, whereas non-FcR Ag were not. These findings indicate that FcRIII is involved in binding of immune complexes, but does not act as a trigger molecule for extracellular lysis of sensitized E.     

Evaluation of counting error due to colony masking in bioaerosol sampling.

Colony counting error due to indistinguishable colony overlap (i.e., masking) was evaluated theoretically and experimentally. A theoretical model to predict colony masking was used to determine colony counting efficiency by Monte Carlo computer simulation of microorganism collection and development into CFU. The computer simulation was verified experimentally by collecting aerosolized Bacillus subtilis spores and examining micro- and macroscopic colonies. Colony counting efficiency decreased (i) with increasing density of collected culturable microorganisms, (ii) with increasing colony size, and (iii) with decreasing ability of an observation system to distinguish adjacent colonies as separate units. Counting efficiency for 2-mm colonies, at optimal resolution, decreased from 98 to 85% when colony density increased from 1 to 10 microorganisms cm-2, in contrast to an efficiency decrease from 90 to 45% for 5-mm colonies. No statistically significant difference (alpha = 0.05) between experimental and theoretical results was found when colony shape was used to estimate the number of individual colonies in a CFU. Experimental colony counts were 1.2 times simulation estimates when colony shape was not considered, because of nonuniformity of actual colony size and the better discrimination ability of the human eye relative to the model. Colony surface densities associated with high counting accuracy were compared with recommended upper plate count limits and found to depend on colony size and an observation system's ability to identify overlapped colonies. Correction factors were developed to estimate the actual number of collected microorganisms from observed colony counts.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Behavioral patterns of two fiddler crab species Uca rapax and Uca tangeri in a seminatural mangrove system

Zoos increasingly transform their exhibitions from traditional one‐species enclosures to more natural exhibits, that is, environments that capture part of an ecosystem including a selection of animals and plants that occur there. Thus, enhancing the experience of its human visitors while also allowing its residents to possibly show more natural behavior. In 2017 Royal Burger's Zoo (Arnhem, The Netherlands) created and opened a mangrove‐like environment containing fiddler crabs. Fiddler crabs display a broad range of behaviors, and this research examines which wild‐type behavior and behavioral patterns can be observed on a seminatural mudflat. The behavior shown by Uca rapax and Uca tangeri on the mudflat was counted each hour between 07:00 and 17:00. An asymmetric tidal regime was present in the enclosure including two high water periods. Various known fiddler crab behaviors, including waving and combat, were observed but no copulation. A clear pattern in exposed crabs on the mudflat was found, with low numbers visible in the early morning and the highest numbers present in the early afternoon, while number of visitors did not have a significant effect on this pattern. Interestingly, the highest abundances were not observed around the ebbing tide (07:00–09:00), as observed in the wild, but somewhat later, possibly due to the asymmetric tidal scheme or the interaction of tidal and daily rhythms. This study shows that in captivity, fiddler crabs indeed show a range of natural behaviors which is linked to the tidal and possibly daily rhythm as well.