Mass spectrometric contributions to the practice of phosphorylation site mapping through 2003: a literature review

Reversible phosphorylation of proteins is among the most important post-translational modifications, and elucidation of sites of phosphorylation is essential to understanding the regulation of key cellular processes such as signal transduction. Unfortunately phosphorylation site mapping is as technically challenging as it is important. Limitations in the traditional method of Edman degradation of (32)P-labeled phosphoproteins have spurred the development of mass spectrometric methods for phosphopeptide identification and sequencing. To assess the practical contributions of the various technologies we conducted a literature search of publications using mass spectrometry to discover previously unknown phosphorylation sites. 1281 such phosphorylation sites were reported in 203 publications between 1992 and 2003. This review examines and catalogs those methods, identifies the trends that have emerged in the past decade, and presents representative examples from among these methods.     

木霉病的研究现状

木霉在自然界广泛分布,绝大多数对人类无害,但有些种类能够感染人类造成木霉病,其引起的人类感染表现形式多样,容易误诊。本文对Medline和中文文献数据库中的相关文献进行了系统查阅和分析,综合归纳了木霉病的致病种、地域分布、危险因子、临床表现形式、药物敏感性及其诊疗方案等,该综述对全面了解木霉病的特征及其临床医师的诊断具有重要的意义。     

Immunity proteins: enzyme inhibitors that avoid the active site

Immunity proteins are high affinity inhibitors of colicins--SOS-induced toxins released by bacteria during times of stress. Recent work has shown that nuclease-specific immunity proteins are exosite inhibitors, binding adjacent to the enzyme active site and inhibiting colicin activity indirectly. Unusually, their binding sites comprise a near contiguous sequence that lies N-terminal to active site sequences, raising the possibility that immunity proteins bind colicins co-translationally. Exosite binding accounts for the extensive sequence diversity seen at the interfaces of colicin-immunity protein complexes, which is not only a selective advantage to colicin-producing bacteria, but also represents a powerful model system for studying specificity in protein-protein recognition.     

镰刀菌所致皮肤感染的文献回顾

镰刀菌主要为植物致病菌,但也可引起严重人类感染。镰刀菌病临床表现形式多样,本文主要综述相关的皮肤感染,分为局限性皮肤感染及播散性感染,诊断多较困难。由于该属真菌对抗真菌药物存在天然耐药,播散性镰刀菌病死亡率可达80%-90%。本文对Medline和中文文献数据库中的相关文献进行了系统查阅和分析,综合归纳了镰刀菌所致皮肤感染的致病种、地域分布、危险因子、临床表现形式、药物敏感性及其诊疗方案等,该综述对全面了解镰刀菌病的特征及对临床医师对本病的诊断具有重要的意义。     

短梗霉感染文献回顾

短梗霉是一种在自然界广泛存在的暗色真菌,偶可引起人类感染,致病种有出芽短梗霉、黑色短梗霉、产酶短梗霉和曼氏短梗霉。临床表现多种多样,如真菌血症、腹膜炎、皮肤感染、脑膜炎、脾脓肿、肺炎、巩膜炎、角膜炎、淋巴结炎及甲真菌病等。短梗霉感染诊断较为困难,容易误诊。本文对Medline和中文文献数据库中的相关文献进行了系统查阅和分析,全面总结了短梗霉感染的地域分布、危险因子、临床表现形式、菌种类别、药物敏感性及其诊疗。     

Intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia of the lower lip: surgical approach and review of the literature

Objective: A review of the literature for intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia is presented along with a case report of a geriatric patient. Review of the literature: Intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia (IPEH) is a reactive benign lesion of vascular origin, which is caused by an excessive proliferation of endothelial cells. Only a few cases with IPEH in the oral cavity have been recorded in the literature, reporting the lower lip as the main site. The treatment of choice mentioned in the literature is simple excision. Case report: In this case, an IPEH of the lower lip of a 79‐year‐old male was treated by a sclerosing agent, which was injected into the lesion, causing compression and fibrosis of the blood vessels, followed by a careful dissection and excision. Intra‐operatively no bleeding occurred. Post‐operatively an excellent aesthetic result was achieved, without recurrence. Conclusion: The use of sclerotherapy followed by surgery in mixed type intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia can provide an acceptable aesthetic result with minimal intra‐operative bleeding.     

Location of the ribosomal RNA cistron of Escherichia coli: a second site

Summary RNA-DNA hybridization has been used to determine the chromosomal location of a portion of the genes specifying ribosomal RNA in Escherichia coli. Approximately 30% of these cistrons are between 54 and 59 min.     

Prehistoric tuberculosis in america: adding comments to a literature review

Tuberculosis is a prehistoric American human disease. This paper reviews the literature and discusses hypotheses for origins and epidemiological patterns of prehistoric tuberculosis. From the last decades, 24 papers about prehistoric tuberculosis were published and 133 cases were reviewed. In South America most are isolated case studies, contrary to North America where more skeletal series were analyzed. Disease was usually located at the deserts of Chile and Peru, Central Plains in USA, and Lake Ontario in Canada. Skeletal remains represent most of the cases, but 16 mummies have also been described. Thirty individuals had lung disease, 19 of them diagnosed by the ribs. More then 100 individuals had osseous tuberculosis and 26 also had it in other organs. As today, transmission of the infection and establishment of the disease were favored by cultural and life-style changes such as sedentarization, crowding, undernutrition, use of dark and insulated houses, and by the frequency of interpersonal contacts. The papers confirm that despite previous perceptions, tuberculosis seems to have occurred in America for millennia. It only had epidemiological expression when special conditions favored its expansion. Occurring as epidemic bursts or low endemic disease, it had differential impact on groups or social segments in America for at least two millennia.     

Toxocariasis in Cuba: a literature review

Human toxocariasis (HT) is a zoonotic disease caused by infection with the larval stage of Toxocara canis, the intestinal roundworm of dogs. Infection can be associated with a wide clinical spectrum varying from asymptomatic to severe organ injury. While the incidence of symptomatic human toxocariasis appears to be low, infection of the human population is widespread. In Cuba, a clear overview on the status of the disease is lacking. Here, we review the available information on toxocariasis in Cuba as a first step to estimate the importance of the disease in the country. Findings are discussed and put in a broader perspective. Data gaps are identified and suggestions on how to address these are presented. The available country data suggest that Toxocara infection of the definitive dog host and environmental contamination with Toxocara spp. eggs is substantial, but information on HT is less conclusive. The availability of adequate diagnostic tools in the country should be guaranteed. Dedicated studies are needed for a reliable assessment of the impact of toxocariasis in Cuba and the design of prevention or control strategies.     

Religion and depression: a review of the literature.

We reviewed data from approximately 80 published and unpublished studies that examined the association of religious affiliation or involvement with depressive symptoms or depressive disorder. In these studies, religion was measured as religious affiliation; general religious involvement; organizational religious involvement; prayer or private religious involvement; religious salience and motivation; or religious beliefs. People from some religious affiliations appear to have an elevated risk for depressive symptoms and depressive disorder, and people with no religious affiliation are at an elevated risk in comparison with people who are religiously affiliated. People with high levels of general religious involvement, organizational religious involvement, religious salience, and intrinsic religious motivation are at reduced risk for depressive symptoms and depressive disorders. Private religious activity and particular religious beliefs appear to bear no reliable relationship with depression. People with high levels of extrinsic religious motivation are at increased risk for depressive symptoms. Although these associations tend to be consistent, they are modest and are substantially reduced in multivariate research. Longitudinal research is sparse, but suggests that some forms of religious involvement might exert a protective effect against the incidence and persistence of depressive symptoms or disorders. The existing research is sufficient to encourage further investigation of the associations of religion with depressive symptoms and disorder. Religion should be measured with higher methodological standards than those that have been accepted in survey research to date.     

Biology of the Polecat Mustela putorius: a literature review

The available literature on the biology of the European Polecat ( Mustela putorius ) is collated. Aspects covered are general biology and systematics, distribution, physical characteristics, variation, skeletal characteristics, habitat, general behaviour, diet and predatory behaviour, breeding, juvenile development, population structure, mortality, parasites and diseases, relations with man, and history in Britain. Notes on field signs are also included. Recent and current research on Polecats both in Great Britain and on the European continent are then reviewed and some new information is reported. An extended bibliography lists all major and many minor publications on M. putorius , together with selected references to feral Ferrets ( M. furo ) and Polecat-Ferrets ( M. putorius x M.furo ).     

Scoliosis and dental occlusion: a review of the literature

Background

Idiopathic scoliosis is a deformity without clear etiology. It is unclear wether there is an association between malocclusion and scoliosis. Several types of occlusion were described in subjects with scoliosis, mostly case-reports.

Objectives

The aim of this review was to evaluate the type of occluslins more prevalent in subjects with scoliosis

Search strategy

All randomised and controlled clinical trials identified from the Cochrane Oral Health Group Trials Register, a MEDLINE search using the Mesh term scoliosis, malocclusion, and relevant free text words, and the bibliographies of papers and review articles which reported the outcome of orthodontic treatment in subjects with scoliosis that were published as abstracts or papers between 1970 and 2010.

Selection criteria

All randomised and controlled clinical trials published as full papers or abstracts which reported quantitative data on the outcomes malocclusion in subjects with scoliosis.

Data collection and analysis

Data were extracted without blinding to the authors, age of patients or type of occlusion.

Main results

Using the search strategy eleven observational longitudinal studies were identified. No randomized clinical trials were recorded. Twenty-three cross-sectional studies were recorderd, and the others studies were reviews, editorials, case-reports, or opinions. The clinical trials were often not controlled and were about the cephalometric evaluation after treatment with the modified Milwuakee brace, followed by the orthodontic treatment of the class II relationship with a functional appliance. Clinical trials also included the study of the associations between scoliosis and unilateral crossbite, in children with asymmetry of the upper cervical spine. This association was also investigated in rats, pigs and rabbits in clinical trials. The other associations between scoliosis and occlusion seems to be based only on cross-sectional studies, case-reports, opinions.

Authors' conclusions

Based on selected studies, this review concludes that there is plausible evidence for an increased prevalence of unilateral Angle Class II malocclusions associated with scoliosis, and an increased risk of lateral crossbite, midline deviation in children affected by scoliosis. Also, documentation of associations between reduced range of lateral movements and scoliosis seem convincing. Data are also mentioned about the association between plagiocephaly and scoliosis.     

Diprosopus: a unique case and review of the literature

BACKGROUND: We present a case of partial facial duplication in a male infant. METHODS: The clinical, radiological, and laboratory findings for this patient are described, followed by a review of the literature. RESULTS: Craniofacial duplication is a rare form of conjoined twinning and presents in a wide spectrum, from dicephalus to diprosopus to partial facial duplication. Many of these cases can be diagnosed prenatally. Prenatal assessment of our patient revealed only agenesis of the corpus callosum. CONCLUSIONS: The pathogenesis is believed to involve duplication of the notochord. Where there are more severe associated anomalies, the prognosis is poor. Partial facial duplication, as in our case, is associated with fewer anomalies, and the prognosis is better. Symmetry and an excess of tissue, rather than deficiency, favor a positive result.     

Modelling as a tool to redesign livestock farming systems: a literature review

Livestock farming has recently come under close scrutiny, in response especially to environmental issues. Farmers are encouraged to redesign their livestock farming systems in depth to improve their sustainability. Assuming that modelling can be a relevant tool to address such systemic changes, we sought to answer the following question: ‘How can livestock farming systems be modelled to help farmers redesign their whole farming systems?’ To this end, we made a literature review of the models of livestock farming systems published from 2000 to mid-2009 (n = 79). We used an analysis grid based on three considerations: (i) system definition, (ii) the intended use of the model and (iii) the way in which farmers’ decision-making processes were represented and how agricultural experts and farmers were involved in the modelling processes. Consistent rationales in approaches to supporting changes in livestock farming were identified in three different groups of models, covering 83% of the whole set. These could be defined according to (i) the way in which farmers’ decisions were represented and (ii) the model's type of contribution to supporting changes. The first type gathered models that dynamically simulated the system according to different management options; the farmers’ decision-making processes are assumed to consist in choosing certain values for management factors. Such models allow long-term simulations and endorse different disciplinary viewpoints, but the farmers are weakly involved in their design. Models of the second type can indicate the best combination of farm activities under given constraints, provided the farmers’ objectives are profit maximisation. However, when used to support redesigning processes, they address neither how to implement the optimal solution nor its long-term consequences. Models of the third type enable users to dynamically simulate different options for the farming system, the management of which is assumed to be planned according to the farmers’ general objectives. Although more comprehensive, these models do not easily integrate different disciplinary viewpoints and different subsystems, which limits their usefulness as support tools for redesigning processes. Finally, we concluded about what specific requirements should be for modelling approaches if farmers were to be supported in redesigning their whole livestock farming systems using models.     

Characterization of a second ligand binding site of the insulin receptor

Insulin binding to its receptor is characterized by high affinity, curvilinear Scatchard plots, and negative cooperativity. These properties may be the consequence of binding of insulin to two receptor binding sites. The N-terminal L1 domain and the C-terminus of the alpha subunit contain one binding site. To locate a second site, we examined the binding properties of chimeric receptors in which the L1 and L2 domains and the first Fibronectin Type III repeat of the insulin-like growth factor-I receptor were replaced by corresponding regions of the insulin receptor. Substitutions of the L2 domain and the first Fibronectin Type III repeat together with the L1 domain produced 80- and 300-fold increases in affinity for insulin. Fusion of these domains to human immunoglobulin Fc fragment produced a protein which bound insulin with a K(d) of 2.9 nM. These data strongly suggest that these domains contain an insulin binding site.     

Ingestion of superwarfarin leading to coagulopathy: a case report and review of the literature

Superwarfarins are found in many pesticides, including D-con, Prufe I and II, Ramik, Talon-G, Ratak, and Contrac. Ingestion of can lead to significant morbidity and even mortality. Physicians need to consider this diagnosis in any patient presenting with coagulopathy of unclear etiology. We present a patient with superwarfarin-induced coagulopathy and review previous cases in adults in the literature. The patient is a 60-year-old man who presented to our medical center with painless hematuria. Laboratory studies revealed an elevated prothrombin time (PT) (42.5 seconds), partial thromboplastin time (PTT) (64.6 seconds), and international normalized ratio (INR) of 7. Liver-associated enzymes were normal, and complete blood cell count (CBC) showed no evidence of disseminated intravascular coagulation. Subsequent work-up included the absence of an inhibitor by mixing study and deficiencies of vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors. The patient's warfarin level was negative. A brodifacoum level was positive, confirming superwarfarin-induced coagulopathy. The patient is currently doing well with normal coagulation studies after receiving high doses of vitamin K for several weeks. The cause of his exposure to superwarfarin remains uncertain. Physicians need to be cognizant of this unusual cause of coagulopathy in adults. The appropriate diagnostic work-up and unique features of therapy are discussed.     

Nonribosomal peptide synthetases-evidence for a second ATP-binding site

δ-(l-α-Aminoadipyl)-l-cysteinyl-d-valine synthetase (ACVS) catalyses, via the protein thiotemplate mechanism, the nonribosomal biosynthesis of the penicillin and cephalosporin precursor tripeptide δ-(l-α-aminoadipyl)-l-cysteinyl-d-valine (ACV). The complete and fully saturated biosynthetic system approaches maximum rate of product generation with increasing ATP concentration. Nonproductive adenylation of ACVS, monitored utilising the ATP–[³²P]PP_i exchange reaction, has revealed substrate inhibition with ATP. The kinetic inhibition pattern provides evidence for the existence of a second nucleotide-binding site with possible implication in the regulatory mechanism. Under suboptimal reaction conditions, in the presence of MgATP^2?, l-Cys and inorganic pyrophosphatase, ACVS forms adenosine(5′)tetraphospho(5′)adenosine (Ap₄A) from the reverse reaction of adenylate formation involving a second ATP molecule. The potential location of the second ATP binding site was deduced from sequence comparisons and molecular visualisation in conjunction to data obtained from biochemical analysis.