Comorbidities and Crash Involvement among Younger and Older Drivers

Previous studies identified comorbidities as predictors of older driver performance and driving pattern, while the direct impact of comorbidities on road crash risk in elderly drivers is still unknown. The present study is a cross-sectional aimed at investigating the association between levels of comorbidity and crash involvement in adult and elderly drivers. 327 drivers were stratified according to age range in two groups: elderly drivers (age ≥70 years old, referred as older) and adult drivers (age <70 years old, referred as younger). Driving information was obtained through a driving questionnaire. Distance traveled was categorized into low, medium and high on the basis of kilometers driven in a year. CIRS-illness severity (IS) and CIRS-comorbidity indices (CI) in all populations were calculated. Older drivers had a significantly higher crash involvements rate (p = .045) compared with the younger group based on the number of licensed drivers. Dividing comorbidity indices into tertiles among all licensed subjects, the number of current drivers significantly decreased (p<.0001) with increasing level of comorbidity. The number of current drivers among older subjects significantly decreased with increasing comorbidity level (p = .026) while no difference among younger group was found (p = .462). Among younger drivers with increasing comorbidity level, the number of road accidents significantly increased (p = .048) and the logistic regression analysis showed that comorbidity level significantly associated with crash involvement independent of gender and driving exposure. Older subjects with high level of comorbidity are able to self-regulate driving while comorbidity burden represents a significant risk factor for crash involvements among younger drivers.     

Synergism and Antagonism between Bacillus thuringiensis Vip3A and Cry1 Proteins in Heliothis virescens,Diatraea saccharalis and Spodoptera frugiperda

Second generation Bt crops (insect resistant crops carrying Bacillus thuringiensis genes) combine more than one gene that codes for insecticidal proteins in the same plant to provide better control of agricultural pests. Some of the new combinations involve co-expression of cry and vip genes. Because Cry and Vip proteins have different midgut targets and possibly different mechanisms of toxicity, it is important to evaluate possible synergistic or antagonistic interactions between these two classes of toxins. Three members of the Cry1 class of proteins and three from the Vip3A class were tested against Heliothis virescens for possible interactions. At the level of LC₅₀, Cry1Ac was the most active protein, whereas the rest of proteins tested were similarly active. However, at the level of LC₉₀, Cry1Aa and Cry1Ca were the least active proteins, and Cry1Ac and Vip3A proteins were not significantly different. Under the experimental conditions used in this study, we found an antagonistic effect of Cry1Ca with the three Vip3A proteins. The interaction between Cry1Ca and Vip3Aa was also tested on two other species of Lepidoptera. Whereas antagonism was observed in Spodoptera frugiperda, synergism was found in Diatraea saccharalis. In all cases, the interaction between Vip3A and Cry1 proteins was more evident at the LC₉₀ level than at the LC₅₀ level. The fact that the same combination of proteins may result in a synergistic or an antagonistic interaction may be an indication that there are different types of interactions within the host, depending on the insect species tested.     

Osteolytic bone metastasis is hampered by impinging on the interplay among autophagy,anoikis and ossification

Here we show that the fate of osteolytic bone metastasis depends on the balance among autophagy, anoikis resistance and ossification, and that the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) signaling pathway seems to have an important role in orchestrating bone colonization. These findings are consistent with the pathophysiology of bone metastasis that is influenced by the cross-talk of supportive and neoplastic cells through molecular signaling networks. We adopted the strategy to target metastasis and stroma with the use of adenovirally expressed NK4 (AdNK4) and Dasatinib to block HGF/Met axis and Src activity. In human bone metastatic 1833 cells, HGF conferred anoikis resistance via Akt and Src activities and HIF-1α induction, leading to Bim isoforms degradation. When Src and Met activities were inhibited with Dasatinib, the Bim isoforms accumulated conferring anoikis sensitivity. The proviability effect of HGF, under low-nutrient stress condition, was related to a faster autophagy deactivation with respect to HGF plus Dasatinib. In the 1833 xenograft model, AdNK4 switched metastasis vasculature to blood lacunae, increasing HIF-1α in metastasis. The combination of AdNK4 plus Dasatinib gave the most relevant results for mice survival, and the following molecular and cellular changes were found to be responsible. In bone metastasis, we observed a hypoxic condition – marked by HIF-1α – and an autophagy failure – marked by p62 without Beclin-1. Then, osteolytic bone metastases were largely prevented, because of autophagy failure in metastasis and ossification in bone marrow, with osteocalcin deposition. The abnormal repair process was triggered by the dysfunctional autophagy/anoikis interplay. In conclusion, the concomitant blockade of HGF/Met axis and Src activity seemed to induce HIF-1α in metastasis, whereas the bone marrow hypoxic response was reduced. As a consequence, anoikis resistance might be hampered favoring, instead, autophagy failure and neoformation of woven bone trabeculae. Mice survival was, therefore, prolonged by overcoming an escape strategy adopted by metastatic cells by disruption of tumor–stroma coevolution, showing the importance of autophagy inhibition for the therapy of bone metastasis.     

The human pituitary nitroproteome: detection of nitrotyrosyl-proteins with two-dimensional Western blotting, and amino acid sequence determination with mass spectrometry

Nitric oxide is an important mediator that participates in reduction-oxidation (redox) mechanisms and in cellular signal transduction pathways. Two types of post-translational modifications are induced by nitric oxide: S-nitrosylation of cysteine residues and nitration of tyrosine residues. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis-based Western blotting was used to detect, and liquid chromatography (LC)-tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) to determine the amino acid sequence of, several different nitrated proteins in the human pituitary. Proteins from several 2D gel spots, which corresponded to the strongly positive anti-nitrotyrosine Western blot spots, were subjected to in-gel trypsin-digestion and LC-MS/MS analysis. MS/MS, SEQUEST analysis, and de novo sequencing were used to determine the nitration site of each nitrated peptide. A total of four different nitrated peptides were characterized and were matched to four different proteins: synaptosomal-associated protein, actin, immunoglobulin alpha Fc receptor, and cGMP-dependent protein kinase 2. Those nitrotyrosyl-proteins participate in neurotransmission, cellular immunity, and cellular structure and mobility.     

2-D DIGE analysis of UV-C radiation-responsive proteins in globe artichoke leaves

Plants respond to ultraviolet stress inducing a self-defence through the regulation of specific gene family members. The UV acclimation is the result of biochemical and physiological processes, such as enhancement of the antioxidant enzymatic system and accumulation of UV-absorbing phenolic compounds (e.g. flavonoids). Globe artichoke is an attractive species for studying the protein network involved in UV stress response, being characterized by remarkable levels of inducible antioxidants. Proteomic tools can assist the evaluation of the expression patterns of UV-responsive proteins and we applied the difference in-gel electrophoresis (DIGE) technology for monitoring the globe artichoke proteome variation at four time points following an acute UV-C exposure. A total of 145 UV-C-modulated proteins were observed and 119 were identified by LC-MS/MS using a ～144,000 customized Compositae protein database, which included about 19,000 globe artichoke unigenes. Proteins were Gene Ontology (GO) categorized, visualized on their pathways and their behaviour was discussed. A predicted protein interaction network was produced and highly connected hub-like proteins were highlighted. Most of the proteins differentially modulated were chloroplast located, involved in photosynthesis, sugar metabolisms, protein folding and abiotic stress. The identification of UV-C-responsive proteins may contribute to shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying plant responses to UV stress.     

The identification of serum tuftsin by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry

We describe for the first time a method for unambiguously identifying the phagocytic stimulating tetrapeptide tuftsin from trypsinized human serum. The method consists of separating serum tuftsin by reverse-phase (RP)-HPLC, collecting HPLC fractions corresponding to the synthetic tuftsin retention time, and then subjecting those fractions to mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (MS/MS) analysis, which provides optimal molecular specificity to the measurement. Although quantification was not the goal, it was estimated that the amount of tuftsin found by RP-HPLC and MS/MS was in the hundreds of nanograms per milliliter.     

Measurement of opioid peptides with combinations of reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography, radioimmunoassay, radioreceptorassay, and mass spectrometry

Novel state-of-the-art mass spectrometric methods have been developed and are now used to identify and to quantify enkephalins and other neuropeptides in biological tissue extracts. As the first step, RP-HPLC gradient elution is performed of a Sep-Pak treated peptide-rich fraction from a tissue extract, and the eluent is monitored by a variety of post-HPLC detectors. In an effort to maximize the structural information that can be obtained from the analysis, UV (200 nm) provides the analog absorption trace; receptorassay analysis (RRA) data of all (90) fractions that are collected are used to construct the profile of opioid-receptoractive peptides; radioimmunoassay (RIA) of selected HPLC fractions at retention times corresponding to the retention time of standards, or in some special cases of all 90-fractions, provides immunoreactivity information; and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry (FAB-MS) in two modes - corroboration of the (M+H)+ of the expected peptide, or MS/MS to monitor an amino acid sequence-determining fragment ion unique to that peptide in the selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode - provides structural information. As a demonstration of the level of quantification sensitivity that can be attained by these novel MS methods, FAB-MS-MS-SIM of solutions of synthetic leucine enkephalin was sensitive to the 70 femtomole level. This paper discusses RIA versus RRA data, and recent MS measurements of peptides in human tissues.     

Capillary reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of acetyl-methylprednisolone in feline spinal cord

Capillary reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) was used to determine acetylmethylprednisolone (A-MP) that had been administered to feline spinal cord tissue. The method used a 300 mm × 0.32 mm I.D. packed capillary octadecylsilyl (ODS) column and an isocratic mobile phase of 40 mM triethylamine formate (TEAF, pH 3.2)-acetonitrile (50:50, v:v). The chromatographic behavior of A-MP was evaluated with respect to peak-area and peak-height by varying the A-MP concentration (12–190 μM) with a fixed injection volume (1 μl), and by varying the injection volume (1–10 μl) with a fixed concentration (12 μM) of A-MP. The limit of detection (signal-to-noise ratio, 3:1) was 250 pg (600 fmol) of synthetic A-MP. Various amounts of A-MP directly spiked into feline spinal cord segments were solvent extracted, separated, and plotted against peak-area (r² = 1.00). Background tissue without A-MP gives minimal (<1%) interference at 243 nm. The method also detects exogenous A-MP that was administered into feline spinal cord via an intrathecal injection. Furthermore, the presence of A-MP was confirmed via its molecular ion and corresponding product ions that were obtained by fast-atom bombardment tandem mass spectrometry (FAB-MS-MS).     

Mass spectrometric quantification of the mu opioid receptor agonist Tyr-d-Arg-Phe-Lys-NH2 (DALDA) in high-performance liquid chromatography-purified ovine plasma

The mu opioid receptor agonist Tyr-d-Arg-Phe-Lys-Amide (d-Arg²-Lys⁴-Dermorphin_1-4amide=DALDA) was infused continuously for 2 h into sheep. The presence of DALDA in ovine plasma was determined by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and mass spectrometry (MS) in plasma samples that were obtained at different times during and following that infusion. A stable isotope-incorporated internal standard, deuterated DALDA (d₅-DALDA), was used for the MS quantification of DALDA via the protonated molecule ion, (M+H)⁺, of DALDA and of d₅-DALDA. Time-course data (μg DALDA ml⁻¹ plasma vs. time) were obtained. Tandem MS (MS–MS) provided the product-ion spectrum of the (M+H)⁺ ion of DALDA in one of the samples to confirm the amino acid sequence of DALDA.