Quantitative assessment of IgG antibodies to Helicobacter pylori and outcome of ischaemic heart disease

Criticisms of serological studies on Helicobacter pylori and ischaemic heart disease (IHD) include: undiagnosed heart disease in live controls; no assessment of severity or outcome of IHD; and qualitative not quantitative measurements of IgG to the bacteria. The aim was to assess quantitatively IgG levels specific for H. pylori (ng ml(-1)) among patients who survived a myocardial infarction (MI) with those who died of IHD. Sera were from four groups: (1) men who survived one MI; (2) men matched for age and socioeconomic background to group 1; (3) individuals who died suddenly of IHD; (4) accidental deaths matched for age and sex to group 3. Levels of IgG to H. pylori increased with age (P<0.005) but were not associated with smoking or socioeconomic groups. There was a correlation between IgG to the bacteria and decreasing socioeconomic levels only among group 1 (P<0.01). IgG levels were higher for subjects who died of heart disease (median=151 ng ml(-1)) compared with survivors (median=88 ng ml(-1)) (P=0.034) and higher for survivors compared with their controls (median=58 ng ml(-1)) (P=0.039). Future serological studies of H. pylori in relation to IHD should be quantitative and severity of disease considered in analyses.     

Does Severe Maternal Morbidity Affect Female Sexual Activity and Function? Evidence from a Brazilian Cohort Study

Objective

to assess Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) scores and delay to resume sexual activity associated with a previous severe maternal morbidity.

Method

This was a multidimensional retrospective cohort study. Women who gave birth at a Brazilian tertiary maternity between 2008 and 2012 were included, with data extraction from the hospital information system. Those with potentially life-threatening conditions and maternal near miss episodes (severe maternal morbidity) were considered the exposed group. The control group was a random sample of women who had had uncomplicated pregnancy. Female sexual function was evaluated through FSFI questionnaire, and general and reproductive aspects were addressed through specific questions. Statistical analyses were performed using Mann-Whitney and Pearson´s Chi-square for bivariate analyses. Logistic regression was used to identify variables independently associated with lower FSFI scores.

Results

638 women were included (315 at exposed and 323 at not exposed groups). The majority of women were under 30 years-old in the control group and between 30 and 46 years-old in the exposed group (p = 0.003). Women who experienced severe maternal morbidity (SMM) had statistically significant differences regarding cesarean section (82.4% versus 47.1% among deliveries without complications, p<0.001), and some previous pathological conditions. FSFI mean scores were similar among groups ranging from 24.39 to 24.42. It took longer for exposed women to resume sexual activity after index pregnancy (mean 84 days after SMM and 65 days for control group, p = 0.01). Multiple analyses showed no significant association of FSFI below cut-off value with any predictor.

Conclusion

FSFI scores were not different in both groups. However, they were lower than expected. SMM delayed resumption of sexual activity after delivery, beyond postpartum period. However, the proportion of women in both groups having sex at 3 months after delivery was similar. Altered sexual response may be evaluated as one of possible long-term consequences after SMM episodes. Further studies on the growing population of women surviving severe maternal conditions might be worth for improvement of care for women.     

Sample size and sampling error in geometric morphometric studies of size and shape

Geometric morphometric studies are increasingly becoming common in systematics and palaeontology. The samples in such studies are often small, due to the paucity of material available for analysis. However, very few studies have tried to assess the impact of sampling error on analytical results. Here, this issue is addressed empirically using repeated randomized selection experiments to build progressively smaller samples from an original dataset of ∼400 vervet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops) skulls. Size and shape parameters (including mean size and shape, size and shape variances, angles of allometric trajectories) that are commonly used in geometric morphometric studies, are estimated first in the original sample and then in the random subsamples. Estimates are then compared to give an indication of what is the minimum desirable sample size for each parameter. Mean size, standard deviation of size and variance of shape are found to be fairly accurate even in relatively small samples. In contrast, mean shapes and angles between static allometric trajectories are strongly affected by sampling error. If confirmed in other groups, our findings may have substantial implications for studies of morphological variation in present and fossil species. By performing rarefaction analyses like those presented in our study, morphometricians can be easily provided with important clues on how a simple but crucial factor like sample size can alter results of their studies.     

Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome Complicated by Orchitis

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is a disease caused by viruses of the family Bunyaviridae,genus Hantavirus.HFRS from Dobrava virus (DOBV) is a seldom reported disease in Albania.Clinically HFRS is manifested as mild,moderate,or severe.Therefore,the number of cases of Hantavirus' infection may be underestimated,and should be included in the differential diagnosis of many acute infections,hematologic diseases,acute abdominal diseases and renal diseases complicated by acute renal failure.We report...     

The Reg1-interacting proteins, Bmh1, Bmh2, Ssb1, and Ssb2, have roles in maintaining glucose repression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a type 1 protein phosphatase complex composed of the Glc7 catalytic subunit and the Reg1 regulatory subunit represses expression of many glucose-regulated genes. Here we show that the Reg1-interacting proteins Bmh1, Bmh2, Ssb1, and Ssb2 have roles in glucose repression. Deleting both BMH genes causes partially constitutive ADH2 expression without significantly increasing the level of Adr1 protein, the major activator of ADH2 expression. Adr1 and Bcy1, the regulatory subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase, are both required for this effect indicating that constitutive expression in Deltabmh1Deltabmh2 cells uses the same activation pathway that operates in Deltareg1 cells. Deletion of both BMH genes and REG1 causes a synergistic relief from repression, suggesting that Bmh proteins also act independently of Reg1 during glucose repression. A two-hybrid interaction with the Bmh proteins was mapped to amino acids 187-232, a region of Reg1 that is conserved in different classes of fungi. Deleting this region partially releases SUC2 from glucose repression. This indicates a role for the Reg1-Bmh interaction in glucose repression and also suggests a broad role for Bmh proteins in this process. An in vivo Reg1-Bmh interaction was confirmed by copurification of Bmh proteins with HA(3)-TAP-tagged Reg1. The nonconventional heat shock proteins Ssb1 and Ssb2 are also copurified with HA(3)-TAP-tagged Reg1. Deletion of both SSB genes modestly decreases repression of ADH2 expression in the presence of glucose, suggesting that Ssb proteins, perhaps through their interaction with Reg1, play a minor role in glucose repression.     

Estimation of guanine deaminase using guanosine as a "prosubstrate"

Plasma guanine deaminase (guanase; GD) is well established as an indicator of hepatocellular disease, recently being applied in the detection of hepatitis C in donor blood and in the diagnosis of hepatoma. No totally efficient, simple method for the estimation of plasma GD activity is routine since both guanine and 8-azaguanine, the substrates of the enzyme, are scarcely soluble in water. This difficulty in preparing stable substrates of sufficient concentration has resulted in methods that are both troublesome and inaccurate. Here we describe the development of new colorimetric and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods utilizing guanosine as a "prosubstrate." After an initial breakdown of the guanosine to guanine using purine nucleoside phosphorylase, the ammonia formed as a result of the breakdown of the guanine by GD was estimated colorimetrically by the Berthelot reaction. As an alternative or a complementary assay, the xanthine also formed was measured using an isocratic HPLC method. These methods are suitable for routine assays for measuring plasma GD over a wide range of activities.     

New records of Neosilba species (Diptera: Lonchaeidae) in Bahia State, Brazil

Four species of Neosilba are recorded in the State of Bahia: Neosilba pendula (Bezzi), Neosilba certa (Walker), Neosilba parva (Hennig) and Neosilba glaberrima (Wiedemann).     

Analysis of substrate specificity and cyclin Y binding of PCTAIRE-1 kinase

PCTAIRE-1 (cyclin-dependent kinase [CDK] 16) is a highly conserved serine/threonine kinase that belongs to the CDK family of protein kinases. Little is known regarding PCTAIRE-1 regulation and function and no robust assay exists to assess PCTAIRE-1 activity mainly due to a lack of information regarding its preferred consensus motif and the lack of bona fide substrates. We used positional scanning peptide library technology and identified the substrate-specificity requirements of PCTAIRE-1 and subsequently elaborated a peptide substrate termed PCTAIRE-tide. Recombinant PCTAIRE-1 displayed vastly improved enzyme kinetics on PCTAIRE-tide compared to a widely used generic CDK substrate peptide. PCTAIRE-tide also greatly improved detection of endogenous PCTAIRE-1 activity. Similar to other CDKs, PCTAIRE-1 requires a proline residue immediately C-terminal to the phosphoacceptor site (+1) for optimal activity. PCTAIRE-1 has a unique preference for a basic residue at +4, but not at +3 position (a key characteristic for CDKs). We also demonstrate that PCTAIRE-1 binds to a novel cyclin family member, cyclin Y, which increased PCTAIRE-1 activity towards PCTAIRE-tide >100-fold. We hypothesised that cyclin Y binds and activates PCTAIRE-1 in a way similar to which cyclin A2 binds and activates CDK2. Point mutants of cyclin Y predicted to disrupt PCTAIRE-1-cyclin Y binding severely prevented complex formation and activation of PCTAIRE-1. We have identified PCTAIRE-tide as a powerful tool to study the regulation of PCTAIRE-1. Our understanding of the molecular interaction between PCTAIRE-1 and cyclin Y further facilitates future investigation of the functions of PCTAIRE-1 kinase.