Growth in Children with Cerebral Palsy during five years after Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy: a practice-based study

Background  

Overweight is reported as a side effect of SDR. The aims were to study the development of weight, height and body mass index (BMI) during five years after SDR.     

The DNA binding domain of estrogen receptor alpha is required for high-affinity nuclear interaction induced by estradiol

Estrogen receptor alpha (ER) is a member of the nuclear hormone receptor family, which upon binding estrogen shows increased apparent affinity for nuclear components (tight nuclear binding). The nuclear components that mediate this tight nuclear binding have been proposed to include both ER-DNA interactions and ER-protein interactions. In this paper, we demonstrate that tight nuclear binding of ER upon estrogen occupation requires ER-DNA interactions. Hormone-bound ER can be extracted from the nucleus in low-salt buffer using various polyanions, which mimic the phosphate backbone of DNA. The importance of specific ER-DNA interactions in mediating tight nuclear binding is also supported by the 380-fold lower concentration of the ERE oligonucleotide necessary to extract estrogen-occupied ER from the nucleus compared to the polyanions. We also demonstrate that estrogen-induced tight nuclear binding requires both the nuclear localization domain and the DNA binding domain of ER. Finally, enzymatic degradation of nuclear DNA allows us to recover 45% of tight nuclear-bound ER. We further demonstrate that ER-AIB1 interaction is not required for estrogen-induced tight nuclear binding. Taken together, we propose a model in which tight nuclear binding of the estrogen-occupied ER is predominantly mediated by ER-DNA interactions. The effects of estrogen binding on altering DNA binding in whole cells are proposed to occur through estrogen-induced changes in ER-chaperone protein interactions, which alter the DNA accessibility of ER but do not directly change the affinity of the ER for DNA, which is similar for both unoccupied and occupied ER.     

Impacts of nutrient enrichment and sediment on phytoplankton community structure in the northern Baltic Sea

A three-week mesocosm experiment was conducted in order to study the effects of bottom sediment and nutrient enrichment on phytoplankton and zooplankton community structure in the Archipelago Sea, northern Baltic Sea. The transparent polyethylene enclosures included the whole water column and varied in volume from 30 to 40 m³. There were two types of enclosures: some with natural sediment as a bottom and others with a plastic bottom. The experiment was a 2 × 2 factorial design with presence of sediment and nutrient enrichment as treatment factors. Both the sediment presence and nutrient enrichment significantly increased water nutrient concentrations and the rate of primary production. However, external nutrient enrichment and the presence of sediment stimulated the growth of different phytoplankton groups, indicating that the effect of sediment was not related to nutrient fluxes alone, but involved more complex interactions. External nutrient enrichment was primarily channelled to picoplanktonic cyanobacteria, the biomass of which increased four- to fivefold due to enrichment. The presence of sediment increased the biomass of cryptophytes, chrysophytes and prasinophytes, but decreased the biomass of N₂-fixing cyanobacteria. Zooplankton biomass increased during the experiment, but was not affected by the treatments. The study shows that sediment plays a significant role in phytoplankton dynamics, underlining the importance of including sediment in shallow-water mesocosm experiments. Handling editor: J. Padisak     

Lower proliferation rate in metastatic effusion mesothelial cells than in benign effusions

OBJECTIVE: To determine the proliferation rates of mesothelial cells in metastatic and benign effusions. STUDY DESIGN: Immunohistochemistry was performed on formalin-fixed pellets from 16 malignant and 9 benign clinical effusions. Dual staining with antibodies against Ki-67 (MIB-1) and desmin was applied to all effusions to differentiate between benign mesothelial cells and malignant cells, and the proportions of desmin+/Ki-67+ and desmin+/Ki-67- cells were calculated. RESULTS: In 7 malignant effusions no proliferating mesothelial cells were found, whereas some rate of proliferation could always be demonstrated in mesothelial cells in the benign effusions. Further, the median proportions of proliferating cells, malignant 2% vs. benign 11%, differed significantly. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge this finding has not been previously described, and it may have implications for both cytologic diagnosis and the understanding of tumor biology and the interaction between tumor cells and mesothelial cells.     

The <Emphasis Type="Italic">Yersinia enterocolitica</Emphasis> type three secretion chaperone SycO is integrated into the Yop regulatory network and binds to the Yop secretion protein YscM1

Background  

Pathogenic yersiniae (Y. pestis, Y. pseudotuberculosis, Y. enterocolitica) share a virulence plasmid encoding a type three secretion system (T3SS). This T3SS comprises more than 40 constituents. Among these are the transport substrates called Yops (Yersinia outer proteins), the specific Yop chaperones (Sycs), and the Ysc (Yop secretion) proteins which form the transport machinery. The effectors YopO and YopP are encoded on an operon together with SycO, the chaperone of YopO. The characterization of SycO is the focus of this study.     

Effects of Ethanolic Extract of Cynara cardunculus (Artichoke) Leaves on Neuroinflammatory and Neurochemical Parameters in a Diet-Induced Mice Obesity Model

Neurochemical Research - This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Cynara cardunculus leaf ethanol extract on inflammatory and oxidative stress parameters in the hypothalamus, prefrontal cortex,...