手术治疗摩洛哥儿童睡眠呼吸障碍的临床研究

目的:观察鼻内镜下腺样体切除术或联合扁桃体切除术对摩洛哥儿童睡眠呼吸障碍的疗效,探讨儿童睡眠呼吸障碍治疗的手术适应症。方法:136例病例分成2组,治疗组85例睡眠呼吸障碍伴慢性扁桃体炎、或扁桃体Ⅲ°肥大的儿童,行鼻内镜下腺样体切除加扁桃体切除术;对照组51例睡眠呼吸障碍伴单纯扁桃体扁桃体Ⅱ°肥大的儿童,采用鼻内镜下腺样体切除,术后随访3个月。结果:治疗组总有效率为100%(85/85),对照组84.31%(43/51),差异有统计学意义(P0.05);两组患儿的Conners儿童行为量表评分较术前明显下降,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:鼻内镜下腺样体切除术联合扁桃体切除术,明显改善患儿睡眠和呼吸,生活质量明显提高,是治疗摩洛哥儿童睡眠呼吸障碍的一线治疗方案。     

Adaptive strategy for the statistical analysis of connectomes

We study an adaptive statistical approach to analyze brain networks represented by brain connection matrices of interregional connectivity (connectomes). Our approach is at a middle level between a global analysis and single connections analysis by considering subnetworks of the global brain network. These subnetworks represent either the inter-connectivity between two brain anatomical regions or by the intra-connectivity within the same brain anatomical region. An appropriate summary statistic, that characterizes a meaningful feature of the subnetwork, is evaluated. Based on this summary statistic, a statistical test is performed to derive the corresponding p-value. The reformulation of the problem in this way reduces the number of statistical tests in an orderly fashion based on our understanding of the problem. Considering the global testing problem, the p-values are corrected to control the rate of false discoveries. Finally, the procedure is followed by a local investigation within the significant subnetworks. We contrast this strategy with the one based on the individual measures in terms of power. We show that this strategy has a great potential, in particular in cases where the subnetworks are well defined and the summary statistics are properly chosen. As an application example, we compare structural brain connection matrices of two groups of subjects with a 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, distinguished by their IQ scores.     

X-ray structure of 4,4'-dihydroxybenzophenone mimicking sterol substrate in the active site of sterol 14alpha-demethylase (CYP51)

A universal step in the biosynthesis of membrane sterols and steroid hormones is the oxidative removal of the 14alpha-methyl group from sterol precursors by sterol 14alpha-demethylase (CYP51). This enzyme is a primary target in treatment of fungal infections in organisms ranging from humans to plants, and development of more potent and selective CYP51 inhibitors is an important biological objective. Our continuing interest in structural aspects of substrate and inhibitor recognition in CYP51 led us to determine (to a resolution of 1.95A) the structure of CYP51 from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (CYP51(Mt)) co-crystallized with 4,4'-dihydroxybenzophenone (DHBP), a small organic molecule previously identified among top type I binding hits in a library screened against CYP51(Mt). The newly determined CYP51(Mt)-DHBP structure is the most complete to date and is an improved template for three-dimensional modeling of CYP51 enzymes from fungal and prokaryotic pathogens. The structure demonstrates the induction of conformational fit of the flexible protein regions and the interactions of conserved Phe-89 essential for both fungal drug resistance and catalytic function, which were obscure in the previously characterized CYP51(Mt)-estriol complex. DHBP represents a benzophenone scaffold binding in the CYP51 active site via a type I mechanism, suggesting (i) a possible new class of CYP51 inhibitors targeting flexible regions, (ii) an alternative catalytic function for bacterial CYP51 enzymes, and (iii) a potential for hydroxybenzophenones, widely distributed in the environment, to interfere with sterol biosynthesis. Finally, we show the inhibition of M. tuberculosis growth by DHBP in a mouse macrophage model.     

The design and synthesis of novel alpha-ketoamide-based p38 MAP kinase inhibitors

We have identified a novel series of potent p38 MAP kinase inhibitors through structure-based design which due to their extended molecular architecture bind, in addition to the ATP site, to an allosteric pocket. In vitro ADME and in vivo PK studies show these compounds to have drug-like characteristics which could result in the development of an oral treatment for inflammatory conditions.     

Antibacterial Potent of Acetylated and Non-Acetylated Clove Bud Essential Oils and Their Main Compounds

Clove bud is a medicinal plant used traditionally in Asia for the treatment of various disease. Previously, Clove oil is a potential source of an antimicrobial compounds especially vis-a-vis bacterial pathogens. However, the compound responsible for this activity remains to be investigated. Essential oil (EO) clove, acetylated essential oil clove, eugenol, and acetyleugenol were evaluate as an antibacterial potential agent against Staphyloccocus aureus (SE), Escherichia coli (EC) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA). Essential oil containing eugenol was extracted from buds of Eugenia caryophyllata commonly named clove (Syzygium aromaticum (L.) (Family Myrtaceae) by a simple hydrodistillation. The analysis of the essential oils (EOs) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) shows eugenol as the major constituent with 70.14 % of the total. The Eugenol was isolated from the EO using chemical treatment. Afterwards, the EO and eugenol were converted to acetylated EO and acetyleugenol, respectively using acetic anhydride. The antibacterial result revealed that all compounds showed a strong activity against the three strains. The Staphyloccocus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were extremely sensitive against eugenol with an inhibition diameters of 25 mm. The MIC values of eugenol versus S. aureus and P. aeruginosa were 0.58 and 2.32 mg/mL, respectively, while the MIB values were 2.32 mg/mL and 9.28 mg/mL.     

Improved protection by recombinant BCG

Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette Guérin (BCG) is one of the most widely used live vaccines. Technologic advancement in genome manipulation enables the construction of recombinant BCG (rBCG) strains, which can be employed as highly immunogenic vaccines against tuberculosis with improved safety profile.     

Analysis of the antioxidant activity of 4-(5-chloro-2-hydroxyphenylamino)-4-oxobut-2-enoic acid derivatives using quantum-chemistry descriptors and molecular docking

In the present work, the molecular structure and the antioxidant activity of 4-(5-chloro-2-hydroxyphenylamino)-4-oxobut-2-enoic acid (A) and its derivatives (B-E) have been studied at the B3LYP/6-31++G(2d,2p) computational level. The obtained results indicate that the hydrogen atom transfer (HAT mechanism) is thermodynamically more favored in gas phase; whereas, the sequential proton loss-electron transfer (SPLET mechanism) is more preferred in polar solvents. The antioxidant activity of compounds A-E is also analyzed by the calculation of atomic spin densities, chemical hardnesses, dipole moments, and lipophilicity indexes. It turns out that compound E (R?=?t-Bu) is predicted to be more antioxidant than ascorbic acid and other derivatives A-D in both gas phase and polar solvents. The high antioxidant activity of compound E compared to other derivatives A-D is also rationalized using the molecular docking technique.     

Structural analysis reveals DNA binding properties of Rv2827c, a hypothetical protein from Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major global health threat caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). It is further fueled by the HIV pandemic and by increasing incidences of multidrug resistant Mtb-strains. Rv2827c, a hypothetical protein from Mtb, has been implicated in the survival of Mtb in the macrophages of the host. The three-dimensional structure of Rv2827c has been determined by the three-wavelength anomalous diffraction technique using bromide-derivatized crystals and refined to a resolution of 1.93 Å. The asymmetric unit of the orthorhombic crystals contains two independent protein molecules related by a non-crystallographic translation. The tertiary structure of Rv2827c comprises two domains: an N-terminal domain displaying a winged helix topology and a C-terminal domain, which appears to constitute a new and unique fold. Based on structural homology considerations and additional biochemical evidence, it could be established that Rv2827c is a DNA-binding protein. Once the understanding of the structure-function relationship of Rv2827c extends to the function of Rv2827c in vivo, new clues for the rational design of novel intervention strategies may be obtained.