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The Ras subfamily proteins are monomeric GTPases that function as molecular switches in cellular signal transduction pathways. This review describes our current knowledge of the roles that these proteins play in the growth and differentiation of single celled microorganisms.
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Vaccines are one of the most cost effective methods of improving public health thereby increasing the quality of life. Prophylactic and therapeutic treatment by vaccines can prevent infectious diseases and some cancers and could also be used in the treatment of autoimmune disorders. An appreciation of this potential has resulted in a burgeoning literature which not only describes the scientific efforts being made into designing new and improved vaccines but also drives the efforts being made by public health organizations world-wide in delivering vaccines to the community. At the forefront of technologies being applied to the design of vaccines is the use of synthetic peptides; the chemical technologies used to assemble peptides have made great strides over the last decade and assembly of hi-fidelity peptides which can be of high molecular weight, multimeric or even branched is now almost routine. Together with the advances in peptide technology our understanding of the molecular events that are necessary to induce immune responses has also made great strides. The central role that peptides play in immune recognition is now recognised and rules are emerging that are being applied to the construction of peptide-based vaccines that, in the right context, can induce humoral (antibody) and cellular (cytotoxic and helper T cell) immune responses. Synthetic peptides are exquisitely placed to answer questions about immune recognition and along the way to provide us with new and improved vaccines.
BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Flow of a fluid through a collapsible tube is under the influence of various factors including the external compressing pressure. The intraabdominal pressure (IAP) should influence the flow through the ureter. Therefore, an experimental study was planned to investigate the effects of ureteral length and external compressing pressure onto the intrapelvic pressure (IPP) in rabbits. METHODS: Nineteen adult rabbits were used for the experiment. Under general anesthesia, an intraperitoneal and an intrapelvic catheter were placed to measure IAP and IPP. A urethral catheter was placed for bladder decompression. After this standard preparation, a ureteric stent was placed in the ureter in group 1 (n = 7). Distal or proximal ureter transection was performed in group 2 (n = 6) and group 3 (n = 6), respectively. Basal pressure measurements have been recorded. Then the pressures were recorded every 5 minutes, and IAP was increased gradually for 4 cm of water pressure in each subsequent 30-minute period. All analyses were performed for a standard IAP interval (5 to 25 cm H2O). RESULTS: IAP did not differ between groups (P = .08). IPP values were significantly higher than the corresponding IAP values in each group (P = .0001). IPP showed significant difference between IAP values of groups (P = .0001). IPP was significantly increased in group 2 when compared with group 1 and group 3 (P = .0001; P = .0001), but no difference was encountered between groups 1 and 3 (P = .1). There has been a strong relationship between IPP and IAP values in all groups. The Rsq values were 0.912, 0.783, and 0.943 for group 1, group 2, and group 3, respectively (P < .0001). Mathematic relations between IPP and IAP also were analyzed. The relations were IPP = 3.9 + 1.10 x IAP, IPP = 10.3 + 1.10 x IAP, and IPP = 3.3 + 1.12 x IAP for groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Renal pelvis pressure responds with augmented increases to increments in IAP in urinary tracts with different ureteric lengths. Increase in IPP is more pronounced in longer ureters possibly owing to increased resistance to flow. Prevention of ureteric wall collapse reverses the augmented increase in IPP responses. Therefore, both the length and collapsibility of the ureter play a detrimental role in the generation of augmented IPP responses to increments in IAP. The magnitude of IPP as a response to increments in IAP can be estimated by using mathematical relations between IPP and IAP. Increases in IAP may simulate proximal ureteric obstruction and may take part in the pathogenesis of hydronephrosis.
The role of a component of the bacterial photosystem, the PufX protein, was examined by heterologous expression of the pufX gene from Rhodobacter capsulatus in a strain of R. sphaeroides that lacks the native pufX gene. The strain of R. sphaeroides containing the R. capsulatus PufX protein was capable of efficient transduction of light energy despite a low degree of sequence conservation between the PufX proteins from the two species. The organization of the hybrid reaction center/LH1 photosystem in strains of R. sphaeroides containing the R. capsulatus LH1 antenna complex was affected differently by the R. sphaeroides and R. capsulatus PufX proteins. We discuss the implications of our findings for the role of the PufX protein in organizing the bacterial photosystem for efficient transduction of light energy.
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Both Japan and Britain established public health administration as a result of the similar events: cholera epidemics. Britain was the pioneer in enacting public health laws in the world. The British law was based upon the "sanitary report" compiled by E. Chadwick as part of a government committee investigation. Though the process was not always a smooth one, Britain learned from its mistakes and steadily developed a public health system following the establishment of the public health law. Meanwhile, in Japan where the general understanding is that the health care system before World War II was German-oriented, Sensai Nagayo, the leading figure in health administration, looked toward the British model and consistently attached importance to a public health administration led by local authorities. However, his vision was not realized. In this paper, I have examined what caused the differences between these two cases through focusing on the role the two key persons played.
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The aim of the present study was to analyze the early events in atherogenesis and the role of pro- or anti-atherosclerotic proteins in the development of atherosclerotic lesions. We used apolipoprotein E-deficient (E(0)) mice that spontaneously develop hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerotic lesions in the aorta in a time-dependent manner. Aortas of mice aged 6, 8, 10 and 12 weeks were examined to determine histopathological changes. In mice aged 8-12 weeks, developing atherosclerotic lesions were present in different regions of the aortas. These lesions protruded into the lumen of the vessel and showed lipid deposits, lipid-filled macrophages and extensive accumulation of collagen and elastic fibers throughout the entire arterial wall. A parallel immunohistochemical study included analysis of three proteins known to be involved in atherosclerosis, i.e. inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS, NOS2), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP2). Increased immunolabelling of iNOS and VEGF accompanied atherosclerosis development in E(0) mice aged 8, 10 and 12 weeks. On the contrary, immunolabelling for MMP2 was negative in E(0) mice aged 10 and 12 weeks. Our results indicate morphological alterations in the Tunica intima and Tunica media of atherosclerotic aortas and possible protective roles for iNOS and VEGF proteins against atherosclerosis development. These data may be relevant for developing therapeutic strategies for atherosclerosis development.
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Clinical and experimental investigations have demonstrated that music may serve subtle and complex psychological functions, the sounds per se serving more primitive roles than the themes and lyrics. The present study offers data obtained during the psychoanalysis of a musically talented man who had suffered life-threatening croup and asthma until the age of 5 or 6. Regression that was achieved as the result of interpretations based on the analyst's countertransferential responses revealed that the analysand was unable to achieve psychological separation from his mother and that music served predominantly the function of retaining a life-supporting connexion with her. Presumably as the result of a complex elaboration of respiratory and auditory introjection, music came to symbolize the noise of air-flowing through tubes into the steam tents and blood coursing through the umbilical cord, conceptualized as connecting him with his mother and making them permanently interdependent. The early ego defect was overcome through a transference-countertransference interaction that is delineated in detail. Then, the less primitive meanings and psychological uses of musical themes and lyrics were elucidated, again in response to interpretations based on countertransference reactions.
Addenbrooke's trust in Cambridge had an acute staff shortage in radiotherapy four years ago. The trust enthusiastically signed up to a DoH New Ways of Working programme for developing radiographers. New roles helped to bring the radiography department to the near-full level of staffing it has today.
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