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EcoSal Plus Dec 2022In the late 1950s, a number of laboratories took up the study of plasmids once the discovery was made that extrachromosomal antibiotic resistance (R) factors are the... (Review)
Review
In the late 1950s, a number of laboratories took up the study of plasmids once the discovery was made that extrachromosomal antibiotic resistance (R) factors are the responsible agents for the transmissibility of multiple antibiotic resistance among the enterobacteria. The use of incompatibility for the classification of plasmids is now widespread. It seems clear now on the basis of the limited studies to date that the number of incompatibility groups of plasmids will likely be extremely large when one includes plasmids obtained from bacteria that are normal inhabitants of poorly studied natural environments. The presence of both linear chromosomes and linear plasmids is now established for several species. One of the more fascinating developments in plasmid biology was the discovery of linear plasmids in the 1980s. A remarkable feature of the Ti plasmids of Agrobacterium tumefaciens is the presence of two DNA transfer systems. A definitive demonstration that plasmids consisted of duplex DNA came from interspecies conjugal transfer of plasmids followed by separation of plasmid DNA from chromosomal DNA by equilibrium buoyant density centrifugation. The formation of channels for DNA movement and the actual steps involved in DNA transport offer many opportunities for the discovery of proteins with novel activities and for establishing fundamentally new concepts of macromolecular interactions between DNA and specific proteins, membranes, and the peptidoglycan matrix.
Topics: Plasmids; Agrobacterium tumefaciens; Plant Tumor-Inducing Plasmids; Bacteria; DNA, Bacterial
PubMed: 35373578
DOI: 10.1128/ecosalplus.esp-0028-2021 -
Molecular Psychiatry Sep 2019Resilience is a neurobiological entity that shapes an individual's response to trauma. Resilience has been implicated as the principal mediator in the development of... (Review)
Review
Resilience is a neurobiological entity that shapes an individual's response to trauma. Resilience has been implicated as the principal mediator in the development of mental illness following exposure to trauma. Although animal models have traditionally defined resilience as molecular and behavioral changes in stress responsive circuits following trauma, this concept needs to be further clarified for both research and clinical use. Here, we analyze the construct of resilience from a translational perspective and review optimal measurement methods and models. We also seek to distinguish between resilience, stress vulnerability, and posttraumatic growth. We propose that resilience can be quantified as a multifactorial determinant of physiological parameters, epigenetic modulators, and neurobiological candidate markers. This multifactorial definition can determine PTSD risk before and after trauma exposure. From this perspective, we propose the use of an 'R Factor' analogous to Spearman's g factor for intelligence to denote these multifactorial determinants. In addition, we also propose a novel concept called 'resilience reserve', analogous to Stern's cognitive reserve, to summarize the sum total of physiological processes that protect and compensate for the effect of trauma. We propose the development and application of challenge tasks to measure 'resilience reserve' and guide the assessment and monitoring of 'R Factor' as a biomarker for PTSD.
Topics: Animals; Biomarkers; Humans; Neurobiology; Resilience, Psychological; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Stress, Psychological; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 30867558
DOI: 10.1038/s41380-019-0383-7 -
Journal of Microbiology and... Dec 2023The recently published high-resolution R388 T4SS structure provides exciting new details about the complete complex of T4SS, including the components making up the stalk... (Review)
Review
The recently published high-resolution R388 T4SS structure provides exciting new details about the complete complex of T4SS, including the components making up the stalk and arches, numerous symmetry mismatches between regions of the complex, and an intriguing interpretation of the closed stalk and radial symmetry of the inner membrane complex, which is related to pilus biogenesis assembly. However, there are a few unidentified densities in the electron microscopy map and portions of the identified component sequences for which the structure is not yet known. It is also unclear how well this minimized DNA-transporting T4SS predicts the structure of other T4SSs, such as expanded systems and those that transport proteins rather than DNA. In this review, we evaluate what can be inferred from the recent high-resolution structure of the R388 T4SS with respect to the Cag and Dot/Icm systems. These systems were selected because, given what is currently known about these systems, we expect them to present most structural differences compared to the R388 T4SS structure. Furthermore, we discuss bacterial physiology and diversity, the T4SS structures and their variations between different bacterial species. These insights may prove beneficial for researchers who elucidate the structure and functions of T4SS in different bacterial species.
Topics: Type IV Secretion Systems; Biological Transport; DNA; Bacterial Proteins
PubMed: 37528551
DOI: 10.4014/jmb.2307.07006 -
Acta Crystallographica. Section E,... Feb 2024The ()-(+)-1-(4-bromo-phen-yl)--[(4-methoxyphen-yl)methyl-idene]ethyl-amine ligand, CHBrNO, (I), was synthesized through the reaction of 4-meth-oxy-anisaldehyde with...
()-(+)-1-(4-Bromo-phen-yl)--[(4-methoxyphen-yl)methyl-idene]ethyl-amine and bis-{()-(+)-1-(4-bromo-phen-yl)--[(4-methoxyphen-yl)methyl-idene]ethyl-amine-κ}di-chlorido-palladium(II).
The ()-(+)-1-(4-bromo-phen-yl)--[(4-methoxyphen-yl)methyl-idene]ethyl-amine ligand, CHBrNO, (I), was synthesized through the reaction of 4-meth-oxy-anisaldehyde with ()-(-)-1-(4-bromo-phen-yl)ethyl-amine. It crystallizes in the ortho-rhom-bic space group 222 belonging to the Sohncke group, featuring a single mol-ecule in the asymmetric unit. The refinement converged successfully, achieving an factor of 0.0508. The Pd com-plex bis-{()-(+)-1-(4-bromo-phen-yl)--[(4-methoxyphen-yl)methyl-idene]ethyl-amine-κ}di-chlorido-pal-ladium(II), [PdCl(CHBrNO)], (II), crystallizes in the monoclinic space group 2 belonging to the Sohncke group, with two mol-ecules in the asymmetric unit. The central atom is tetra-coordinated by two N atoms and two Cl atoms, resulting in a square-planar configuration. The imine moieties exhibit a configuration around the Pd centre, with average Cl-Pd-N angles of approximately 89.95 and 90°. The average distances within the palladium com-plex for the two mol-ecules are ∼2.031 Å for Pd-N and ∼2.309 Å for Pd-Cl.
PubMed: 38333132
DOI: 10.1107/S2056989024000690 -
JGH Open : An Open Access Journal of... Oct 2021While many studies have reported on liver injury in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), none have specifically addressed the significance of hepatic...
BACKGROUND AND AIM
While many studies have reported on liver injury in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), none have specifically addressed the significance of hepatic jaundice. We aimed to determine the clinical consequences and etiologies of jaundice in patients with COVID-19.
METHODS
We retrospectively analyzed clinical features, laboratory abnormalities, and rates of survival and intensive care unit admission in 551 patients with COVID-19, hospitalized between 1 March 2020, and 31 May 2020 at a tertiary care academic medical center. Hepatic jaundice was defined as a serum total bilirubin concentration >2.5 mg/dL and a direct bilirubin concentration >0.3 mg/dL that was >25% of the total. Liver injury was characterized as cholestatic, mixed, or hepatocellular at the time of peak serum total bilirubin concentration by calculating the R factor.
RESULTS
Hepatic jaundice was present in 49 (8.9%) patients and associated with a mortality rate of 40.8% and intensive care unit admission rate of 69.4%, both significantly higher than for patients without jaundice. Jaundiced patients had an increased frequency of fever, leukopenia, leukocytosis, thrombocytopenia, hypotension, hypoxemia, elevated serum creatinine concentration, elevated serum procalcitonin concentration, and sepsis. Nine jaundiced patients had isolated hyperbilirubinemia. Of the 40 patients with abnormally elevated serum alanine aminotransferase or alkaline phosphatase activities, 62.5% had a cholestatic, 20.0% mixed, and 17.5% hepatocellular pattern of liver injury.
CONCLUSION
Hepatic jaundice in patients with COVID-19 is associated with high mortality. The main etiologies of liver dysfunction leading to jaundice appear to be sepsis, severe systemic inflammation, and hypoxic/ischemic hepatitis.
PubMed: 34622003
DOI: 10.1002/jgh3.12645 -
Acta Crystallographica. Section D,... Dec 2019A comparison of four protein model-building pipelines (ARP/wARP, Buccaneer, PHENIX AutoBuild and SHELXE) was performed using data sets from 202 experimentally phased...
A comparison of four protein model-building pipelines (ARP/wARP, Buccaneer, PHENIX AutoBuild and SHELXE) was performed using data sets from 202 experimentally phased cases, both with the data as observed and truncated to simulate lower resolutions. All pipelines were run using default parameters. Additionally, an ARP/wARP run was completed using models from Buccaneer. All pipelines achieved nearly complete protein structures and low R/R at resolutions between 1.2 and 1.9 Å, with PHENIX AutoBuild and ARP/wARP producing slightly lower R factors. At lower resolutions, Buccaneer leads to significantly more complete models.
Topics: Algorithms; Crystallography, X-Ray; Databases, Protein; Datasets as Topic; Models, Molecular; Protein Conformation; Proteins; Software
PubMed: 31793905
DOI: 10.1107/S2059798319014918 -
American Journal of Physiology.... Mar 2016Our growing understanding of the role of the endothelin (ET) system in renal physiology and pathophysiology is from emerging studies of renal disease in animal models... (Review)
Review
Our growing understanding of the role of the endothelin (ET) system in renal physiology and pathophysiology is from emerging studies of renal disease in animal models and humans. ET receptor antagonists reduce blood pressure and proteinuria in chronic kidney disease and cause regression of renal injury in animals. However, the therapeutic potential of ET receptor antagonism has not been fully explored and clinical studies have been largely limited to patients with diabetic nephropathy. There remains a need for more work in nondiabetic chronic kidney disease, end-stage renal disease (patients requiring maintenance dialysis and those with a functioning kidney transplant), ischemia reperfusion injury, and sickle cell disease. The current review summarizes the most recent advances in both preclinical and clinical studies of ET receptor antagonists in the field of kidney disease.
Topics: Animals; Endothelin Receptor Antagonists; Endothelins; Humans; Kidney; Kidney Diseases; Ligands; Receptors, Endothelin; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 26702154
DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00478.2015 -
The Science of the Total Environment Feb 2017Rainfall erosivity as a dynamic factor of soil loss by water erosion is modelled intra-annually for the first time at European scale. The development of Rainfall...
Rainfall erosivity as a dynamic factor of soil loss by water erosion is modelled intra-annually for the first time at European scale. The development of Rainfall Erosivity Database at European Scale (REDES) and its 2015 update with the extension to monthly component allowed to develop monthly and seasonal R-factor maps and assess rainfall erosivity both spatially and temporally. During winter months, significant rainfall erosivity is present only in part of the Mediterranean countries. A sudden increase of erosivity occurs in major part of European Union (except Mediterranean basin, western part of Britain and Ireland) in May and the highest values are registered during summer months. Starting from September, R-factor has a decreasing trend. The mean rainfall erosivity in summer is almost 4 times higher (315MJmmhah) compared to winter (87MJmmhah). The Cubist model has been selected among various statistical models to perform the spatial interpolation due to its excellent performance, ability to model non-linearity and interpretability. The monthly prediction is an order more difficult than the annual one as it is limited by the number of covariates and, for consistency, the sum of all months has to be close to annual erosivity. The performance of the Cubist models proved to be generally high, resulting in R values between 0.40 and 0.64 in cross-validation. The obtained months show an increasing trend of erosivity occurring from winter to summer starting from western to Eastern Europe. The maps also show a clear delineation of areas with different erosivity seasonal patterns, whose spatial outline was evidenced by cluster analysis. The monthly erosivity maps can be used to develop composite indicators that map both intra-annual variability and concentration of erosive events. Consequently, spatio-temporal mapping of rainfall erosivity permits to identify the months and the areas with highest risk of soil loss where conservation measures should be applied in different seasons of the year.
PubMed: 27913025
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.11.123 -
NeuroImage. Clinical 2018Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by interpersonal and emotional abnormalities (e.g., lack of empathy and guilt) and antisocial behavior. Psychopathy...
BACKGROUND
Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by interpersonal and emotional abnormalities (e.g., lack of empathy and guilt) and antisocial behavior. Psychopathy has been associated with a number of structural brain abnormalities, most notably in orbital frontal and anterior/medial temporal regions, that may underlie psychopathic individuals' problematic behaviors. Past research evaluating cortical structure in psychopathy has considered thickness and volume, but to date no study has investigated differences in cortical gyrification, a measure of cortical complexity thought to reflect early neurodevelopmental cortical connectivity.
METHODS
We measured the local gyrification index (LGI) in a sample of 716 adult male inmates and performed a whole brain analysis assessing the relationship between LGI and total and factor scores on the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R).
RESULTS
PCL-R scores were negatively associated with LGI measures within the right hemisphere in the midcingulate cortex (MCC) and adjacent regions of the superior frontal gyrus as well as lateral superior parietal cortex. Additionally, PCL-R Factor 1 scores (interpersonal/affective traits) predicted less LGI within the right MCC and adjacent dorsomedial frontal cortex and greater LGI in bilateral occipital cortex. Scores on PCL-R Factor 2, indicating impulsivity and antisocial behaviors, did not predict LGI in any regions.
CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that psychopathy, particularly the interpersonal and affective traits, are associated with specific structural abnormalities that form during neurodevelopment and these abnormalities may underlie aberrant brain functioning in regions important in emotional processing and cognitive control.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Affect; Antisocial Personality Disorder; Brain Mapping; Cerebral Cortex; Criminals; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Impulsive Behavior; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Personality; Prisoners; Young Adult
PubMed: 29946511
DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2018.06.007 -
The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry &... 2022Previous studies with men suggest that certain psychopathic traits vary with age. Specifically, younger men score higher on psychopathic traits measuring...
Previous studies with men suggest that certain psychopathic traits vary with age. Specifically, younger men score higher on psychopathic traits measuring impulsive-antisocial behavior, including impulsivity, irresponsibility, and criminal versatility, compared to older men. On the other hand, younger and older men score comparably on psychopathic traits reflecting core personality traits of interpersonal and affective dysfunction, including conning and manipulative behavior and a lack of empathy, guilt, and remorse. However, it is currently not known whether psychopathic traits similarly vary with age among women. This study examined whether psychopathy scores (assessed via the Hare Psychopathy Checklist - Revised [PCL-R]) varied with age among a sample of 501 incarcerated women ranging from 19 to 57 years of age. Consistent with previous studies performed with men, younger women scored higher on psychopathic traits measuring impulsive-antisocial behavior (i.e., PCL-R Factor 2, Facet 3, and Facet 4 scores) compared to older women. However, scores on PCL-R Factor 1, Facet 1, and Facet 2, assessing core personality traits, including interpersonal and affective dysfunction, were comparable across women in different age categories investigated. Results obtained in this preliminary study suggest the variation of PCL-R Factor 2 traits and the stability of PCL-R Factor 1 traits across the lifespan is invariant across gender.
PubMed: 35221799
DOI: 10.1080/14789949.2022.2036220