Breast cancer in men: a need for psychological intervention.

Male breast cancer is a serious issue that needs to be addressed more fully by the medical and public community. However, due to a lack of awareness and limited research on the topic, there is a general absence of knowledge concerning the psychological implications of this disease in men as well as a need for greater understanding of the medical diagnosis and treatment of male breast carcinoma. Similarly, there still remains a considerable gender difference between the awareness of female breast cancer and male breast cancer.

Physical limits on computation by assemblies of allosteric proteins.

Assemblies of allosteric proteins are the principle information processing devices in biology. Using the Ca2+-sensitive cardiac regulatory assembly as a paradigm for Brownian computation, I examine how system complexity and system resetting impose physical limits on computation. Nearest-neighbor-limited interactions among assembly components constrain the topology of the system's macrostate free energy landscape and produce degenerate transition probabilities.

The state of the nation.

Using tools designed by PRIMIS+ at the University of Nottingham general practices in England are undergoing an accreditation process that aims to assess the quality of data entered on their clinical system. This method uses a quantitative and qualitative educational approach to assist practices in their preparation for sharing their data with their peers and ultimately with a national care record.

How to deal with weak interactions in noncovalent complexes analyzed by electrospray mass spectrometry: cyclopeptidic inhibitors of the nuclear receptor coactivator 1-STAT6.

Mass spectrometry, and especially electrospray ionization, is now an efficient tool to study noncovalent interactions between proteins and inhibitors. It is used here to study the interaction of some weak inhibitors with the NCoA-1/STAT6 protein with K(D) values in the microM range. High signal intensities corresponding to some nonspecific electrostatic interactions between NCoA-1 and the oppositely charged inhibitors were observed by nanoelectrospray mass spectrometry, due to the use of high ligand concentrations.

LPS activation is required for migratory activity and antigen presentation by tolerogenic dendritic cells.

Autoimmune pathologies are caused by a breakdown in self-tolerance. Tolerogenic dendritic cells (tolDC) are a promising immunotherapeutic tool for restoring self-tolerance in an antigen-specific manner. Studies about tolDC have focused largely on generating stable maturation-resistant DC, but few have fully addressed questions about the antigen-presenting and migratory capacities of these cells, prerequisites for successful immunotherapy.

Bartonella henselae in captive and hunter-harvested beluga (Delphinapterus leucas).

Previously, we reported the isolation of Bartonella henselae from the blood of harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) and loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) from the North Carolina coast. Hematologic, pathologic, and microbiologic findings surrounding the death of a juvenile captive beluga in Vancouver initiated an outbreak investigation designed to define the molecular prevalence of Bartonella infection in belugas. Using polymerase chain reaction analyses targeting the intergenic spacer region (ITS), two B.

What do physician extenders in a general surgery residency really do?

Objective: The 80-hour workweek has forced surgical training programs to employ physician extenders to reduce work hours and improve the educational environment. The purpose of our study was to document objectively the specific workload provided by physician extenders and to evaluate any objective or subjective benefit provided to the residency program.

Method: Over 4 consecutive months, all orders written by 2 physician extenders associated exclusively with the general surgery residency program at our institution were reviewed.

Galanin stimulation of feeding is blocked by the addition of a response requirement.

Administration of the neuropeptide galanin increases food intake in laboratory rats and mice, however this increase has only been observed under conditions of free-feeding. As there is a growing distinction between consummatory and instrumental behavior, we assessed whether galanin would differentially affect food consumption when food was freely available or when the same food was response-contingent. We also tested whether food restriction would interact with galanin's effect on food consumption in either condition.

The design, structures and therapeutic potential of protein epitope mimetics.

Using a biologically relevant peptide or protein structure as a starting point for lead identification represents one of the most powerful approaches in modern drug discovery. Here, we focus on the protein epitope mimetic (PEM) approach, where folded 3D structures of peptides and proteins are taken as starting points for the design of synthetic molecules that mimic key epitopes involved in protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid interactions. By transferring the epitope from a recombinant to a synthetic scaffold that can be produced by parallel combinatorial methods, it is possible to optimize target affinity and specificity as well as other drug-like ADMET properties.

Involving persons with dementia in the evaluation of outdoor environments.

Using virtual reality (VR), we examined the barriers to and facilitators of functioning outdoors in persons with dementia (PwD) and investigated the generalizability of findings in VR to the real world. An existing town center was modeled in VR. PwD took part in both real-world and VR walks.

Exploring the substrate specificity of OxyB, a phenol coupling P450 enzyme involved in vancomycin biosynthesis.

OxyB is a cytochrome P450 enzyme that catalyzes the first oxidative phenol coupling reaction during vancomycin biosynthesis. The preferred substrate is a linear peptide linked as a C-terminal thioester to a peptide carrier protein (PCP) domain of the glycopeptide antibiotic non-ribosomal peptide synthetase. Previous studies have shown that OxyB can efficiently oxidize a model hexapeptide-PCP conjugate (R-Leu(1)-R-Tyr(2)-S-Asn(3)-R-Hpg(4)-R-Hpg(5)-S-Tyr(6)-S-PCP) (Hpg = 4-hydroxyphenylglycine) into a macrocyclic product by phenolic coupling of the aromatic rings in residues-4 and -6.

The cardiac Ca2+-sensitive regulatory switch, a system in dynamic equilibrium.

The Ca(2+)-sensitive regulatory switch of cardiac muscle is a paradigmatic example of protein assemblies that communicate ligand binding through allosteric change. The switch is a dimeric complex of troponin C (TnC), an allosteric sensor for Ca(2+), and troponin I (TnI), an allosteric reporter. Time-resolved equilibrium Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) measurements suggest that the switch activates in two steps: a TnI-independent Ca(2+)-priming step followed by TnI-dependent opening.

Dynein and Star interact in EGFR signaling and ligand trafficking.

Intracellular transport and processing of ligands is critical to the activation of signal transduction pathways that guide development. Star is an essential gene in Drosophila that has been implicated in the trafficking of ligands for epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor signaling. The role of cytoplasmic motors in the endocytic and secretory pathways is well known, but the specific requirement of motors in EGF receptor transport has not been investigated.

Galanin: a potential role in mesolimbic dopamine-mediated instrumental behavior.

The involvement of the neuropeptide galanin in the consumption of the primary "commodities" of food and water is well established. However, the present review describes anatomical and behavioral evidence that suggests that galanin may also modulate ascending mesolimbic dopamine function and thereby play an inhibitory role in the systems by which instrumental behavior is energized toward acquiring primary commodities. General anatomical frameworks for this interaction are presented and future studies that could evaluate it are discussed.

Reactive oxygen species in phagocytic leukocytes.

Phagocytic leukocytes consume oxygen and generate reactive oxygen species in response to appropriate stimuli. The phagocyte NADPH oxidase, a multiprotein complex, existing in the dissociated state in resting cells becomes assembled into the functional oxidase complex upon stimulation and then generates superoxide anions. Biochemical aspects of the NADPH oxidase are briefly discussed in this review; however, the major focus relates to the contributions of various modes of microscopy to our understanding of the NADPH oxidase and the cell biology of phagocytic leukocytes.

Phylogenetic model evaluation.

Most phylogenetic methods are model-based and depend on Markov models designed to approximate the evolutionary rates between nucleotides or amino acids. When Markov models are selected for analysis of alignments of these characters, it is assumed that they are close approximations of the evolutionary processes that gave rise to the data. A variety of methods have been developed for estimating the fit of Markov models, and some of these methods are now frequently used for the selection of Markov models.

Evaluation of a reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction test and virus isolation on field samples collected for the diagnosis of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus in cultured Atlantic salmon in British Columbia.

Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) has been found to cause disease in cultured salmon of the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Diagnosis of IHNV by virus isolation (VI) can take over 2 weeks. Recently, a rapid reverse transcriptase (RT) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on fish tissues has been used for diagnosis.

Female urethral catheterisation.

This article examines the procedure of female urinary catheterisation. The importance of holistic patient assessment is emphasised, and patient consent, catheter selection and patient education are discussed.

Molecular characterization of the NCoA-1-STAT 6 interaction.

Many protein-protein interactions involved in cell signalling, cell adhesion and regulation of transcription are mediated by short alpha-helical recognition motifs with the sequence Leu-Xaa-Xaa-Leu-Leu (LXXLL, where Xaa is any amino acid). Originally observed in cofactors that interact with hormone-activated nuclear receptors, LXXLL motifs are now known to occur in many transcription factors, including the STAT family, which transmit signals from activated cytokine receptors at the cell surface to target genes in the nucleus. STAT 6 becomes activated in response to IL-4 and IL-13, which regulate immune and anti-inflammatory responses.

Post-micturition dribble in men: causes and treatment.

Post-micturition dribble is a lower urinary tract symptom that can affect men of all ages, but is predominantly found in older patients. Following voiding, a residue of urine becomes trapped and pooled inside the bulbar urethra and begins to drain down the urethra. Men will often try to control or prevent the dribbling by placing absorbent materials down their trousers, not realising that they can obtain advice on other courses of action from continence advisers.

Beta-hairpin peptidomimetics: design, structures and biological activities.

The folded 3D structures of peptides and proteins provide excellent starting points for the design of synthetic molecules that mimic key epitopes (or surface patches) involved in protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid interactions. Protein epitope mimetics (PEMs) may recapitulate not only the structural and conformational properties of the target epitope but also their biological activities. By transferring the epitope from a recombinant to a synthetic scaffold that can be produced by parallel combinatorial methods, it is possible to optimize properties through iterative cycles of library synthesis and screening, and even to evolve new biological activities.

Preclinical profiling of the immunogenicity of a two-component subunit malaria vaccine candidate based on virosome technology.

Presentation of synthetic peptides on immunopotentiating reconstituted influenza virosomes is a promising technology for subunit vaccine development. An optimized virosomally delivered peptide representing 5 NPNA repeats of P. falciparum circumsporozoite protein is highly immunogenic in mice.

Beta 2-microglobulin deficient mice catabolize IgG more rapidly than FcRn- alpha-chain deficient mice.

FcRn, a nonclassical MHC-I protein bound to beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2m), diverts IgG and albumin from an intracellular degradative fate, prolonging the half-lives of both. While knockout mouse strains lacking either FcRn-alpha-chain (AK) or beta 2m (BK) show much shorter half-lives of IgG and albumin than normal mice, the plasma IgG half-life in the BK and AK strains is different, being shorter in the BK strain. Since beta 2m does not affect the IgG production rate, we tested whether an additional beta 2m-associated mechanism protects IgG from catabolism.

Regression tree boosting to adjust health care cost predictions for diagnostic mix.

Objective: To assess the ability of regression tree boosting to risk-adjust health care cost predictions, using diagnostic groups and demographic variables as inputs. Systems for risk-adjusting health care cost, described in the literature, have consistently employed deterministic models to account for interactions among diagnostic groups, simplifying their statistical representation, but sacrificing potentially useful information. An alternative is to use a statistical learning algorithm such as regression tree boosting that systematically searches the data for consequential interactions, which it automatically incorporates into a risk-adjustment model that is customized to the population under study.

Sexual intimacy in heterosexual couples after prostate cancer treatment: What we know and what we still need to learn.

Receiving a diagnosis of and treatment for prostate cancer often results in significant physical side-effects and associated psychosocial stressors that can interfere with the experience of sexual intimacy for couples. Despite the fact that prostate cancer affects mainly older men, the maintenance of sexual intimacy is an important issue to consider, as the majority of older adults continue to value, engage in, and enjoy sexual activity throughout their lives. While the current research identifies the challenges that many men face, little is known about the strategies that couples use to successfully maintain sexual intimacy after prostate cancer treatment.