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Systems Other (system + other)
Selected AbstractsEffect of systemic hormonal cyclicity on skinINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE, Issue 1 2006N. Muizzuddin Fluctuations in estrogen and progesterone during the menstrual cycle can cause changes in body systems other than the reproductive system. We conducted several studies to determine a possible correlation between phases of the menstrual cycle and specific skin properties. Healthy Caucasian women (ages 21,48), who had a typical 26,29 day menstrual cycle, participated in the studies. Measurements of skin barrier strength, dryness, response to lactic acid stinging, skin surface lipids, and microflora were obtained every week for 2 to 3 months. Ultraviolet B (UV-B) susceptibility in terms of minimal erythemal dose was also studied. The skin barrier was the weakest between days 22 and 26 of the cycle. Elevated neuronal response (lactic acid sting) was not observed to vary much with the cycle. Skin was driest between day 1 and day 6, while skin surface lipid secretion appeared to be highest on days 16,20 of the hormonal cycle. The highest microbial count was around days 16,22, and there was a high UV-B susceptibility between days 20 and 28 of the menstrual cycle. [source] A direct comparison of pulsed dye, alexandrite, KTP and Nd:YAG lasers and IPL in patients with previously treated capillary malformations,LASERS IN SURGERY AND MEDICINE, Issue 6 2008David J. McGill MRCS(Ed) Abstract Introduction Several studies have reported laser treatment of Capillary Malformations (CMs) using systems other than pulsed dye lasers (PDL). Few, however, have compared different systems in the same patients. This study aimed to directly compare CM fading using five different systems. Methods Eighteen previously PDL-treated patients were test-patched using the alexandrite, KTP, and Nd:YAG lasers and intense pulsed light (IPL) with additional PDL patches as a control. Pre- and post-treatment videomicroscopy, and colour measurements using Munsell colour charts were carried out. Results Four patients failed to respond to any test patches. The alexandrite laser test patches had the largest mean improvement in Munsell colour following treatment (P,=,0.023) and resulted in CM fading in 10 patients, although 4 patients developed hyperpigmentation, and 1 patient scarring, following treatment. In addition, the alexandrite laser caused a significant decrease in mean post-treatment capillary diameter (P,=,0.007), which was not mirrored by the other systems. The KTP and Nd:YAG lasers were least effective, with fading seen in two patients for both systems, whilst IPL patches resulted in CM fading in six patients. In addition, five patients had further CM fading using double-passed PDL treatment. Mean pre-treatment capillary diameter measurements were predictive of those patients likely to respond to laser treatment. Conclusions Alexandrite laser treatment was the most effective, but resulted in hyperpigmentation and scarring in four patients, probably due to its deeper penetration and lower specificity for oxyhaemoglobin causing non-specific dermal damage. Double passing of the PDL can result in further CM fading even in previously treated patients. Videomicroscopy measurements of capillary diameter before treatment may be predictive of the likelihood for patient's to respond to laser treatment. Lesers Surg. Med. 40:390,398, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The diverse CheC-type phosphatases: chemotaxis and beyondMOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 5 2008Travis J. Muff Summary A new class of protein phosphatases has emerged in the study of bacterial/archaeal chemotaxis, the CheC-type phosphatases. These proteins are distinct and unrelated to the well-known CheY-P phosphatase CheZ, though they have convergently evolved to dephosphorylate the same target. The family contains a common consensus sequence D/S-X3 -E-X2 -N-X22 -P that defines the phosphatase active site, of which there are often two per protein. Three distinct subgroups make up the family: CheC, FliY and CheX. Further, the CheC subgroup can be divided into three classes. Bacillus subtilis CheC typifies the first class and might function as a regulator of CheD. Class II CheCs likely function as phosphatases in systems other than chemotaxis. Class III CheCs are found in the archaeal class Halobacteria and might function as class I CheCs. FliY is the main phosphatase in the B. subtilis chemotaxis system. CheX is quite divergent from the rest of the family, forms a dimer and some may function outside chemotaxis. A model for the evolution of the family is discussed. [source] Nondopaminergic mechanisms in levodopa-induced dyskinesiaMOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 8 2005Jonathan M. Brotchie PhD Abstract It has become increasingly apparent that Parkinson's disease involves many transmitter systems other than dopamine. This nondopaminergic involvement impacts on the generation of symptoms, on the neurodegenerative process, but, most tellingly, in the generation of side effects of current treatments, in particular, levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID). Such mechanisms contribute not only to the expression of LID once it has been established but also to the mechanisms responsible for the development, or priming, of the dyskinetic state and the subsequent maintenance of the brain in that primed state. Within the basal ganglia, abnormalities in different nondopaminergic components of the circuitry have been defined in LID. In particular, a role for enhanced inhibition of basal ganglia outputs by the GABAergic direct pathway has been suggested as a basic mechanism generating LID. We speculate that the external globus pallidus and subthalamic nucleus may play distinct roles in different forms of dyskinesia, e.g., chorea/dystonia; peak/diphasic/off. At the cellular level, an appreciation of abnormal signaling by, among others, glutamatergic (NMDA and AMPA receptors in particular), ,2 adrenergic, serotonergic (5HT), cannabinoid and opioid mechanisms in both priming and expression of LID has begun to emerge over the last decade. This is being consolidated, though in many cases questions remain regarding the specific sites of such abnormality within the circuitry. Very recently, at the molecular level, mechanisms controlling neurotransmitter release and impacting on the ability of neurons to maintain particular forms of firing patterning and synchronization, e.g., SV2A, have been identified. This increased understanding has already delivered and will continue to define novel approaches to treatment that target both pre- and postsynaptic signaling molecules throughout the basal ganglia circuitry. © 2005 Movement Disorder Society [source] Proteome analysis of chick embryonic cerebrospinal fluidPROTEINS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS, Issue 1 2006Carolina Parada Abstract During early stages of embryo development, the brain cavity is filled with embryonic cerebrospinal fluid (E-CSF), a complex fluid containing different protein fractions that contributes to the regulation of the survival, proliferation and neurogenesis of the neuroectodermal stem cells. Using 2-DE, protein sequencing and database searches, we identified and analyzed the proteome of the E-CSF from chick embryos (Gallus gallus). We identified 26 different gene products, including proteins related to the extracellular matrix, proteins associated with the regulation of osmotic pressure and metal transport, proteins related to cell survival, MAP kinase activators, proteins involved in the transport of retinol and vitamin D, antioxidant and antimicrobial proteins, intracellular proteins and some unknown proteins. Most of these gene products are involved in the regulation of developmental processes during embryogenesis in systems other than E-CSF. Interestingly, 14 of them are also present in adult human CSF proteome, and it has been reported that they are altered in the CSF of patients suffering neurodegenerative diseases and/or neurological disorders. Understanding these molecules and the mechanisms they control during embryonic neurogenesis is a key contribution to the general understanding of CNS development, and may also contribute to greater knowledge of these human diseases. [source] Representing children's views and best interests in court: an international comparisonCHILD ABUSE REVIEW, Issue 4 2005Andy Bilson Abstract This paper provides a comparison of a number of alternative models of international practice in relation to the appointment and organization of guardians ad litem and other children's representatives in child care and family proceedings. The paper notes that, in their attempts to address the need for children to have representation in matters affecting their welfare, English-speaking countries have tended to conflate the two salient Articles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, that is, Article 3, which deals with the child's best interests, and Article 12, which deals with their right to express their wishes and feelings. Where systems other than ,stand alone' legal representation have been put in place, the child's representative is charged with both assessing their best interests and, often as a secondary duty, communicating their views. The paper concludes that for some groups of children in public or private law proceedings, an advocate (rather than a best interest oriented guardian, and where necessary in addition to a legal representative) may enable better representation of the child in the courts and greater participation by children in legal proceedings, an increased role for children as citizens and a fuller implementation of their rights. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Evidence for efflux pumps, other than PmrA, associated with fluoroquinolone resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniaeCLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION, Issue 2 2003N. P. Brenwald Fluoroquinolone resistance in pneumococci is known to be associated with the efflux pump, PmrA. However, there may be other efflux systems that also cause drug resistance. Two types of mutants were studied. The efflux phenotype from mutants selected by sub-MIC levofloxacin or gemifloxacin was transformed into R6. These transformants did not show increased pmrA transcripts in Northern blots; insertional inactivation of pmrA in the transformants did not abolish the efflux phenotype. A second set of efflux phenotype mutants was selected in R6:cat by ethidium bromide but not by norfloxacin; accumulation of ethidium bromide in the one among these mutants studied was reduced in comparison to its parent. This evidence suggests that systems other than PmrA can contribute to efflux-mediated resistance in pneumococci. [source] | ||||||||||