Proteome research based on modern liquid chromatography – tandem mass spectrometry: separation, identification and quantification

Summary. Recent developments of new generations of mass spectrometers and improvements in the field of chromatography have revolutionized protein analytics. Particularly the combination of liquid chromatography as a separation tool for proteins and peptides with tandem mass spectrometry as an identification tool referred to as LC-MS/MS has generated a powerful and broadly used technique in the field of proteomics. The resolution and sensitivity of state-of-the-art LC-MS/MS systems has reached dimensions allowing not only the analysis of individual proteins but also investigations on the level of complete proteomes. However, the enormous complexity and the extreme concentration range of proteins within typical eukaryotic proteomes are still the major challenge of this technique. This review gives an overview of modern LC-MS/MS based proteomics, describing state-of-the-art chromatography and modern mass spectrometry. Strategies to perform quantitative proteomics will be presented and capabilities as well as current limitations of this innovative methodology will be discussed.     

A randomized pilot test of “moms on the move”: A physical activity intervention for WIC mothers

Background: Sedentary mothers are important to reach with physical activity promotion.Purpose: This study pilot tested “Moms on the Move” a Transtheoretical Model (TTM)-derived physical activity (PA) intervention for low-income mothers enrolled in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. Method: Sedentary mothers (N = 44) were randomized to (a) Moms on the Move (PA intervention) or (b) counseling on self-breast examination (control). Pre- and posttest measurement (baseline and 2 weeks after the 8-weekinterventions) included (a) stage of PA behavior change, (b) PA behavior, (c) selected TTM constructs, and (d) social support. Pre- and posidifference scores, chi-square, and one-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were used.Results: The experimental group progressed in stage of change more than control, x²(1, N = 44)=20.50, p < .001. The experimental group had greater PA behavior: weekly minutes of PA, F(l, 42) = 46.85, p< .001; daily energy expenditure (EE), F(1, 42) = 23.01,p < .001; and weekly moderate PA EE, F(1, 42) = 32.63, p < .001. Experimental subgroup (n = 11) step counts increased pre-post, t(l 0)=6.16,p7lt;. 001. AnANOVA showed that the experimental group had greater improvements in all TTM constructs and social support, ps < .001.Conclusions: WIC mothers are at risk for sedentary living and have not been targeted for PA behavior change using a provider-counseled approach. Although further testing is needed, Moms on the Move appears to be efficacious. This study was supported by a National Research Service Award, predoctoral fellowship, from the National Institutes of Health, National institute of Nursing Research, No. F31 NR07420-01A1. Nancy L. Fahrenwald acknowledges the support of South Dakota State University for doctoral education.     

A rapid method for species identification and interspecies introgression based on a PCR–RFLP: application to the closely related Neotropical toads Rhinella marina and R. schneideri (Anura: Bufonidae)

Toad species Rhinella marina and R. schneideri (Bufonidae, Anura) are widely distributed in Amazon and Cerrado/Caatinga, respectively. Recent data has hypothesized that these two toad species share a history of a massive introgressive hybridization. Therefore, the aim of the present work was the precise identification of organisms with signs of past introgression or actual ongoing hybridization. In this paper we conducted a method based on polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism, through the use of the CfoI enzyme. The individuals of R. marina have two specific digested bands, which is not digested in R. schneideri, possessing the hybrids three bands. The method was very efficient and allowed fast identification of these species.     

Should the definition of “sleep hygiene” be antedated of a century? A historical note based on an old book by Paolo Mantegazza, rediscovered

The article contains a historical note on the concept of sleep hygiene, developed in 1977 by Peter Hauri, who developed a set of sleep-promoting rules, considered the fundament for sleep-hygiene techniques. Somnologists, unanimously ascribed to Hauri the fatherhood of the lucky term, while numerous books included at least a section on sleep hygiene. “Inadequate sleep hygiene” was included as a nosological entity in the International Classification of Sleep Disorders. This article intends to demonstrate that the concept of sleep hygiene was developed many years before, thanks to the pioneering work of Paolo Mantegazza, a scientist and a professor in the Medical School of the University of Pavia, Italy. After presenting briefly the history of the University of Pavia and illustrating the profile of Paolo Mantegazza, the article presents the original book published by Mantegazza in 1864 (second edition in 1865). The authors report extensive citations of Mantegazza’s original book dealing with sleep hygiene. Mantegazza’s indications, compared with Hauri’s rules show important similarities. The authors support the view that the fatherhood of sleep hygiene should be acknowledged to Mantegazza and antedated to 1864. Hauri keeps the merit of giving more solid scientific roots to the concept of sleep hygiene and of inserting it in the frame of modern sleep medicine.     

“The COVID-19 Pandemic and its Effect on Mental Health in USA – A Review with Some Coping Strategies”

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in enormous losses in terms of human lives and economy in United States. The outbreak has been continuing to heavily impact the mental health of people. Developing key strategies to prevent mental illnesses is extremely important for the well-being of people. A survey conducted during the last week of March 2020 showed that 72% of Americans felt that their lives were impacted by the outbreak, which was a 32% increase from the survey conducted only 2 weeks earlier. The results show a positive correlation between COVID-19 infections/casualties and growing public concern. These observations suggest possible increase in mental health illnesses in United States as a consequence of the pandemic. The authors review a recently published model on COVID-19 related fear among the people. The fear of being infected or dying from the disease is one of the most significant causes of mental health disorders. Loss of employment or the fear of losing employment is another major concern leading to mental illnesses. Several unique strategies to prevent or mitigate mental illnesses are discussed.

     

The Comprehensive Aphasia Test: A review. Commentary on Howard,Swinburn, and Porter, “Putting the CAT out: What the Comprehensive Aphasia Test has to offer”

Abstract

Mechanisms of the recovery of a Japanese alexic without agraphia were discussed in terms of kana (Japanese syllabaries) and kanji (Japanese-Chinese characters or logograms). In the course of the therapy where kinesthetic facilitation was predominantly emphasized, our patient showed improvement in reading kana and kanji aloud with actions of copying them. At the later stage improvement was also observed in reading aloud without the copying actions. We also observed that the number of correctly read components of a character increased. Follow-up studies to investigate mechanisms of the patient's recovery revealed the following results: (1) his right hand improved in copying familiar kanji while the same hand was still impaired in copying unused kanji and in tracing kanji regardless of frequency, and (2) his ability to read kana aloud was significantly hindered by the concurrent task of triangular repetitive movements with the right upper limb although it was not hindered by tapping with the same limb. It is inferred that participation of kinesthetic images of characters rather than restoration of visual images contributed to the improvement in reading aloud in our patient. Visual stimuli received in his right visual cortex presumably became able to evoke a kinesthetic image of characters in the language areas by way of intact parts of commissural fibres.     

Commentary on: “The response and survival of children with recurrent diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma based on phase II study of antineoplastons A10 and AS2-1 in patients with brainstem glioma.” By Burzynski et al.

A potential effective therapy for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is far to be developed. There are no “shortcuts” to reach this goal. Only a rigid, scientific, and ethically correct approach can help develop effective therapeutic approaches for such a devastating brain tumor. There are no alternative ways. The children affected by DIPG deserve to become the focus of serious collaborative researches. For these children, there are many “lacks” which should be promptly corrected such as the lack of knowledge, the lack of basic and clinical scientists’ passion to the problem of finding “the solution” for DIPG, the lack of rigid methods to run research in this frustrating field, the lack of research proposals, and the lack of serious, despite not magic, protocols to offer them.     

Letting the CAT out of the bag: A review of the Comprehensive Aphasia Test. Commentary on Howard,Swinburn, and Porter, “Putting the CAT out: What the Comprehensive Aphasia Test has to offer”

Abstract

Loss and the feelings associated with it permeate all significant occurrences of aphasia, apraxia, and dysarthria. In aphasic, apraxic and dysarthric patients there is a painful separation from loved ones and valued objects, and reduced levels of functioning. Neurogenic communication disorders, and concomitantly occurring pathologies are frequently the source of many real and symbolic losses. They occur rapidly, with little time to prepare. Often the aware patient is overcome by loss and the human reaction to it: the grief response. This paper addresses the dimensions of loss and reactions typically observed in patients with neuropathologies of speech and language.     

It’s Not Just What You Do,but What’s on Your Mind: A Review of Kwame Anthony Appiah’s “Experiments in Ethics”

What is the impact of science on philosophy? In “Experiments in Ethics”, Kwame Anthony Appiah addresses this question for morality and ethics. Appiah suggests that scientific results may undermine moral intuitions by undermining our confidence in the actual sources of our intuitions, or by invalidating our factual assumptions about the causes of human behavior. Appiah worries that scientific results showing situational causes on human behavior force us to abandon the intuition, formalized in virtue ethics, that what matters is “who you are on the inside”. In this review, we agree with Appiah that scientific results at once force and do not force us to abandon this intuition. We also propose that Appiah’s worry is due in part to an over-simplified conception of “internal causes”, shared widely among scientists and philosophers. By re-introducing the true richness of internal causes invoked in moral judgments, we hope to relax the tension between scientific results and moral intuitions. Ultimately, we propose that science can undermine and constrain but cannot affirm our commitment to specific moral intuitions.     

Commentary on “A roadmap for the prevention of dementia II. Leon Thal Symposium 2008.” Recruitment of participants for Alzheimer's disease clinical trials: The role of trust in caregivers,clinical researchers,regulatory authorities,and industry sponsors

A major barrier to progress in Alzheimer's disease treatment research is the increasingly difficult task of recruiting elderly participants into clinical trials. We conducted an anonymous online survey of 676 adults (average age, 50 years) to examine perceived trust in different components of our healthcare-delivery and clinical-research systems, as well as willingness to participate in clinical trials. Respondents indicated the greatest amount of trust in family members, followed by family physicians. Only 3% of respondents “completely” trusted clinical researchers, whereas 62% of respondents trusted them “somewhat” to care for them during the course of a clinical trial. Trust in clinical researchers was modestly negatively correlated with income (r = ?0.165, P < .001), but was not significantly related to sex, race, or education. Respondents indicated the least amount of trust in industry sponsors, followed by regulatory authorities.