Peptide-urea interaction

The excess enthalpies of the ternary aqueous solutions containing urea and the glycyl-glycine, glycyl-L-alanine, L-alanyl-L-alanine and sarcosyl-sarcosine diketopiperazines respectively have been determined. A weak but favourable enthalpic contribution to the interaction between these solutes is found. The difference between “strong” and “weak” interactions in aqueous solutions of non-electrolytes is stressed and the role of water in the weak, non-specific interactions, is discussed. The consequence of the weakness of the urea-peptide interactions on the binding of urea to the proteins is also briefly discussed.     

Pancreatic Pseudocyst as a Cause of Gastrointestinal Bleeding and Hemobilia

A case of hemobilia from a pancreatic pseudocyst which developed after cholecystostomy and aspiration of the pseudocyst, intended to relieve biliary obstruction, is discussed. These previously reported cases are briefly reviewed.     

Of mice,men, and King Tut: autosomal recessive Klippel–Feil syndrome is caused by mutations in MEOX1

Mutations in MEOX1, encoding mesenchyme homeobox 1, cause Klippel‐Feil anomaly. Jawahir et al. (2013) The American Journal of Human Genetics 92: 157–161     

Presidential Elections and HIV-Related National Policies and Programs

The November 2016 general election and subsequent voting of the Electoral College resulted in the selection of Donald Trump as President of the United States. The incoming Administration ran a campaign that indicated a desire for substantial change in health policy, including the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). President Trump has said very little directly about HIV programs and policies, but some campaign positions (such as the repeal of the ACA) would clearly and substantially impact the lives of persons living with HIV. In this editorial, we highlight important HIV-related goals to which we must recommit ourselves, and we underscore several key points about evidence-based advocacy that are important to revisit at any time (but most especially when there is a change in Administration).     

Image Processing for the Evaluation of Gastric Ulcer Scars Using a Personal Computer

Abstract: Image processing of gastric ulcer scars was conducted using a computer-equipped electronic endoscope in order to quantitatively classify the quality of gastric ulcer scars. Frontal images of 66 gastric ulcer scars (red scar stage), in 60 patients, obtained by electronic endoscopy were fed into a desktop computer system. Ulcer scars were classified according to the standard deviation of green signal intensity and unevenness of the scar surface, following repeated application of smoothing, into three groups. Group I: ulcer scars with a standard deviation of green signal intensity less than or equal to 15 and a flat surface after smoothing had been carried out 10 times. Group II: ulcers other than Group I or III. Group III: ulcers with a standard deviation greater than or equal to 25 and markedly uneven features after smoothing had been carried out 20 times. Follow-up gastroscopy examinations were performed at 2-week intervals and the cumulative recurrence rate, as well as the transition from red scar stage to white scar phase, were determined 7 months after initial healing. There were 15 Group I, 28 Group II and 23 Group III ulcer scars. The proportion of ulcer relapse was 6.7% in Group I, 35.7% in Group II and 47.5% in Group III. Regarding the relationship between the transition rate from red scar to white scar and the scar classification, 66.7% of Group I, 28.6% of Group II and 17.4% of Group III ulcer scars progressed to the white scar stage. This classification of gastric ulcer scars provides a representative index of the quality of ulcer healing, which is potentially useful for planning maintenance treatment.