Anthraquinones of Cissus populnea Guill & Perr (Amplidaceae)

Cissus populnea has been used locally to treat many ailments such as venereal, stomach and skin infections; and also used as laxative or purgative. Economically it has been used as binder in food and in lining dye pits. This work aims at determining the type of anthraquinones from the stem bark of C. populnea which might be a potential source of drugs (laxative/cathartic) using thin layer chramatograpy (TLC) and senna leaf as reference. The analysis showed the stem bark anthroquinone extract to contain physcion and chrysophanol.     

TOMM40 poly-T repeat lengths, age of onset and psychosis risk in Alzheimer disease

Apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 alleles increase the risk for late-onset Alzheimer disease (LOAD) and decrease the age of onset. Recently, sequencing the APOE region in a small sample of LOAD subjects identified a variable length poly-T repeat sequence in the nearby gene, TOMM40, which may affect age of onset. We genotyped the TOMM40 poly-T repeat using a novel statistical approach to refine the identification of allele length in 892 LOAD subjects and evaluated its effects on age of onset. Because psychosis in LOAD is a heritable phenotype which has shown conflicting associations with APOE genotype, we also evaluated the association of poly-T repeat length with psychosis. Poly-T repeat lengths had a trimodal distribution which differed between APOE genotype groups. After accounting for APOE ε4 there was no association of poly-T repeat length with age of onset. Neither APOE ε4 nor poly-T repeat length was associated with psychosis. Our findings do not support the association of poly-T repeat length with age of onset in LOAD. The clinical implications of this repeat length polymorphism remain to be elucidated.     

Identification of a major pathogenicity determinant and suppressors of RNA silencing encoded by a South Pacific isolate of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Banana bunchy top virus</Emphasis> originating from Pakistan

Five genes encoded by Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) originating from Pakistan were expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana using a Potato virus X (PVX) vector. Expression of the master replication-associated protein (mRep) and movement protein (MP) resulted in necrotic cell death of inoculated tissues, as well as leaf curling and necrosis along the veins in newly emerging leaves. The systemic necrosis induced by the expression of MP was discolored (dark) in comparison to that induced by mRep. Expression of the cell-cycle link protein (Clink), the coat protein (CP), and the nuclear shuttle protein from the PVX vector induced somewhat milder symptoms, consisting of mild leaf curling and mosaic, although expression of the CP caused a necrotic response in inoculated leaf. The accumulation of viral RNA was enhanced by MP, Clink, and CP. Of the five BBTV-encoded gene products two, the MP and Clink, stabilized GFP-specific mRNA and reduced GFP-specific small interfering RNA in N. benthamiana line 16c when expressed under the control of the 35S promoter and co-inoculated with a construct for the expression of GFP hairpin RNA construct. These results identified MP and Clink as suppressors of RNA silencing. Taken together the ability of MP to induce severe symptoms in plants and suppress RNA silencing implicates this product as a major pathogenicity determinant of BBTV.     

Comparison of C-reactive protein levels in patients who do and do not develop atrial fibrillation during electrophysiologic study

C-reactive protein (CRP) was increased in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The aim of this study was to evaluate CRP after inducing AF in 39 patients undergoing electrophysiologic study (EPS). After a diagnostic EPS, programmed atrial stimulation with 3 extra stimuli from the right atrium was performed in all patients. CRP was measured before and 6 and 24 hours after the procedure. Patients in whom AF was induced were monitored for 24 hours. AF was induced in 18 of 39 patients. Twenty-one patients without a tachyarrhythmia constituted the control group. Groups were similar with regard to age, gender, incidences of hypertension and diabetes, and history of coronary artery disease. On average, AF lasted 4.8 hours, and spontaneous conversion to sinus rhythm was observed in all patients. There were no statistically significant differences with respect to baseline and 6-hour CRP values between groups. However, mean CRP at 24 hours was significantly higher in patients with AF compared with controls (10 +/- 11 and 3.9 +/- 4.2 mg/L; p = 0.04). In conclusion, induction of AF during EPS led to increased CRP. This finding suggested that increased CRP may be the consequence of AF.     

Treatment of distal humerus fractures

The elbow is a complex joint and is vital in positioning the hand in space. We believe that open reduction internal fixation offers the best chance for return to function following intra-articular fractures of the distal humerus. We advocate the following principles for the effective treatment of these injuries: identification and protection of the ulnar nerve followed by transposition, broad exposure of the fracture utilizing an olecranon osteotomy, anatomic restoration of the articular surface with preservation of all osteochondral fragments, rigid fixation of both columns using pre-contoured plates and screws, and the institution of early range of motion post-operatively.