Physical and Sexual Abuse and their Relation to Psychiatric Disorder and Suicidal Behavior among Adolescents who are Psychiatrically Hospitalized

Adolescents who were psychiatrically hospitalized ( N = 105) were classified as sexually abused, physically abused, both sexually and physically abused, or not abused, and studied to determine the prevalence of suicidal behavior and psychiatric disorders. Self-reports of hopelessness, depression, coping, and self-concept were also examined. No difference in suicidal behavior or psychiatric disorder, based on abuse history, was found, with one exception. Adolescents who were sexually abused, particularly those who experienced the most severe sexual abuse, used negative coping strategies more often than those not sexually abused. Findings suggest that symptomatology of adolescents who are psychiatrically hospitalized does not differ markedly based on history of abuse.     

A "housekeeping" gene on the X chromosome encodes a protein similar to ubiquitin

An X chromosome gene located 40 kilobases downstream from the G6PD gene, at Xq28, was isolated and sequenced. This gene, which we named GdX, spans about 3.5 kilobases of genomic DNA. GdX is a single-copy gene, is conserved in evolution, and has the features of a "housekeeping" gene. At its 5' end, a cluster of CpG dinucleotides is methylated on the inactive X chromosome and unmethylated on the active X chromosome. The GdX gene can code for a 157 amino acid protein, GdX. Residues 1-74 of GdX show 43% identity to ubiquitin, a highly conserved 76 amino acid protein. The COOH-terminal moiety of GdX is characterized in its central part (residues 110-128) by a sequence homologous to the COOH-terminal hormonogenic site of thyroglobulin. The structural organization of the GdX protein suggests the existence of a family of genes, in addition to the ubiquitin gene, that could play specific roles in key cellular processes, possibly through protein-protein recognition.     

Increased yield of full GBA sequencing in Ashkenazi Jews with Parkinson's disease

Background

Variants in GBA are the most common genetic risk factor for Parkinson's disease (PD), and are especially prevalent in the Ashkenazi Jewish (AJ) population. However, most studies on GBA in AJ genotype only seven selected Gaucher-associated pathogenic variants rather than sequencing the whole gene, which may leave carriers of PD-associated GBA variants undiscovered.

Is there a correlation between time of delivery and newborn cord pH?

Purpose: Since more senior and attending physicians work in labor wards during morning shifts, we expect a better delivery outcome during that time period.

Materials and methods: A retrospective study was conducted between 1/2005 and 12/2014. Records of 56 428 singleton deliveries from a tertiary hospital in which cord blood pH was routinely measured at birth were analyzed. Time of birth was divided into shifts: 7 AM–3?PM (morning shift), 3?PM–11?PM (afternoon shift), and 11?PM–7 AM (night shift). Additional stratification compared weekdays and weekend deliveries.

Results: 19?601, 18?429, and 18?398 neonates were born during morning, afternoon, and night shifts, respectively. There was no significant difference in maternal age, neonatal weight, or mean 5-min Apgar score among the three shift periods. Furthermore, there was no correlation between shift time of delivery and newborn acidosis with respect to cord pH less than 7 (0.1% in each time periods, p?=?0.67). Despite the above, instrumental deliveries and cesarean sections were more common in the morning shift compared to the afternoon and night shift, respectively (p?=?0.001 each).

Conclusions: Although shift time of delivery was found to be related to mode of delivery it was not related to either 5-min Apgar score or newborn acidosis as reflected by cord pH.     

Histological evaluation of residual basal cell carcinoma after shave biopsy prior to Mohs micrographic surgery

Background Patients who are referred for Mohs surgery after pre‐operative biopsy has been performed show in some cases no clinical or pathological evidence of tumour persistence. We have previously shown that 25% of these patients show no residual skin cancer either basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma. The reasons for ‘disappearance’ of the tumour may be true non‐persistence or false non‐persistence because of wrong‐site Mohs surgery. Objective To determine the incidence of residual basal cell carcinoma after shave biopsy of primary nodular basal cell carcinoma prior to Mohs micrographic surgery. Methods A prospective unblinded study was performed on patients undergoing Mohs surgery for primary nodular basal cell carcinoma. The tumour was removed as a shaved excision using a No. 15 blade at the clinical borders like a shave biopsy (Mohs shave). The bases of the tumors were excised and then sectioned vertically at the middle and cut to the periphery at 10–15 μm intervals till the edge. Results Fifty‐one patients were evaluated. In 40 patients, residual basal cell carcinoma was found at the base of the shave excision site (78.4%). Conclusions Pre‐operative shave biopsy performed during Mohs surgery for primary nodular basal cell carcinoma is ‘curative’ in 22% of the patients.     

Ubiquitin degradation with its substrate,or as a monomer in a ubiquitination-independent mode,provides clues to proteasome regulation

The mechanisms that regulate the ubiquitin (Ub)-proteasome system''s own components, although critically important, are largely unknown. Ub, a principal component of the system, must be maintained at adequate levels to support cellular homeostasis under basal and stressed conditions. It was suggested that Ub is degraded as part of the polyubiquitin chain along with its substrate. Here, we demonstrate in a direct manner that Ub is indeed degraded in a “piggyback” mechanism. Also, it has been shown that monomeric Ub can be rapidly degraded when a C-terminal tail of a minimal length is fused to it. The tail, which may represent the substrate or part of it, or a naturally occurring extended form of Ub, probably allows entry of the protein into the 20S catalytic chamber, while Ub serves as an anchor to the 19S complex. Here, we show that shorter-tailed Ubs, such as UBB⁺¹, bind to the proteasome but because they cannot be efficiently degraded, they inhibit the degradation of other Ub system''s substrates such as Myc, p21, Mdm2, and MyoD. The inhibition depends on the ability of the tailed Ubs to be ubiquitinated: their mere binding to the proteasome is not sufficient. Interestingly, the inhibition affects only substrates that must undergo ubiquitination for their degradation: ornithine decarboxylase that is targeted by the proteasome in a Ub-independent manner, is not affected by the short-tailed ubiquitinated Ubs, suggesting it binds to the 19S complex in a site different from that to which ubiquitinated substrates bind.     

Functional magnetic resonance imaging monitoring of pathological changes in rodent livers during hyperoxia and hypercapnia

Liver diseases and regeneration are associated with hemodynamic changes denoting pathological alterations. Determining and monitoring physiological and pathological liver changes is essential for diagnostic and therapeutic objectives. Our aim was to determine the feasibility of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during hypercapnia and hyperoxia for monitoring liver pathology. Liver fMRI images were acquired in rodents following acute bleeding, partial hepatectomy, and fibrosis. Results were quantitated and confirmed by histology. Changes induced by hyperoxia and hypercapnia following hemorrhage significantly correlated with the percentage of blood loss, reflecting lower liver perfusion and diminished vessel responsiveness to gas saturation. Hepatectomy resulted in an early decline in signal intensity changes due to hyperoxia, suggesting a decrease in liver perfusion and blood content. Following hepatectomy, signal intensity changes due to hypercapnia increased, signifying a change in liver perfusion from a mainly portal to a more arterial source. Two weeks after induction of fibrosis, signal intensity changes due to hypercapnia became much lower and those due to hyperoxia were much higher than those in normal livers, reflecting the increased perfusion due to the inflammatory process as confirmed by histologic analysis. With fibrosis progression, signal intensity changes induced by hypercapnia and hyperoxia were gradually attenuated, indicating structural and functional alterations of the liver vasculature during fibrosis. CONCLUSION: In various liver pathologies, fMRI response to hypercapnia and hyperoxia is sensitive to changes in liver hemodynamic status involved in hepatic damage or recovery; thus, this technique may offer an additional noninvasive diagnostic tool for evaluation and follow-up of liver diseases by means of examining perfusion-related alterations.