HLA class I genotyping including HLA-B*51 allele typing in the Iranian patients with Behçet's disease

It is well known that Beh?et's disease (BD) is strongly associated with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) B51 in many ethnic groups. However, there has been no published report as yet with respect to this association among the Iranian people. Furthermore, since it is now known that the B51 antigen can be encoded by 21 alleles, B*5101-B*5121, we performed HLA-B*51 allele typing as well as HLA class I genotyping of 48 Iranian patients with this disease. As a result, the frequency of the B*51 allele was significantly higher (62.1%) in the patient group as compared with the ethnically matched control group (31.8%) (Pc=0.067, R.R.=3.51). In the genotyping of B*51 alleles, 33 out of the 36 B*51-positive patients possessed B*5101 and the remaining 3 carried B*5108. This study revealed that Iranian patients with BD also had a strong association with HLA-B51. In addition, this significantly high incidence of HLA-B*51 was found to be caused by an increase in both the HLA-B*5101 and HLA-B*5108 alleles. However, there was no significant difference in the HLA-B*51 allelic distribution between the patient and control groups.     

Coping in dieting and eating disorders: a population-based study

The use of different coping strategies, measured by the Ways of Coping Questionnaire was investigated among 1157 women (18 to 30 years), randomly selected from the general population of Sweden as part of a longitudinal study. Subjects were clustered into five groups: subjects with past or current eating disorders (ED), and subjects with no ED but with past, current, or no history of dieting. Subjects with past or current ED reported significantly higher levels of escape avoidance and lower levels of seeking social support and purposeful problem solving compared with subjects with neither ED nor dieting. These group comparisons were then reanalyzed with sum of depressive symptoms as a covariate in covariate analyses. The only significant difference between the groups concerned the use of escape avoidance. The significant differences in the use of escape-avoidance strategies may motivate more extensive training in coping in the context of prevention and treatment of ED and maladaptive dieting.     

Structural divergence of paralogous S components from ECF-type ABC transporters

Energy coupling factor (ECF) proteins are ATP-binding cassette transporters involved in the import of micronutrients in prokaryotes. They consist of two nucleotide-binding subunits and the integral membrane subunit EcfT, which together form the ECF module and a second integral membrane subunit that captures the substrate (the S component). Different S components, unrelated in sequence and specific for different ligands, can interact with the same ECF module. Here, we present a high-resolution crystal structure at 2.1 Å of the biotin-specific S component BioY from Lactococcus lactis. BioY shares only 16% sequence identity with the thiamin-specific S component ThiT from the same organism, of which we recently solved a crystal structure. Consistent with the lack of sequence similarity, BioY and ThiT display large structural differences (rmsd = 5.1 Å), but the divergence is not equally distributed over the molecules: The S components contain a structurally conserved N-terminal domain that is involved in the interaction with the ECF module and a highly divergent C-terminal domain that binds the substrate. The domain structure explains how the S components with large overall structural differences can interact with the same ECF module while at the same time specifically bind very different substrates with subnanomolar affinity. Solitary BioY (in the absence of the ECF module) is monomeric in detergent solution and binds D-biotin with a high affinity but does not transport the substrate across the membrane.     

Proposing an ensemble learning model based on neural network and fuzzy system for keratoconus diagnosis based on Pentacam measurements

International Ophthalmology - The present study was done to evaluate efficiency of an ensemble learning structure for automatic keratoconus diagnosis and to categorize eyes into four different...     

Using the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure to Compare Implicit Pro-Thin/Anti-Fat Attitudes of Patients With Anorexia Nervosa and Non-Clinical Controls

Implicit pro-thin/anti-fat attitudes were investigated among a mixed group of patients with full and sub-threshold Anorexia Nervosa (n = 17), and a matched-age control group (n = 17). The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) was employed to measure implicit pro-thin and anti-fat attitudes towards Self and Others in addition to “striving for thinness” and “avoidance of fatness.” The clinical group showed an implicit pro-fat attitude towards Others and stronger anti-fat attitudes towards Self and avoidance of fatness compared with controls. The findings are discussed in relation to the over-evaluation of weight and shape in the clinical group.     

Accelerometer-Measured Versus Self-Reported Physical Activity Levels and Sedentary Behavior in Women Before and 9 Months After Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass

Background

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) patients report significant pre- to post-surgery increases in physical activity (PA). Conversely, objectively assessed PA does not increase after RYGB. The aim of the study was to compare self-reported and accelerometer-measured changes in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and exercise from pre- to post-surgery, in women undergoing RYGB.

Methods

Forty-three women with an average pre-surgery body mass index of 39.2 kg/m2 (SD 3.1) were recruited at Swedish hospitals. PA was measured by the Actigraph GT3X+ and by a previously validated short PA questionnaire, at home visits 3 months before and 9 months after surgery, thus limiting seasonal effects.

Results

Self-reported time spent in exercise increased with 75 % and time spent in MVPA increased with 51 %, whereas accelerometer-assessed time spent in exercise increased with 0.9 % and time spent in MVPA increased with 2.1 %, from before to after surgery. Correlations comparing accelerometers with the questionnaire were 0.35 (P?=?0.02) for MVPA and 0.13 (P?=?0.4) for exercise before RYGB and 0.52 (P?≤?0.001) for MVPA and 0.12 (P?=?0.4) for exercise after RYGB.

Conclusions

Pre- to post-RYGB surgery increases in self-reported PA were not confirmed by accelerometer-measured PA. Thus, health care workers should use objective measures of PA in patients undergoing RYGB, in order to assess whether patients achieve sufficient levels of PA.

     

Upper cervical instability associated with rheumatoid arthritis: a case report

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) affects between 1 and 2 million individuals in the United States. Atlantoaxial instability (AAI) has been shown to have 40–85% prevalence among individuals with RA. Despite the high incidence of craniovertebral involvement, overt symptoms of instability are rare. The high risk of AAI and limited symptomology should increase therapist suspicion of potential contraindications and precautions to initiation of therapy for the cervical spine without prior diagnostic imaging. The purpose of this case study is to describe the historical, clinical, and diagnostic imaging complexity of AAI associated with RA, and to illustrate the use of these factors in the clinical reasoning within a patient case.