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The location of the sites of covalent modification in blocked ricin were investigated. The amino acid residues of the ricin B chain covalently linked to reactive affinity ligands obtained from glycopeptides with triantennary N-linked oligosaccharides were determined by a method that exploited the disulfide moiety of the affinity ligand as a site for labeling with a purification tag. Results indicate that the two ligands of blocked ricin were covalently linked to the B chain at Lys 62 and Tyr 148.

Stopped-flow absorbance and fluorescence techniques help study the kinetics of folding of guanidine-denatured hen egg white lysozyme and of a three-disulfide derivative of lysozyme. Fluorescence data show the involvement of a transient intermediate during the fast refolding phase and quenching studies help characterize the intermediate. The sulfide derivatives attain folded conformations faster than the unmodified proteins. Disulfide bond between Cys(6) and Cys(127) decreases the folding of lysozyme and directs the folding of lysozyme through a mechanism involving non-native tertiary interaction of a tryptophan residue.

Points to distinctive elements in four award-winning high school yearbooks and one award-winning college yearbook. Includes page reproductions from each yearbook. (GT)

Reports on the use of practical practice guidlines in medical care to help with the provision of quality care for elderly patients. Benefits of such guidelines in proper care management; Standards neccesary for the implementation of these guidlines; Mention of outcome measurements. INSET: CME series: Managed care and the older patient.

Purpose: Patients with heart failure (HF) have notably poor health-related quality of life (HRQOL). A 5-point improvement in HRQOL is associated with reduction in hospitalization and mortality rates. Heart failure symptoms are associated with poor HRQOL, but little is known about whether changes in HF symptoms lead to changes in HRQOL over time. Therefore, we examined the association of changes in HF symptoms with changes in overall, physical, and emotional aspects of HRQOL over a 12-month period, controlling for typical covariates., Methods: Data on HF symptoms and HRQOL (Minnesota Living Heart Failure questionnaire) were collected from 94 patients with HF (mean age, 58 years; 58.5% female) at baseline and 12-month follow-up. Psychosocial factors (depressive symptoms, perceived control, and social support), behavioral factors (medication adherence and sodium intake), sociodemographic and clinical factors (age, comorbidities, and body mass index), and a physical factor (functional status) were collected at baseline. Multiple and logistic regression analyses were used to analyze the data., Results: In complete models, changes in HF symptoms were associated with changes in the total HRQOL (P < .001) and the physical (P < .001) and emotional (P < .001) aspects of HRQOL over 12 months, controlling for all the factors. Changes in HF symptoms were significantly associated with the likelihood of at least a 5-point improvement in HRQOL (P = .001), controlling for covariates., Conclusions: Improvement in HF symptoms was associated with improvement in HRQOL over 12 months. Thus, development and delivery of interventions that target improvement in HF symptoms may improve HRQOL.