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Rhodococcus equi is a rare human opportunistic pathogen that has been increasingly reported in recent decades. It mainly affects immunosuppressed patients, and in particular human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–infected patients, where it typically presents as cavitary pneumonia. Early treatment with combined and effective antimicrobials and antiretroviral therapy after prompt diagnosis is essential to ensure an optimal outcome. We present a case series of three human Rhodococcus equi infections in HIV-infected patients with advanced immune suppression, treated at the University Hospital of Antwerp, Belgium.

Introduction: Bassen-Kornzweig syndrome or abetalipoproteinemia is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by a malabsorption of dietary fat and fat-soluble vitamins. This deficiency can lead to a variety of symptoms, including hematological (acanthocytosis, bleeding tendency), neurological (tremor, spinocerebellar ataxia), neuromuscular (myopathy), ophthalmological symptoms (retinitis pigmentosa). The thalamic ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM) is a well-established target for deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the treatment of refractory tremor. Research question: We evaluated the clinical long-term follow-up (22 years) after VIM-DBS for refractory tremor in abetalipoproteinemia. We also evaluated the adjustments of stimulation settings and medication balance after DBS procedure. Material and methods: We report a 53-year-old male who suffers from abetalipoproteinemia since the age of 17. He underwent bilateral VIM-DBS to treat his disabling refractory intentional tremor at the age of 31. He still has a very good response to his tremor with limited stimulation adaptations over 22 years. For more than two decades follow-up, the treatment significantly improved his ADL functions and therefore also the QoL. Discussion and conclusion: The VIM target for DBS in the treatment of refractory tremor has been extensively reported in the literature. Thalamic VIM-DBS is a safe and effective treatment for a severe, refractory tremor as a neurological symptom caused by abetalipoproteinemia. It also highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary follow-up, to adjust and optimize the stimulation/medication balance after VIM-DBS surgery.

Objectives: Linezolid-resistant opportunistic human pathogens Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium are emerging health threats as limited therapeutic options remain. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology, resistance mechanisms, and genetic diversity of linezolid-resistant enterococci (LRE) isolated between 2013 and 2021 and received at the Belgian National Reference Centre (NRC) for Enterococci., Methods: Linezolid susceptibility testing was performed upon request on 2458 submitted enterococci strains. Whole-genome sequencing was performed on all LRE strains., Results: Seventy-eight LRE human isolates, of which 63 (81%) E. faecalis and 15 (19%) E. faecium strains, were submitted to the Belgian NRC for Enterococci. Of the linezolid-resistant E. faecalis strains, 97% harboured the optrA gene (56% wild-type pE349) and 3% the poxtA gene. Of the linezolid-resistant E. faecium strains, 54% harboured the G2576T point mutation in the V domain of the 23S rRNA genes, 23% the poxtA, and 23% the optrA gene. Furthermore, two E. faecium strains were identified with a combination of two resistance mechanisms ([i] optrA and poxtA, and [ii] cfr(B) and G2576T point mutation, respectively). Vancomycin resistance was observed in 15% (n = 12) of the LRE. ST480 (n = 42/63 typed strains, 67%) was the most frequently detected sequence type (ST) in linezolid-resistant E. faecalis strains, while ST203 (n = 5/15 typed strains, 33%) was the most frequently detected ST in linezolid-resistant E. faecium strains., Conclusions: E. faecalis isolates harbouring optrA were the predominant LRE in Belgium, with ST480 as the most prominent multilocus sequence typing. Linezolid resistance in E. faecium could be attributed to either chromosomal mutations or transferable resistance determinants., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Deep brain stimulation of the nucleus ventralis intermedius (VIM-DBS) is considered a safe and effective treatment for medically intractable essential tremor (ET). However, ventriculomegaly can provide a surgical challenge, as there is an increased risk of breaching the ventricle during the procedure, with potential risk of intraventricular hemorrhage and target displacement., Case Description: In this case series, we report successful bilateral VIM-DBS in a 72-year-old and 69-year-old female ET patient with significant ventriculomegaly. VIM-DBS therapy provided an excellent tremor response. After 5 years, a ventriculoperitoneal shunt was implanted in the first patient due to an incomplete Hakim-Adams triad, with significant improvement in gait and cognition., Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, we present the first report on VIM-DBS in ET patients with ventriculomegaly and illustrate that VIM-DBS can provide an excellent tremor response in patients with medically intractable ET, even in the context of marked ventriculomegaly., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2024 Surgical Neurology International.)

Background: Nontyphoidal Salmonella serovars predominantly cause gastrointestinal infections. However, other clinical presentations, including urogenital infections, have been reported, although they are rather rare., Case Presentation: This case is about a 33-year-old woman diagnosed with Salmonella enterica serovar Hvittingfoss ( S. Hvittingfoss) bacteremia and endometritis six days post uterine aspiration in the context of a missed abortion. She had traveled to Indonesia two weeks prior to the positive blood and cervical culture. She never developed gastrointestinal symptoms but was found to carry S. Hvittingfoss in her stool sample. The patient was successfully treated with a seven-day course of iv ciprofloxacin., Conclusions: S. Hvittingfoss is a rare serovar that has caused a few outbreaks of foodborne infections in Asia, the United States, and Australia. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of Salmonella urogenital infection caused by this serovar. Salmonella as a cause of urogenital infections is rare but not uncommon. Therefore, it should be considered in identifying members of the Enterobacterales among urogenital flora in cases of severe urogenital infections, especially when other cultures remain negative.

Introduction: The B.1.617.2 SARS-CoV-2 or Delta variant, first detected in India, has shown a rapid global spread due to its high transmissibility and now represents more than 99% of the currently circulating variants in Europe., Methods and Result: In May 2021, two ships that had recently arrived in the Port of Antwerp reported crew members with COVID-like symptoms. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in nasopharyngeal swabs in 30 out of 45 skippers and the B.1.617.2 variant was identified via whole genome sequencing. Crew members were isolated or quarantined and repeatedly tested to assess the evolution of their SARS-CoV-2 viral load based on the cycle threshold (CT) values of the PCR reaction. Viral cultures were also taken at day 7 to detect viable virus and were compared with the subjects CT value at that moment. The shipper's clinical condition was closely observed using a digital home monitoring tool. Eleven crew members (37%) required hospitalization, with CT values of SARS-CoV-2 RNA being a good predictive factor for the hospitalization need. Furthermore, a clear correlation between CT values and positive viral culture was observed, hinting infectiousness even longer than 10 days after the intitial positive PCR test., Conclusion: Our study of 2 Delta variant clusters shows that the initial CT value is a good predictor for hospitalization need and suggests that patients infected with this variant may remain infectious for a longer time period.

The use of saliva for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sparks debate due to presumed lower sensitivity and lack of standardization. Our aim was to evaluate the performance characteristics of (i) saliva collected by the ORAcollect TM device as a matrix for SARS-CoV-2 reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and (ii) 2 saliva rapid antigen tests (AgRDT). From 342 ambulatory individuals, both a nasopharyngeal swab and saliva sample via ORAcollect TM were obtained for a SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test. Furthermore, 54 and 123 additionally performed the V-Chek TM or Whistling TM saliva AgRDT. In total, 35% of individuals screened positive for SARS-CoV-2 via nasopharyngeal swab. Saliva, as a matrix for the RT-PCR, had a specificity of 96.5% and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 91.3%. Interestingly, 6 out of 8 patients thought to be false positive in saliva re-tested positive by nasopharyngeal sampling after 2 to 9 days. Both V-Chek TM and Whistling TM AgRDT had a lack of sensitivity, resulting in an NPV of 66.9 and 67.3%, respectively. Saliva proved to be a sensitive and specific matrix for SARS-CoV-2 detection by the RT-PCR. In this setting, saliva might have an earlier window of detection than the nasopharyngeal swab. By contrast, both AgRDT showed an unacceptably low sensitivity and NPV.

From early 2020, a high demand for SARS-CoV-2 tests was driven by several testing indications, including asymptomatic cases, resulting in the massive roll-out of PCR assays to combat the pandemic. Considering the dynamic of viral shedding during the course of infection, the demand to report cycle threshold (Ct) values rapidly emerged. As Ct values can be affected by a number of factors, we considered that harmonization of semi-quantitative PCR results across laboratories would avoid potential divergent interpretations, particularly in the absence of clinical or serological information. A proposal to harmonize reporting of test results was drafted by the National Reference Centre (NRC) UZ/KU Leuven, distinguishing four categories of positivity based on RNA copies/mL. Pre-quantified control material was shipped to 124 laboratories with instructions to setup a standard curve to define thresholds per assay. For each assay, the mean Ct value and corresponding standard deviation was calculated per target gene, for the three concentrations (10 7 , 10 5 and 10 3 copies/mL) that determine the classification. The results of 17 assays are summarized. This harmonization effort allowed to ensure that all Belgian laboratories would report positive PCR results in the same semi-quantitative manner to clinicians and to the national database which feeds contact tracing interventions.

Objectives: To evaluate a testing algorithm for the rapid identification of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants that includes the use of PCR-based targeted single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) detection assays preceded by a multiplex PCR sensitive to S-Gene Target Failure (SGTF)., Methods: PCR SNP assays targeting SARS-CoV-2 S-gene mutations ΔH69-V70, L452R, E484K, N501Y, H655Y and P681R using melting curve analysis were performed on 567 samples in which SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA was detected by a multiplex PCR. Viral whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was performed to confirm the presence of SNPs and to identify the Pangolin lineage. Additionally, 1133 SARS-CoV-2 positive samples with SGTF were further assessed by WGS to determine the presence of ΔH69-V70., Results: The N501Y-specific assay (n = 567) had an overall percentage agreement (OPA) of 98.5%. The ΔH69-V70-specific (n = 178) and E484K-specific (n = 401) assays had OPA of 96.6% and 99.7%, respectively. Assessment of H655Y (n = 139) yielded a 100.0% concordance when applied in the proposed algorithm. The L452R-specific (n = 67) and P681R-specific (n = 62) assays had an OPA of 98.2% and 98.1%, respectively. The proposed algorithm identified six variants of concern/interest (VOC/VOI)-Alpha (n = 149), Beta (n = 65), Gamma (n = 86), Delta (n = 49), Eta (n = 6), Kappa (n = 6)-and 205 non-VOC/VOI strains-including the variants under monitoring B.1.214.2 (n = 43) and B.1.1.318 (n = 18) and Epsilon (n = 1). An excellent concordance was observed for the identification of all SARS-CoV-2 lineages evaluated., Conclusions: We present a flexible testing algorithm for the rapid detection of current and emerging SARS-CoV-2 VOC/VOIs, which can be easily adapted based on the local endemicity of specific variants., (Copyright © 2021 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The incidence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in the Belgian community is mainly estimated based on test results of patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-like symptoms. The aim of this study was to investigate the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positivity ratio and distribution of viral loads within a cohort of asymptomatic patients screened prior hospitalization or surgery, stratified by age category., Materials/methods: We retrospectively studied data on SARS-CoV-2 real-time RT-PCR detection in respiratory tract samples of asymptomatic patients screened pre-hospitalization or pre-surgery in nine Belgian hospitals located in Flanders over a 12-month period (1 April 2020-31 March 2021)., Results: In total, 255925 SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test results and 2421 positive results for which a viral load was reported, were included in this study. An unweighted overall SARS-CoV-2 real-time RT-PCR positivity ratio of 1.27% was observed with strong spatiotemporal differences. SARS-CoV-2 circulated predominantly in 80+ year old individuals across all time periods except between the first and second COVID-19 wave and in 20-30 year old individuals before the second COVID-19 wave. In contrast to the first wave, a significantly higher positivity ratio was observed for the 20-40 age group in addition to the 80+ age group compared to the other age groups during the second wave. The median viral load follows a similar temporal evolution as the positivity rate with an increase ahead of the second wave and highest viral loads observed for 80+ year old individuals., Conclusion: There was a high SARS-CoV-2 circulation among asymptomatic patients with a predominance and highest viral loads observed in the elderly. Moreover, ahead of the second COVID-19 wave an increase in median viral load was noted with the highest overall positivity ratio observed in 20-30 year old individuals, indicating they could have been the hidden drivers of this wave., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: It is currently unclear whether severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) reinfection will remain a rare event, only occurring in individuals who fail to mount an effective immune response, or whether it will occur more frequently when humoral immunity wanes following primary infection., Methods: A case of reinfection was observed in a Belgian nosocomial outbreak involving 3 patients and 2 healthcare workers. To distinguish reinfection from persistent infection and detect potential transmission clusters, whole genome sequencing was performed on nasopharyngeal swabs of all individuals including the reinfection case's first episode. Immunoglobulin A, immunoglobulin M, and immunoglobulin G (IgG) and neutralizing antibody responses were quantified in serum of all individuals, and viral infectiousness was measured in the swabs of the reinfection case., Results: Reinfection was confirmed in a young, immunocompetent healthcare worker as viral genomes derived from the first and second episode belonged to different SARS-CoV-2 clades. The symptomatic reinfection occurred after an interval of 185 days, despite the development of an effective humoral immune response following symptomatic primary infection. The second episode, however, was milder and characterized by a fast rise in serum IgG and neutralizing antibodies. Although contact tracing and viral culture remained inconclusive, the healthcare worker formed a transmission cluster with 3 patients and showed evidence of virus replication but not of neutralizing antibodies in her nasopharyngeal swabs., Conclusions: If this case is representative of most patients with coronavirus disease 2019, long-lived protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2 after primary infection might not be likely., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Uncertainty hampers innovative mixed-fisheries management by the scales at which connectivity dynamics are relevant to management objectives. The spatial scale of sustainable stock management is species-specific and depends on ecology, life history and population connectivity. One valuable approach to understand these spatial scales is to determine to what extent population genetic structure correlates with the oceanographic environment. Here, we compare the level of genetic connectivity in three codistributed and commercially exploited demersal flatfish species living in the North East Atlantic Ocean. Population genetic structure was analysed based on 14, 14 and 10 neutral DNA microsatellite markers for turbot, brill and sole, respectively. We then used redundancy analysis (RDA) to attribute the genetic variation to spatial (geographical location), temporal (sampling year) and oceanographic (water column characteristics) components. The genetic structure of turbot was composed of three clusters and correlated with variation in the depth of the pycnocline, in addition to spatial factors. The genetic structure of brill was homogenous, but correlated with average annual stratification and spatial factors. In sole, the genetic structure was composed of three clusters, but was only linked to a temporal factor. We explored whether the management of data poor commercial fisheries, such as in brill and turbot, might benefit from population-specific information. We conclude that the management of fish stocks has to consider species-specific genetic structures and may benefit from the documentation of the genetic seascape and life-history traits., Competing Interests: None declared., (© 2020 The Authors. Evolutionary Applications published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Screening for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is important to improve pregnancy outcomes and to prevent type 2 diabetes after pregnancy. The 'International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups' (IADPSG) recommends a universal one-step approach with the 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) for screening of GDM. The IADPSG recommendation remains controversial due to the important increase in GDM prevalence and increased workload. After review of the latest evidence and based on data from the 'Belgian Diabetes in Pregnancy' study, members of the Diabetes Liga, the Flemish associations of general physicians (Domus Medica), obstetricians (VVOG), midwives (VVOB), diabetes nurse educators (BVVDV) and clinical chemists (RBSLM) have reached a new consensus on screening for GDM in Flanders. This new consensus recommends universal screening for overt diabetes when planning pregnancy or at the latest at first prenatal contact, preferably by measuring the fasting plasma glucose by using the same diagnostic criteria as in the non-pregnant state. In women with impaired fasting glycaemia, but also in normoglycemic obese women and women with a previous history of GDM, lifestyle counselling is advised with screening for GDM with a 75 g OGTT at 24 weeks. In all other women, we recommend a two-step screening strategy with a 50 g glucose challenge test (GCT) at 24 weeks followed by a 75 g OGTT when the glucose level 1 hour after the GCT ≥130 mg/dl. Diagnosis of GDM is made using the IADPSG criteria for GDM. Postpartum screening for subsequent glucose abnormalities should be advocated and organized for every woman with GDM.

Morphology-based identification of North Atlantic Sebastes has long been controversial and misidentification may produce misleading data, with cascading consequences that negatively affect fisheries management and seafood labelling. North Atlantic Sebastes comprises of four species, commonly known as 'redfish', but little is known about the number, identity and labelling accuracy of redfish species sold across Europe. We used a molecular approach to identify redfish species from 'blind' specimens to evaluate the performance of the Barcode of Life (BOLD) and Genbank databases, as well as carrying out a market product accuracy survey from retailers across Europe. The conventional BOLD approach proved ambiguous, and phylogenetic analysis based on mtDNA control region sequences provided a higher resolution for species identification. By sampling market products from four countries, we found the presence of two species of redfish ( S. norvegicus and S. mentella ) and one unidentified Pacific rockfish marketed in Europe. Furthermore, public databases revealed the existence of inaccurate reference sequences, likely stemming from species misidentification from previous studies, which currently hinders the efficacy of DNA methods for the identification of Sebastes market samples., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests.

A 73-year-old man with a history of diabetes was urgently referred to our emergency department because of severe pain of his genitalia and pubical region. Physical examination revealed an extensive subcutaneous emphysema and edema of his abdomen. Computer tomography confirmed an extensive necrotizing fasciitis, diagnosed as Fournier's gangrene. Despite the efforts made, the patient did not survive. And a review of the medical approach of this short of a life-threatening form of necrotizing soft tissue infection with a high mortality rate.

Background: Models of experimental ischemia-reperfusion (IR) in adiponectin knockout animals have shown that adiponectin mediates protection against the development of IR injury. However, the role of adiponectin in IR injury in humans is largely unknown., Methods: In a total of 234 ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients, baseline circulating total adiponectin concentration was correlated with IR injury after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) and with major adverse cardiac events (MACE, death and cardiac hospitalization) during one year of follow up. IR injury was defined by serial electrocardiography (ECG) as >30% persistent ST segment elevation despite successful restoration of vessel patency and by angiography as thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) blush grade<2., Results: IR injury was present in 31% of patients according to ECG criteria and in 28% of patients according to angiographic criteria. The median adiponectin level was 6.8 µg/ml in patients with ECG signs of IR injury and 6.5 µg/ml in patients without ECG signs of IR (p=0.26). When the angiographic criteria of IR were used, the median adiponectin level was 6.9 µg/ml for patients with IR versus 6.3 µg/ml for patients without IR (p=0.06). MACE occurred in 27% of the patients. Median adiponectin levels were similar in patients with MACE and in those without MACE: 6.3 vs. 6.4 µg/ml (p=0.24). In a multivariate model, no significant relation between circulating adiponectin levels and IR injury or MACE was evident., Conclusion: In the current era of pPCI, IR injury still occurs in almost one third of STEMI patients. Our findings do not support a major protective role of adiponectin in the prevention or attenuation of IR injury in these patients., (© The European Society of Cardiology 2015.)

The common user interface for a search engine consists of a text field where the user can enter queries consisting of one or more keywords. Keyword query based search engines work well when the users have a clear vision what they are looking for and are capable of articulating their query using the same terms as indexed. For our multimedia database containing 202,868 items with text descriptions, we supplement such a search engine with a category-based interface whose category structure is tailored to the content of the database. This facilitates browsing and offers the users the possibility to look for named entities, even if they forgot their names. We demonstrate that this approach allows users who fail to recollect the name of named entities to retrieve data with little effort. In all our experiments, it takes 1 query on a category and on average 2.49 clicks, compared to 5.68 queries on the database's traditional text search engine for a 68.3% success probability or 6.01 queries when the user also turns to Google, for a 97.1% success probability.

Serodiagnosis of surra, which causes vast economic losses in livestock, is still based on native antigens purified from bloodstream form Trypanosoma (T.) evansi grown in rodents. To avoid the use of laboratory rodents in antigen preparation we expressed fragments of the invariant surface glycoprotein (ISG) 75, cloned from T. brucei gambiense cDNA, and the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) RoTat 1.2, cloned from T. evansi gDNA, recombinantly in Pichia (P.) pastoris. The M5 strain of this yeast has an engineered N-glycosylation pathway resulting in homogenous Man5GlcNAc2 N-glycosylation which resembles the predominant Man9-5GlcNAc2 oligomannose structures in T. brucei. The secreted recombinant antigens were affinity purified with yields of up to 10mg and 20mg per liter cell culture of rISG 7529-465-E and rRoTat 1.223-385-H respectively. In ELISA, both recombinant proteins discriminated between pre-immune and immune serum samples of 25 goats experimentally infected with T. evansi. The diagnostic potential of rRoTat 1.223-385-H but not of rISG 7529-465-E was confirmed with sera of naturally infected and control dromedary camels. The results suggest that rRoTat 1.223-385-H expressed in P. pastoris requires further evaluation before it could replace native RoTat 1.2 VSG for serodiagnosis of surra, thus eliminating the use of laboratory animals for antigen production., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Nowadays there is much concern about the presence of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in the environment due to their ability to interfere with the endocrine system. In the presented study, adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) were exposed to 30 ng L(-1) 17alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2) for 4 and 28 days. The underlying molecular mechanisms of EE2 were studied in the zebrafish liver by applying a combined transcriptomics and proteomics approach. In addition, we assessed the added value of such an integrated-omics approach. Oligo microarrays, spotted with 3479 zebrafish-specific oligos, were employed to generate differential gene expression levels. The proteomic responses were evaluated by means of differential in-gel electrophoresis (DiGE), combined with MALDI-tandem mass spectrometry. Assessment of the major biological functions of the differentially expressed transcripts and proteins illustrated that both individual platforms could profile a clear estrogenic interference, next to numerous metabolism-related effects and stress responses. Cross-comparison of both transcriptomics and proteomics datasets displayed limited concordance, though, thorough revision of the results illustrated that transcriptional effects were projected on protein level as downstream effects of affected signalling pathways. Overall, this study demonstrated that a proteomics approach can lift the biological interpretation of microarrays to a higher level, and moreover, opens a window for identification of possible new biomarkers., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The dipeptidyl peptidases (DPP) 8 and 9 belong to the DPP4 activity and/or structure homologues (DASH). Recently, a DPP9-like protein was purified from bovine testes. The aim of the present study was to prove its identity and to investigate the characteristics of this natural enzyme. We report the identification and N-terminal sequence analysis by MALDI-TOF/TOF MS, of the purified bovine enzyme as DPP9. The tryptic peptides after in-gel digestion covered 41% and 38% of the short and full-length variants of bovine DPP9, respectively. Using Asp-N digestion combined with a very recently described mass spectrometric method using DITC glass beads, the N-terminal peptide (XTGALTSERG) was isolated. It corresponds to the N-terminus of the short form of bovine DPP9. There was no evidence for glycosylation of purified bovine DPP9. The purified DPP9 was activated and stabilized by DTT. Bovine DPP9 lost its activity almost completely after alkylation with N-ethylmaleimide. Also alkylation with iodoacetamide inhibited DPP9, albeit only 70%. Other properties of bovine DPP9 are reported, including functional stability and sensitivity towards metal ions. Our results indicate that the short form of DPP9 can be isolated from bovine testes and that it behaves as a stable enzyme suitable for further functional and biochemical characterization as well as for inhibitor screening and characterization., (Crown Copyright 2009. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Acute and chronic hypoxic episodes of the brain have been generally recognized as a common denominator of several neuropathologies of which cerebral ischemic stroke represents one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity. In an attempt to clarify the plethora of molecular events elicited by ischemic or hypoxic stress, several studies have reported before on large-scale expression analysis; however, only a minority have put focus on proteome based changes. To further enrich our knowledge, we investigated the differences in protein levels following prolonged exposure of mice to global hypoxic stress in the hippocampus, one of the most susceptible regions of the brain. This was accomplished using the conventional 2-DE approach and peptide-centered quantitative methionyl-COFRADIC. Together both methods resulted in the identification of 110 unique hypoxia regulated proteins, and 34 posthypoxic reoxygenation regulated proteins based on 2-DE analysis alone. The integration and comparison of the implicated biological functions with other large-scale analyses of similar hypoxia and ischemic stroke models gave an overall resemblance of implicated biological processes apart from model specific alterations in distribution. Nevertheless, further examination of the data clearly depicted a substantial enrichment of protein trafficking and targeting processes in our data which could be related to synaptic plasticity and remodeling events.

The human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y (ATCC: CRL-2266) is widely used as a neural cellular model system. The hitherto existing proteome data (115 proteins) are here extended. A total of 1103 unique proteins of this cell line were identified using 2D-LC combined with MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS, SDS-PAGE with nano-LC-MS/MS, N-terminal COFRADIC analysis with nano-LC-MS/MS and 2D-PAGE with MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS peptide mass fingerprinting. The obtained proteome profile of this cell line is discussed.

Many products to lose weight are presented on the market. The products are advertised with two 'arguments': the health-argument: obesity and overweight are dangerous for your health, and the beauty argument: obesity and overweight make you ugly. The authors raise ethical questions with regard to the promises made and discuss the following arguments: the exploitation of vulnerable persons who are told they are unhealthy and ugly, the stigmatization of obese people as lazy and without willpower, and the harm some treatments may cause. They argue that raising the health argument should be analyzed very critically as obese people are vulnerable and susceptible to all kind of promises. With regard to the beauty argument, they argue that 'selling dreams' is perhaps less problematic as people are not as susceptible and vulnerable with regard to promises on beauty and therefore less likely to be seduced by such promises. People should be empowered to be very critical of (advertisements for) slimming products.

A comprehensive analysis of the structure of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS; EC 1.14.13.39) mRNA species revealed NOS1 to be the most structurally diverse human gene described to date in terms of promoter usage. Nine unique exon 1 variants are variously used for transcript initiation in diverse tissues, and each is expressed from a unique 5'-flanking region. The dependence on unique genomic regions to control transcription initiation in a cell-specific fashion burdens the transcripts with complex 5'-mRNA leader sequences. Elaborate splicing patterns that involve alternatively spliced leader exons and exon skipping have been superimposed on this diversity. Highly structured nNOS mRNA 5'-untranslated regions, which have profound effects on translation both in vitro and in cells, contain cis RNA elements that modulate translational efficiency in response to changes in cellular phenotype.

Background: Regional variability in systolic and diastolic cardiac function occurs in most cardiac disorders. The influence of this regional functional heterogeneity on global function is not well understood and is difficult to study with the common imaging modalities., Methods: A midventricular short axis slice of the left ventricle was obtained with ECG-triggered magnetic resonance imaging in eight infarct patients and 10 control volunteers. The variation in wall thickness and slice cavity volume during the cycle was studied using the centreline method., Results: The peak filling rate was significantly decreased in the infarct group (96 versus 58 cm3/s, P < 0.005). In addition, a small contribution of other parameters, such as the time to end systole, the isovolumic relaxation time, and the duration and extent of early filling, was also shown by linear discriminant analysis. Analysis of the regional parameters demonstrated an increased asynchronicity of contraction (64 versus 37 ms, P < 0.01) as well as relaxation (88 versus 51 ms, P < 0.01) in patients with myocardial infarction. On comparison of the anterior (infarcted) and inferior (non-infarcted) parts of the left ventricle, the difference was present only in the infarct region., Conclusion: Magnetic resonance imaging of the heart allows evaluation of the relationship between regional differences in wall motion dynamics and global parameters of diastolic function in infarct patients.