Semen analysis lacks a functional component and best identifies extreme cases of infertility. The ganglioside GM1 is known to have functional roles during capacitation and acrosome exocytosis. Here, we assessed whether GM1 localization patterns (Cap-Score™) correspond with male fertility in different settings: Study 1 involved couples pursuing assisted reproduction in a tertiary care fertility ...

BACKGROUND The updated British Thoracic Society (BTS) Guidelines for the management of community acquired pneumonia (CAP) in adults was published in October 2009. In conjunction with the Guidelines, the first national BTS audit of adult CAP was conducted. METHODS An audit tool was developed as part of the Guidelines. Members of the BTS were invited to participate in the audit capturing data r...

The rate-limiting step for cap-dependent translation initiation in eukaryotes is recruitment of mRNA to the ribosome. An early event in this process is recognition of the m7GTP-containing cap structure at the 5'-end of the mRNA by initiation factor eIF4E. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, mRNAs from 70% of the genes contain a different cap structure, m32,2,7GTP. This cap structure is poor...

Although the central terminals of cranial visceral afferents express vanilloid receptor 1 (VR1), little is known about their functional properties at this first synapse within the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS). Here, we examined whether VR1 modulates afferent synaptic transmission. In horizontal brainstem slices, solitary tract (ST) activation evoked EPSCs. Monosynaptic EPSCs had low synapti...

Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-Is) are the main drugs used in the treatment of essential hypertension and congestive heart failure in adults. Recently, we have demonstrated the antithrombotic effect of captopril (CAP) and enalapril (ENA) in venous thrombosis model in adult rats. One might also suggest the beneficial effect of those drugs on hemostasis in young individuals. Two mo...

Y box-binding protein 1 (YB-1) is a multifunctional protein that can act as a regulator of transcription and of translation. In chicken embryo fibroblasts transformed by the oncoproteins P3k (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase) or Akt, YB-1 is transcriptionally down-regulated. Expression of YB-1 from a retroviral vector induces a strong cellular resistance to transformation by P3k or Akt but does no...

CONTEXT There are up to 1 million patients treated in acute-care hospitals for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), with an estimated annual cost > 8 billion dollars. A newly validated CAP outcomes prediction rule developed by Fine and colleagues has been advocated as a guide to hospitalization decisions. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinical characteristics, costs of care, and resource utilizati...