OBJECTIVE The objective of this double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study was to evaluate the efficacy of varenicline (Chantix), a partial agonist at α4β2 neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors used for smoking cessation, in patients with spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) 3. METHODS Patients with genetically confirmed SCA3 were randomly assigned to receive either varenicline (4 weeks ...

We have previously identified mgrA (rat) as a regulator of autolysis in Staphylococcus aureus. Besides its effect on autolytic activity, we recently found alterations in the expression of regulator and target virulence genes in the mgrA mutant. Northern analysis and transcription fusion assays showed that inactivation of mgrA has led to the downregulation of RNAIII of agr and hla and upregulati...

Bacterial pathogens regulate virulence factor expression at both the level of transcription initiation and mRNA processing/turnover. Within Staphylococcus aureus, virulence factor transcript synthesis is regulated by a number of two-component regulatory systems, the DNA binding protein SarA, and the SarA family of homologues. However, little is known about the factors that modulate mRNA stabili...

Transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) receptors require SARA for phosphorylation of the downstream transducing Smad proteins. SARA, a FYVE finger protein, binds to membrane lipids suggesting that activated receptors may interact with downstream signaling molecules at discrete endocytic locations. In the present study, we reveal a critical role for the early endocytic compartment in regulati...

We demonstrate that the purified Staphylococcus aureus extracellular proteases aureolysin, ScpA, SspA, and SspB limit biofilm formation, with aureolysin having the greatest impact. Using protease-deficient derivatives of LAC, we confirmed that this is due to the individual proteases themselves. Purified aureolysin, and to a lesser extent ScpA and SspB, also promoted dispersal of an established ...

Recent studies have uncovered a key role of endocytosis during Notch signalling after the asymmetric division of the fly sensory organ precursor cells (SOP): directional signalling is mediated by differential endocytosis of the ligand Delta and the Notch effector Sanpodo in one of the SOP daughters, the pIIb. Here we show a novel mechanism of directional signalling based on the trafficking of D...

266 British Journal of General Practice, May 2015 IntroduCtIon The clinical triad of urethritis, arthritis, and conjunctivitis, commonly referred to as Reiter’s syndrome, though more recently and appropriately called sexually-acquired reactive arthritis (SARA), rarely presents in clinic as such a neat, definitive diagnosis.1 Indeed it would appear that the majority of cases of SARA are incomple...

Article history: Received 3 September 2008 Accepted 3 September 2008 Available online 9 September 2008 This paper is writtenwith two goals inmind. The first is to offer a critical discussion of papers by Bauguess, Moeller, Schlingemann, and Zutter [Bauguess, Scott, Moeller, Sara, Schlingemann, Frederich and Zutter, Chad, 2009. Ownership structure and target returns. Journal of Corporate Finance...

Bj Samar Aboulsoud Qatar Terrence Adam United States of America Sara Ahmadi United States of America Peter Aitken Australia César Alameda Spain Yavuz Albayrak Turkey Gidon Almogy Israel Tore Amundsen Norway Hagen Andruszkow Germany Filip K. Arnberg Sweden Takashi Asai Japan M Hammad Ather Pakistan Matt Baker United Kingdom Miklosh Bala Israel Chad Ball Canada Angela Bång Sweden Charlotte Barfod...

Gabriella D’Angelo1*, Lucia Marseglia1, Sara Manti2, Pietro Impellizzeri3, Carmelo Salpietro2, Eloisa Gitto1 and Carmelo Romeo3 1Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Department of Pediatrics, University of Messina, Italy 2Unit of Paediatric Genetics and Immunology, Department of Paediatrics, University of Messina, Italy 3Unit of Paediatric Surgery, Department of Paediatrics, University o...