Plum pox, an invasive disease recently identified in Pennsylvania stone fruit orchards, is caused by the aphid-transmitted Plum pox virus (genus Potyvirus, family Potyviridae, PPV). To identify potential vectors, we described the aphid species communities and the seasonal dynamics of the dominant aphid species within Pennsylvania peach orchards. Aphids were trapped weekly in 2002 and 2003 from ...

This report describes the preparation of a safe and immunogenic single vaccine against capripox disease in sheep and goats using two different types of cells (primary lamb kidney and vero, a bovine turbinate cell line). This used the 0240 pox strain isolated from sheep during an outbreak. The prepared vaccine was administered subcutaneously and induced complete protection against an experimenta...

p53 Inducible gene 6 (PIG6) encodes mitochondrial proline dehydrogenase (PRODH) and is up-regulated several fold upon p53 activation. Proline dehydrogenase is proposed to generate radicals that contribute to cancer cell apoptosis. However, there are at least 10 mitochondrial sites that can produce superoxide and/or H2O2, and it is unclear whether proline dehydrogenase generates these species di...

OBJECTIVE Chromosome 22q11 has been implicated as a susceptibility locus of schizophrenia. It also contains various candidate genes for which evidence of association with schizophrenia has been reported. To determine whether genetic variations in chromosome 22q11 are associated with schizophrenia in Koreans, we performed a linkage analysis and case-control association study. METHODS Three mic...

The metabolism of the nonessential amino acid proline contributes to tumor metabolic reprogramming. Previously we showed that MYC increases proline biosynthesis (PB) from glutamine. Here we show MYC increases the expression of the enzymes in PB at both protein and mRNA levels. Blockade of PB decreases tumor cell growth and energy production. Addition of Δ(1)-pyrroline-5-carboxylate (P5C) or pro...

BACKGROUND Rett syndrome (RTT) is a complex neurological disorder that is one of the most frequent causes of mental retardation in women. A great landmark in research in this field was the discovery of a relationship between the disease and the presence of mutations in the gene that codes for the methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2). Currently, MeCP2 is thought to act as a transcriptional repre...

UNLABELLED The tumor-suppressor protein p53, encoded by TP53, inhibits tumorigenesis by inducing cell-cycle arrest, senescence, and apoptosis. Several genetic polymorphisms exist in TP53, including a proline to arginine variant at amino acid 72 (P72 and R72, respectively); this polymorphism alters p53 function. In general, the P72 variant shows increased ability to induce cell-cycle arrest, whe...

Two cases are reported who developed myoclonus as the only manifestation of a post-infectious syndrome without evidence of encephalitis or the opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome. Case 1 had generalised myoclonus following an influenza-like illness, while case 2 had right upper limb segmental myoclonus following uncomplicated chicken pox. Neither had any localising neurological signs or abnormality o...

Diseases caused by capripox viruses affects around 650 million sheep & goats (pox diseases) and 250 million cattle (lumpy skin disease). This constitutes a massive economic burden for many resourcepoor farmers in Africa, damaging their livelihoods and ability to increase their income. The current vaccines are expensive and difficult to deliver as they need a sophisticated cold chain. The purpos...

BACKGROUND It is important to identify and immunize susceptible healthcare workers to prevent and control hospital infections. Our aim was to evaluate the specific antibodies against the measles, mumps, and rubella viruses and the varicella zoster virus among healthcare workers in a tertiary-care hospital. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 284 healthcare workers (89 men and 195 women; mean age,...