BACKGROUND Botulinum toxin (BT) chemodenervation and anterior belly of digastric muscle (ABD) transfer are both treatment options in the management of an isolated marginal mandibular branch of the facial nerve (MMB) palsy. We compare the patient satisfaction following either BT injections or ABD transfer in the management of their isolated MMB palsy. METHODS Patients in the ABD-arm of the stu...

Adamantiades-Behçet's disease (ABD) is characterized by starting with oral aphthous ulceration and developing of the systemic involvements. The pathogenesis of ABD is closely correlated with the genetic factors and the triggering factors which acquire delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction against oral streptococci mediated by IL-12 cytokine family. HLA-B51 is associated in more than 60% of the...

Hox genes specify the structures that form along the anteroposterior (AP) axis of bilateria. Within the genome, they often form clusters where, remarkably enough, their position within the clusters reflects the relative positions of the structures they specify along the AP axis. This correspondence between genomic organization and gene expression pattern has been conserved through evolution and...

Plectin is a major component of the cytoskeleton and links the intermediate filament system to hemidesmosomes by binding to the integrin 4 subunit. Previously, a binding site for 4 was mapped on the actin-binding domain (ABD) of plectin and binding of 4 and F-actin to plectin was shown to be mutually exclusive. Here we show that only the ABDs of plectin and dystonin bind to 4, whereas those of ...

Two new blind species of Sinella are described from Guangdong Province, China. Sinella colubra sp. n. possesses minute smooth postlabial chaetae, long mucronal spine, and 4+4(5) lateral mac on Abd. IV, and can be distinguished from two closely related species by the postlabial chaetae and the dorsal macrochaetotaxy. Sinella zhangi sp. n. is also described and can be diagnosed by having minute l...

Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is highly prevalent and has considerable public health impact, but its underlying genetic factors remain elusive. To identify gene networks involved in MetS, we conducted whole-genome expression and genotype profiling on abdominal (ABD) and gluteal (GLU) adipose tissue, and whole blood (WB), from 29 MetS cases and 44 controls. Co-expression network analysis for each ti...

In an attempt to produce a form of chronic neurogenic hypertension without the increased blood pressure lability which is characteristic of total baroreceptor removal, selective aortic baroreceptor deafferentation (ABD) was performed in rats. Blood pressure, blood pressure variability, heart rate, plasma and extracellular fluid volumes, and the effect of total autonomic blockade were determined...

The embryonic dorsal vessel in Drosophila possesses anteroposterior polarity and is subdivided into two chamber-like portions, the aorta in the anterior and the heart in the posterior. The heart portion features a wider bore as compared with the aorta and develops inflow valves (ostia) that allow the pumping of hemolymph from posterior toward the anterior. Here, we demonstrate that homeotic sel...

Cytokeratins 8 and 19 concentrate at costameres of striated muscle and copurify with the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex, perhaps through the interaction of the cytokeratins with the actin-binding domain of dystrophin. We overexpressed dystrophin's actin-binding domain (Dys-ABD), K8 and K19, as well as closely related proteins, in COS-7 cells to assess the basis and specificity of their interac...