Effect of side-chain asymmetry on the intermolecular structure and order-disorder transition in alkyl-substituted polyfluorenes.

We study relations among the side-chain asymmetry, structure, and order-disorder transition (ODT) in hairy-rod-type poly(9,9-dihexylfluorene) (PF6) with two identical side chains and atactic poly(9-octyl-9-methyl-fluorene) (PF1-8) with two different side chains per repeat. PF6 and PF1-8 organize into alternating side-chain and backbone layers that transform into an isotropic phase at T^{ODT}(PF6) and T_{bi}^{ODT}(PF1-8). We interpret polymers in terms of monodisperse and bidisperse brushes and predict scenarios T^{ODT}

Memory of pain and anxiety associated with tooth extraction.

Concerns regarding pain constitute a large component of dental anxiety, and patients with high dental anxiety are likely to have exaggerated memory and prediction of dental pain. It remains to be investigated, however, if memory of anxiety is exaggerated in a manner similar to that of pain, and if anxiety and pain assimilate in memory over time. A sample of 79 patients presenting for emergency extraction rated their anxiety and pain before, during, and two weeks after the procedure. Measures of trait dental anxiety and fear of pain also were collected. All patients exaggerated their recall of procedure pain, but only those high in trait dental anxiety exaggerated their recall of anxiety. Highly anxious patients reported more pain prior to the procedure and expected more pain; ratings of anxiety and pain for all participants assimilated over time.

Chemistry and pharmacology of neglected helminthic diseases.

Neglected helminthic diseases cause many social, economic and health care challenges in developing countries. The high number of patients suffering from these parasitic infections and the lack of sufficient treatment options represent severe problems. Research on new drugs and therapies to meet this urgent requirement has to be intensified. This review focuses on infections caused by four helminthic parasites, which have been declared as neglected diseases by the World Health Organization: namely drancunculiasis, lymphatic filariasis, onchoceriasis, and schistosomiasis. They show a considerable overlap in their world-wide prevalence and treatment strategies. Nevertheless, treatment is not without complications. The most efficient lymphatic filariasis drug, diethylcarbamazine, causes severe adverse effects in onchocerciasis patients and completely fails in the treatment of drancunculiasis. In this review, we discuss these incongruities at the molecular and cellular level. Furthermore, established or investigational drug combination regimens are highlighted. In the past years, progress has been made in the area of schistosomiasis and onchocerciasis. The molecular biology of underlying mechanisms, signalling pathways and related targets affected by drug therapy are discussed in detail. Finally, successful treatment strategies and remaining future challenges are summarized.

Inability of laser and rotary instrumentation to eliminate root canal infection.

BACKGROUND: The authors evaluated the antibacterial effectiveness of laser instrumentation and rotary instrumentation of anterior, single-rooted teeth infected with Enterococcus faecalis. METHODS: The authors divided 35 infected samples into five groups: Group A: inoculation, laser, 17 percent ethylene-diamine-tetra-acetate (EDTA), 2.5 percent sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) (n=10); Group B: inoculation, laser, 17 percent EDTA, sterile saline (n = 10); Group C: inoculation, rotary, 17 percent EDTA, 2.5 percent NaOCl (n=10); Group D: inoculation, no instrumentation (positive control) (n=5); Group E: no inoculation, no instrumentation (negative control) (n=5). They sampled and incubated dentin shavings from each canal for bacterial growth. RESULTS: In Group A, eight tubes were positive for bacterial growth. In Group B, 10 tubes were positive for bacterial growth. In Group C, six tube were positive for bacterial growth. In Group D, all of the tubes were positive for bacterial growth. In Group E, no tubes showed bacterial growth. The Fisher exact test showed no significant differences among groups A, E and C. CONCLUSION: Neither the laser nor the rotary instrumentation was able to eliminate endodontic infection. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Although lasers have been presented as high-tech tools for disinfecting root canals, the laser was ineffective in this study.

Functional diversity and mutational analysis of Agrobacterium 6B oncoproteins.

Many Agrobacterium T-DNA genes belong to a diverse family of T-DNA genes, the rolB family. These genes cause various growth abnormalities but their modes of action remain largely unknown. So far, none of the RolB-like proteins has been subjected to mutational analysis. The RolB-like oncoprotein 6B, which induces tumours on species such as Nicotiana glauca and Kalanchoe tubiflora, was chosen to investigate the role of the most conserved amino acid residues within the RolB family. We first determined which of the natural 6B variants had the strongest oncogenic activity; to this end, six 6b coding sequences (A- 6b, AB- 6b, C- 6b, CG- 6b, S- 6b and T- 6b) were placed under the control of the strong constitutive 2x35S promoter and compared for tumour induction on N. glauca, N. tabacum and K. daigremontiana. Oncogenicity increased in the order C- 6b/CG- 6b, A- 6b/AB- 6b, and S- 6b/T- 6b. The most conserved amino acid residues in the strongly oncogenic T-6B protein were mutated and shown to be required for oncogenicity and accumulation of the T-6B protein in planta but not in bacteria. Hybrids between T-6B and the weakly oncogenic A-6B protein revealed an additional oncogenic determinant required for the formation of large tumours.

Biological activity of the rolB-like 5' end of the A4-orf8 gene from the Agrobacterium rhizogenes TL-DNA.

The iaaM gene from different plant-associated bacteria encodes a tryptophan monooxygenase (IaaM) that catalyzes the synthesis of indole-3-acetamide (IAM), a precursor of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Unlike the IaaM proteins from other bacteria, Agrobacterium spp. T-DNA-encoded IaaM proteins carry a 200 amino acid N-terminal extension with low homology to various members of the RolB protein family. This family is composed of 18 highly divergent T-DNA-encoded proteins, the basic functions of which are still largely undetermined. Deletion of the 5' rolB-like extension of the iaaM gene from Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain Ach5 did not lead to a reduction in IAM synthesis in plants. When expressed in tobacco, the rolB-like fragment did not affect growth or morphology. An iaaM homolog (A4-orf8) from the TL-DNA of Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain A4 also was investigated. Neither the full-size A4-orf8 gene nor the 5'-truncated form induced detectable IAM synthesis. Plants expressing the rolB-like part of the A4-orf8 gene, however, were dwarfed and mottled to various extents and synthesized abnormally high amounts of glucose, fructose, sucrose, and starch.

Sequence and functional analysis of the left-hand part of the T-region from the nopaline-type Ti plasmid, pTiC58.

The Agrobacterium tumefaciens nopaline strain C58 transfers a large, 29 kb T-DNA into plant cells during infection. Part of this DNA (the 'common DNA') is also found on the T-DNA of octopine strains, the remaining DNA is nopaline strain-specific. Up to now, only parts of the C58 T-DNA and related T37 T-DNA have been sequenced. We have sequenced the remainder of the nopaline-specific T-DNA (containing genes a to d) and acs to iaaM. Gene c codes for a new unknown T-DNA protein. Gene a is homologous to the agrocinopine synthase gene. Genes b, c', d and e are part of a larger family: they are related to the T-DNA genes 5, rolB, lso and 3'. Genes 5, rolB and lso induce or modify plant growth and have been called T-DNA oncogenes. Our studies show that gene 3' (located on the TR-DNA of octopine strains) is also oncogenic. Although the b-e T-DNA fragment from C58 and its individual genes lack growth-inducing activity, an a-acs deletion mutant was distinctly less virulent on Kalanchoe daigremontiana and showed reduced shoot formation on Kalanchoe tubiflora. Shoot formation could be restored by genes c and c' in co-infection experiments. Contrary to an earlier report, a C58 e gene deletion mutant was fully virulent on all plants tested.