Validity of home-measured height, weight and waist circumference among adolescents.

This study assesses the validity of home-measured height, weight and waist circumference among Finnish adolescents from the Fin-HIT cohort. The adolescents were measured by fieldworkers, and were instructed to measure themselves at home with an adult's assistance. Paired t-test was used for statistical analyses. Home-measured mean height, weight and waist circumference were slightly higher, but BMI lower than measured by the fieldworker. The difference in means was statistically significant for weight (0.51 kg) and waist circumference (1.6 cm), but not for height and BMI. Home-measured height, weight, waist circumference and BMI are sufficiently accurate to be used in epidemiologic studies.

Ethical aspects of registry-based research in the Nordic countries.

National health care registries in the Nordic countries share many attributes, but different legal and ethical frameworks represent a challenge to promoting effective joint research. Internationally, there is a lack of knowledge about how ethical matters are considered in Nordic registry-based research, and a lack of knowledge about how Nordic ethics committees operate and what is needed to obtain an approval. In this paper, we review ethical aspects of registry-based research, the legal framework, the role of ethics review boards in the Nordic countries, and the structure of the ethics application. We discuss the role of informed consent in registry-based research and how to safeguard the integrity of study participants, including vulnerable subjects and children. Our review also provides information on the different government agencies that contribute registry-based data, and a list of the major health registries in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Both ethical values and conditions for registry-based research are similar in the Nordic countries. While Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden have chosen different legal frameworks, these differences can be resolved through mutual recognition of ethical applications and by harmonizing the different systems, likely leading to increased collaboration and enlarged studies.

Converting a Sulfenic Acid Reductase into a Disulfide Bond Isomerase.

AIMS: Posttranslational formation of disulfide bonds is essential for the folding of many secreted proteins. Formation of disulfide bonds in a protein with more than two cysteines is inherently fraught with error and can result in incorrect disulfide bond pairing and, consequently, misfolded protein. Protein disulfide bond isomerases, such as DsbC of Escherichia coli, can recognize mis-oxidized proteins and shuffle the disulfide bonds of the substrate protein into their native folded state. RESULTS: We have developed a simple blue/white screen that can detect disulfide bond isomerization in vivo, using a mutant alkaline phosphatase (PhoA*) in E. coli. We utilized this screen to isolate mutants of the sulfenic acid reductase (DsbG) that allowed this protein to act as a disulfide bond isomerase. Characterization of the isolated mutants in vivo and in vitro allowed us to identify key amino acid residues responsible for oxidoreductase properties of thioredoxin-like proteins such as DsbC or DsbG. INNOVATION AND CONCLUSIONS: Using these key residues, we also identified and characterized interesting environmental homologs of DsbG with novel properties, thus demonstrating the capacity of this screen to discover and elucidate mechanistic details of in vivo disulfide bond isomerization.

Novel tetrahydropyran-based bacterial topoisomerase inhibitors with potent anti-gram positive activity and improved safety profile.

Novel antibacterial drugs that are effective against infections caused by multidrug resistant pathogens are urgently needed. In a previous report, we have shown that tetrahydropyran-based inhibitors of bacterial type II topoisomerases (DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV) display potent antibacterial activity and exhibit no target-mediated cross-resistance with fluoroquinolones. During the course of our optimization program, lead compound 5 was deprioritized due to adverse findings in cardiovascular safety studies. In the effort of mitigating these findings and optimizing further the pharmacological profile of this class of compounds, we have identified a subseries of tetrahydropyran-based molecules that are potent DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV inhibitors and display excellent antibacterial activity against Gram positive pathogens, including clinically relevant resistant isolates. One representative of this class, compound 32d, elicited only weak inhibition of hERG K(+) channels and hNaV1.5 Na(+) channels, and no effects were observed on cardiovascular parameters in anesthetized guinea pigs. In vivo efficacy in animal infection models has been demonstrated against Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae strains.