Quadricuspid pulmonary valve and left pulmonary artery aneurysm in an asymptomatic patient assessed by cardiovascular MRI.

We present a coincidental finding of quadricuspid pulmonary valve and left pulmonary artery aneurysm. As both the pulmonary valve and the pulmonary trunk with its main branches are hard to visualise with cardiac ultrasound, most abnormalities described so far are from autopsy series. With the increasing use of CMR and its excellent potential for visualising both pulmonary valve and pulmonary arteries, we believe more cases will be discovered in the near future. Although pulmonary artery aneurysm are rare, timely detection may prevent lethal bleeding.

Seed storage at elevated partial pressure of oxygen, a fast method for analysing seed ageing under dry conditions.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Despite differences in physiology between dry and relative moist seeds, seed ageing tests most often use a temperature and seed moisture level that are higher than during dry storage used in commercial practice and gene banks. This study aimed to test whether seed ageing under dry conditions can be accelerated by storing under high-pressure oxygen. methods: Dry barley (Hordeum vulgare), cabbage (Brassica oleracea), lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and soybean (Glycine max) seeds were stored between 2 and 7 weeks in steel tanks under 18 MPa partial pressure of oxygen. Storage under high-pressure nitrogen gas or under ambient air pressure served as controls. The method was compared with storage at 45 °C after equilibration at 85 % relative humidity and long-term storage at the laboratory bench. Germination behaviour, seedling morphology and tocopherol levels were assessed. KEY RESULTS: The ageing of the dry seeds was indeed accelerated by storing under high-pressure oxygen. The morphological ageing symptoms of the stored seeds resembled those observed after ageing under long-term dry storage conditions. Barley appeared more tolerant of this storage treatment compared with lettuce and soybean. Less-mature harvested cabbage seeds were more sensitive, as was the case for primed compared with non-primed lettuce seeds. Under high-pressure oxygen storage the tocopherol levels of dry seeds decreased, in a linear way with the decline in seed germination, but remained unchanged in seeds deteriorated during storage at 45 °C after equilibration at 85 % RH. CONCLUSIONS: Seed storage under high-pressure oxygen offers a novel and relatively fast method to study the physiology and biochemistry of seed ageing at different seed moisture levels and temperatures, including those that are representative of the dry storage conditions as used in gene banks and commercial practice.

Cardiogenetic counselling in a non-university hospital.

BACKGROUND: Inherited heart disease is becoming a substantial part of everyday cardiology practice while genetic counselling still only takes place at university hospitals. In this study we review our seven-year experience with cardiogenetic counselling in a non-university hospital. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of patient records. RESULTS: A total number of 83 index patients were counselled. In 65 patients DNA tests were performed, resulting in 26 positive tests. In all patients with genotype confirmation of hereditary cardiovascular disease and in 32 families without a molecular diagnosis, family screening was advised. Out of 120 subsequently tested family members, 47 molecular genetic diagnoses were confirmed. CONCLUSION: Although the number of patients reviewed was small, our data show that cardiogenetic diseases are part of daily cardiology practice. We believe counselling should be performed in more general hospitals. This is an excellent opportunity for collaboration between university and nonuniversity hospitals, with immediate benefit for patients and their relatives. (Neth Heart J 2007;15:412-4.).

Genomic cloning and linkage mapping of the Mal d 1 (PR-10) gene family in apple (Malus domestica).

Fresh apples can cause birch pollen-related food allergy in northern and central European populations, primarily because of the presence of Mal d 1, the major apple allergen that is cross-reactive to the homologous and sensitizing allergen Bet v 1 from birch. Apple cultivars differ significantly in their allergenicity. Knowledge of the genetic basis of these differences would direct breeding for hypoallergenic cultivars. The PCR genomic cloning and sequencing were performed on two cultivars, Prima and Fiesta, which resulted in 37 different Mal d 1 gDNA sequences. Based on the mapping of sequence-specific molecular markers, these sequences appeared to represent 18 Mal d 1 genes. Sixteen genes were located in two clusters, one cluster with seven genes on linkage group (LG) 13, and the other cluster with nine genes on the homoeologous LG 16. One gene was mapped on LG 6, and one remained unmapped. According to sequence identity, these 18 genes could be subdivided into four subfamilies. Subfamilies I-III had an intron of different size that was subfamily and gene-specific. Subfamily IV consisted of 11 intronless genes. The deduced amino acid sequence identity varied from 65% to 81% among subfamilies, from 82% to 100% among genes within a subfamily, and from 97.5% to 100% among alleles of one gene. This study provides a better understanding of the genetics of Mal d 1 and the basis for further research on the occurrence of allelic diversity among cultivars in relation to allergenicity and their biological functions.

Characterization of transcription initiation and termination signals of the proteinase genes of Lactococcus lactis Wg2 and enhancement of proteolysis in L. lactis.

The transcription initiation signals of the prtP and prtM genes specifying the proteolytic activity of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris Wg2 were mapped by primer extension. The strength of these promoters was analyzed with promoter-screening vector pGKV410, and they appeared to be weaker than previously isolated promoters of strain Wg2. In addition, a putative transcription terminator downstream of the prtP gene was characterized by using the terminator-screening vector pGKV259. The putative terminator decreased the transcription activity of lactococcal promoter P59 by approximately 70% in both Bacillus subtilis and L. lactis. Deletion of a part of the stem-loop structure of the terminator decreased the negative effect on transcription, indicating that the structure could indeed function as a terminator of transcription. The proteolytic activity of the lactococcal host was enhanced by placing the originally oppositely oriented prt genes in tandem and replacing the relatively weak promoters upstream of the prt genes with the stronger promoter, P32, from the chromosome of L. lactis Wg2.

[Estimation of the potential number of donor organs in 1988 and 1989 in 13 hospitals with a major neurosurgical department]. / Schatting van het potentiële aantal donororganen in 1988 en 1989 in 13 ziekenhuizen met een hoofdfunctie neurochirurgie.

In the Netherlands the supply of donor organs for transplantation still fails to meet demand. This study deals with the total number of donors and donor organs available in the 13 Dutch hospitals with a large neurosurgical department. The number of kidneys that could have been donated was twice as large, hearts and livers five times as large, and pancreas 35 times as large as the numbers actually donated (in absolute numbers for 1988 and 1989 respectively 631 and 642 (kidneys), 173 and 204 (livers), 154 and 178 (hearts) and 239 and 285 (pancreata). Refusal by the potential donor's family was the main reason for not donating organs.

Heterologous gene expression in Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis: synthesis, secretion, and processing of the Bacillus subtilis neutral protease.

The Bacillus subtilis nprE gene lacking its own promoter sequence was inserted in the lactococcal expression vector pMG36e. Upon introduction of the recombinant plasmid into Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis strain MG1363, neutral protease activity could be visualized by the appearance of large clearing zones around colonies grown on milk agar plates. By measuring the activities of the neutral protease and the intracellular enzyme lactate dehydrogenase in culture supernatants and cell fractions, it was demonstrated that the neutral protease was actively secreted into the growth medium. This was corroborated by using the Western blot (immunoblot) technique, which showed the presence of the mature form of the neutral protease in the culture supernatant. On the basis of these results, it is concluded that the B. subtilis neutral protease gene was expressed in L. lactis and that the gene product was secreted into the growth medium and was apparently correctly processed to produced a biologically active protein. The secretion of this particular enzyme may be helpful in achieving accelerated cheese ripening.

Neutral amino acid transport by membrane vesicles of Streptococcus cremoris is subject to regulation by internal pH.

The pH dependence of transport of the neutral amino acids L-serine and L-alanine by membrane vesicles of Streptococcus cremoris have been studied in detail. The rates of four modes of facilitated diffusion (e.g., influx, efflux, exchange, and counterflow) of L-serine and L-alanine increase with increasing H+ concentration. Rates of artificially imposed electrical potential across the membrane (delta psi)-driven transport of L-serine and L-alanine show an optimum at pH 6 to 6.5. Under similar conditions, delta psi- and pH gradient across the membrane (delta pH)-driven transport of L-leucine is observed within the pH range studied (pH 5.5 to 7.5). The effect of ionophores on the uptake of L-alanine and L-serine has been studied in membrane vesicles of S. cremoris fused with proteoliposomes containing beef heart mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase as a proton motive force (delta p)-generating system (Driessen et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82:7555-7559, 1985). An increase in the initial rates of L-serine and L-alanine uptake is observed with decreasing pH, which is not consistent with the pH dependency of delta p. Nigericin, an ionophore that induced a nearly complete interconversion of delta pH into delta psi, stimulated both the rate and the final level of L-alanine and L-serine uptake. Valinomycin, an ionophore that induced a collapse of delta psi with a noncompensating increase in delta pH, inhibited L-alanine and L-serine uptake above pH 6.0 more efficiently than it decreased delta p. Experiments which discriminate between the effects of the internal pH and the driving force (delta pH) on solute transport indicate that at high internal pH the transport systems for L-alanine and L-serine are inactivated. A unique relation exists between the internal pH and the initial rate of uptake of L-serine and L-alanine with an apparent pK of 7.0. The rate of L-alanine and L-serine uptake decreases with increasing internal pH. The apparent complex relation between the delta p and transport of L-alanine and L-serine can be explained by a regulatory effect of the internal pH on the activity of the L-serine and L-alanine carriers.