Is day care equivalent to inpatient care for active rheumatoid arthritis? Randomised controlled clinical and economic evaluation

Objective: To test the clinical equivalence and resource consequences of day care with inpatient care for active rheumatoid arthritis.

Long-Day Up-Regulation of a GAMYB Gene during Lolium temulentum Inflorescence Formation

Long-day exposure of the grass Lolium temulentum may regulate flowering via changes in gibberellin (GA) levels. Therefore, we have examined both GA levels and expression of a MYB transcription factor that is specific to the GA signal transduction pathway in monocots. This MYB gene from L. temulentum shows over 90% nucleotide identity with the barley and rice GAMYB genes, and, like them, gibberellic acid (GA3) up-regulates its expression in the seed. Furthermore, cDNAs of both the barley and L. temulentum GAMYB show the same simple patterns of hybridization with digests of L. temulentum genomic DNA. Compared with vegetative shoot apices of L. temulentum, the in situ mRNA expression of LtGAMYB does not change during the earliest steps of “floral” initiation at the apex. However, by 100 h (the double-ridge stage of flowering) its expression increased substantially and was highest in the terminal and lateral spikelet sites. Thereafter, expression declined overall but then increased within stamen primordia. Prior to increased LtGAMYB expression, long-day exposure sufficient to induce flowering led to increased (5- to 20-fold) levels of GA1 and GA4 in the leaf. Thus, increases first in GA level in the leaf followed by increased expression of LtGAMYB in the apex suggest important signaling and/or response roles in flowering.

Dynamics of Cytokinins in Apical Shoot Meristems of a Day-Neutral Tobacco during Floral Transition and Flower Formation1

This study considered cytokinin distribution in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) shoot apices in distinct phases of development using immunocytochemistry and quantitative tandem mass spectrometry. In contrast to vegetative apices and flower buds, we detected no free cytokinin bases (zeatin, dihydrozeatin, or isopentenyladenine) in prefloral transition apices. We also observed a 3-fold decrease in the content of cytokinin ribosides (zeatin riboside, dihydrozeatin riboside, and isopentenyladenosine) during this transition phase. The group concluded that organ formation (e.g. leaves and flowers) is characterized by enhanced cytokinin content, in contrast to the very low endogenous cytokinin levels found in prefloral transition apices, which showed no organogenesis. The immunocytochemical analyses revealed a differing intracellular localization of the cytokinin bases. Dihydrozeatin and isopentenyladenine were mainly cytoplasmic and perinuclear, whereas zeatin showed a clear-cut nuclear labeling. To our knowledge, this is the first time that this phenomenon has been reported. Cytokinins do not seem to act as positive effectors in the prefloral transition phase in tobacco shoot apices. Furthermore, the differences in distribution at the cellular level may be indicative of a specific physiological role of zeatin in nuclear processes.

Evidence that two present-day components needed for the genetic code appeared after nucleated cells separated from eubacteria.

The trinucleotide/amino acid relationships of the present-day genetic code are established by the amino-acylation reactions of tRNA synthetases, whereby each of 20 specific amino acids is attached to its cognate tRNAs, which bear anticodon trinucleotides. Because of its universality, the appearance of the modern genetic code is thought to predate the separation of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms in the universal phylogenetic tree. In the light of new sequence information, we present here a phylogenetic analysis that shows an unusual picture for tyrosyl- and tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetases. Ij particular, the eukaryotic tyrosyl- and tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetases are more related to each other than to their respective prokaryotic counterparts. In contrast, each of the other 18 eukaryotic synthetases is more related to its prokaryotic counterpart than to any eukaryotic synthetase specific for a different amino acid. Our results raise the possibility that present day tyrosyl- and tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetases appeared after the separation of nucleated cells from eubacteria. The results have implications for the development of the genetic code.

A Drosophila seminal fluid protein, Acp26Aa, stimulates egg laying in females for 1 day after mating.

Mating triggers behavioral and physiological changes in the Drosophila melanogaster female, including an elevation of egg laying. Seminal fluid molecules from the male accessory gland are responsible for initial behavioral changes, but persistence of these changes requires stored sperm. Using genetic analysis, we have identified a seminal fluid protein that is responsible for an initial elevation of egg laying. This molecule, Acp26Aa, has structural features of a prohormone and contains a region with amino acid similarity to the egg-laying hormone of Aplysia. Acp26Aa is transferred to the female during mating, where it undergoes processing. Here we report the generation and analysis of mutants, including a null, in Acp26Aa. Females mated to male flies that lack Acp26Aa lay fewer eggs than do mates of normal males. This effect is apparent only on the first day after mating. The null mutation has no other detectable physiological or behavioral effects on the male or the mated female.

Rapid RNA polymerase genetics: one-day, no-column preparation of reconstituted recombinant Escherichia coli RNA polymerase.

We present a simple, rapid procedure for reconstitution of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase holoenzyme (RNAP) from individual recombinant alpha, beta, beta', and sigma 70 subunits. Hexahistidine-tagged recombinant alpha subunit purified by batch-mode metal-ion-affinity chromatography is incubated with crude recombinant beta, beta', and sigma 70 subunits from inclusion bodies, and the resulting reconstituted recombinant RNAP is purified by batch-mode metal-ion-affinity chromatography. RNAP prepared by this procedure is indistinguishable from RNAP prepared by conventional methods with respect to subunit stoichiometry, alpha-DNA interaction, catabolite gene activator protein (CAP)-independent transcription, and CAP-dependent transcription. Experiments with alpha (1-235), an alpha subunit C-terminal deletion mutant, establish that the procedure is suitable for biochemical screening of subunit lethal mutants.