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Biomedical subjects

V Rajaram

Publications and source records attributed to V Rajaram.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Cloning, purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of the biosynthetic N-acetylornithine aminotransferases from Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli.

Acetylornithine aminotransferase (AcOAT) is a type I pyridoxal 5'-phosphate-dependent enzyme catalyzing the conversion of N-acetylglutamic semialdehyde to N-acetylornithine in the presence of alpha-ketoglutarate, a step involved in arginine metabolism. In Escherichia coli, the biosynthetic AcOAT also catalyzes the conversion of N-succinyl-L-2-amino-6-oxopimelate to N-succinyl-L,L-diaminopimelate, one of the steps in lysine biosynthesis. It is closely related to ornithine aminotransferase. AcOAT was cloned from Salmonella typhimurium and E. coli, overexpressed in E. coli and purified using Ni-NTA affinity column chromatography. The enzymes crystallized in the presence of gabaculine. Crystals of E. coli AcOAT (eAcOAT) only diffracted X-rays to 3.5 A and were twinned. The crystals of S. typhimurium AcOAT (sAcOAT) diffracted to 1.9 A and had a dimer in the asymmetric unit. The structure of sAcOAT was solved by the molecular-replacement method.

Cloning, Molecular↗

Trichofolliculoma of the vulva associated with vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia: report of three cases and review of the literature.

Trichofolliculoma is an uncommon, benign cutaneous adnexal neoplasm most commonly occurring on the head and neck. Trichofolliculoma of the vulva has not been previously reported. The juxtaposition of a trichofolliculoma in an excisional biopsy specimen performed for vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN III) created a diagnostic dilemma and prompted a review of our files from 1989 to 2000 for additional cases. A search for benign hair follicle tumors of the vulva identified two additional trichofolliculomas. All three vulvar trichofolliculomas were associated with VIN III. During this same period, 628 cases of vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia II and III were identified. The appearance of trichofolliculoma at this previously unreported site may present diagnostic difficulty.

Adult↗

HLA Bw57 and DR7 association with psoriasis vulgaris in south India.

Eighty-three south Indian patients with psoriasis vulgaris were studied for HLA antigen frequencies and compared with 77 controls studied simultaneously. HLA Bw57, a split of B17 was found elevated in the patients. The two sexes differed in their age-at-onset curves: females had a preponderance to early onset of the disease, while the males had late onset. Among these patients, major group 3, a Western Brachycephal Armenoid group, revealed the highest risk for B17 & Bw57 but not major group 2, a Mediterranean one.

Adult↗

Local retinal regions control local eye growth and myopia.

In chicks, visual deprivation leads to myopia and enlargement of the vitreous chamber of the eye. When chicks were raised with white translucent occluders over their eyes so that either the nasal half, the temporal half, or all of the retina was visually deprived, the resulting myopia (median = -15 diopters) was limited to the deprived part of the retina, regardless of which half of the retina was visually deprived; the nondeprived part remained nearly emmetropic. Correspondingly, the vitreous chamber was elongated only in the region of the visual deprivation, resulting in eyes with different asymmetric shapes depending on which retinal region was deprived. These results argue for a local regulation of ocular growth that is dependent on vision and suggest a hypothesis to explain the epidemiological association of myopia in humans with large amounts of reading. Because most nonfoveal retinal neurons have large receptive fields, they cannot resolve the individual letters on the printed page; this may lead to their activity being less during reading than during most other forms of visual stimulation. Thus, the impoverished stimulus situation of reading may lead to myopia, as do other types of visual form deprivation.

Animals↗

Shoulder forearm support for the subluxed shoulder.

Subluxation of the shoulder is a common problem in patients who have had a stroke. Of the shoulder supports that are being used, many do not reduce the subluxation, and patients continue to complain of shoulder pain. The shoulder support designed for this study reduces subluxation, is custom fit, costs less, and is more comfortable than conventional slings. The sling is difficult to don but patients are able to perform self-ROM exercises without removing the sling. The sling consists of two parts: a shoulder support and forearm support. Both portions are worn when the patient is ambulating or standing. Only the shoulder support is worn when the patient is sitting with a lapboard. X-rays confirmed the reduction of subluxation, and patients reported decreased shoulder pain.

Cerebrovascular Disorders↗