BAliBASE is specifically designed to serve as an evaluation resource to address all the problems encountered when aligning complete sequences. The database contains high quality, manually constructed multiple sequence alignments together with detailed annotations. The alignments are all based on three-dimensional structural superpositions, with the exception of the transmembrane sequences. The first release provided sets of reference alignments dealing with the problems of high variability, unequal repartition and large N/C-terminal extensions and internal insertions. Here we describe version 2.0 of the database, which incorporates three new reference sets of alignments containing structural repeats, trans-membrane sequences and circular permutations to evaluate the accuracy of detection/prediction and alignment of these complex sequences. BAliBASE can be viewed at the web site http://www-igbmc.u-strasbg. fr/BioInfo/BAliBASE2/index.html or can be downloaded from ftp://ftp-igbmc.u-strasbg.fr/pub/BAliBASE2 /.

The purpose of this study was to identify the incidence of abnormal computed tomography (CT) findings in dogs with lameness of one or both elbows. CT examinations of 102 elbows in 51 dogs were reviewed individually and by group consensus by 3 examiners and graded for various abnormalities. Frequently encountered abnormalities included abnormal shape and sclerosis of the medial coronoid process of the ulna, irregularity of the radial incisure of the ulna, and ulnar trochlear notch sclerosis. Other abnormalities included distinctlseparate or fissurehn situ fragmentation of the medial coronoid; lucency of the radial incisure; ununited anconeal process; sclerosis, lucency, or flattening of the medial aspect of the humeral condyle; osteophyte formation; and joint incongruity. In conclusion, CT of the canine cubital joint is useful in identification of various lesions beyond simple fragmentation of the medial coronoid process of the ulna.

For dogs with CSM at a single level, the use of a spinal locking plate in combination with a cortical ring allograft can be an effective surgical treatment. Costs of the implants as well as anatomic differences in dogs make this type of surgery less appealing.

Chylothorax is a devastating disease, and the success rates from either medical or surgical management are less than satisfactory. In some animals with chylothorax, a thickening of the pericardium occurs that is associated with chronic irritation induced by chyle. We hypothesized that pericardial thickening would lead to increased right-sided venous pressures and that abnormal venous pressures would act to impede the drainage of chyle via lymphaticovenous communications after thoracic duct (TD) ligation. We also hypothesized that serosanguineous effusions that occurred after TD ligation could effectively be treated or prevented by pericardectomy in affected animals. TD ligation plus pericardectomy was performed in 17 animals, and pericardectomy alone was performed in an additional 3 animals that presented during a 5.5-year period to the Texas A&M University (College Station, TX). Nineteen animals presented for an evaluation of idiopathic chylothorax (9 dogs and 10 cats), and 1 dog presented for serosanguineous pleural fluid after TD ligation that had been performed elsewhere. Echocardiography was normal in all animals, except for a subjectively thickened pericardium in 7 cats and 6 dogs. Clinical signs of pleural fluid accumulation resolved in 10 of 10 dogs and in 8 of 10 cats after surgery. The overall success rate for the surgical treatment of chylothorax (ie, the resolution of pleural fluid accumulation) in this study was 90% (100% in dogs and 80% in cats). These data suggest that TD ligation in conjunction with pericardectomy has a favorable outcome in animals with idiopathic chylothorax.

Chylothorax is a devastating disease, and the success rates from either medical or surgical management are less than satisfactory. In some animals with chylothorax, a thickening of the pericardium occurs that is associated with chronic irritation induced by chyle. We hypothesized that pericardial thickening would lead to increased right-sided venous pressures and that abnormal venous pressures would act to impede the drainage of chyle via lymphaticovenous communications after thoracic duct (TD) ligation. We also hypothesized that serosanguineous effusions that occurred after TD ligation could effectively be treated or prevented by pericardectomy in affected animals. TD ligation plus pericardectomy was performed in 17 animals, and pericardectomy alone was performed in an additional 3 animals that presented during a 5.5-year period to the Texas A&M University (College Station, TX). Nineteen animals presented for an evaluation of idiopathic chylothorax (9 dogs and 10 cats), and 1 dog presented for serosanguineous pleural fluid after TD ligation that had been performed elsewhere. Echocardiography was normal in all animals, except for a subjectively thickened pericardium in 7 cats and 6 dogs. Clinical signs of pleural fluid accumulation resolved in 10 of 10 dogs and in 8 of 10 cats after surgery. The overall success rate for the surgical treatment of chylothorax (ie, the resolution of pleural fluid accumulation) in this study was 90% (100% in dogs and 80% in cats). These data suggest that TD ligation in conjunction with pericardectomy has a favorable outcome in animals with idiopathic chylothorax.

Bloom's syndrome (BS) is a rare human genetic disorder characterized by mutations within the BLM gene whose primary eects are excessive chromosome breakaoge and increased rates of sister chromatide interchange in somatic cells. We report the characterization of a murine protein (mBLM), highly related to the product of the human BLM gene. This protein exhibits an ATPdependent DNA-helicase activity that unwinds DNA in a 3' ± 5' direction. Single aminoacid substitutions found in BS cells, abolish both ATPase and helicase activities of this protein, indicating that defects in these BLM functions may be primarily responsible for BS establishment. These results provide the ®rst evidence suggesting that the enzymatic activities of the BLM product are implicated in the upholding of genomic integrity.

The present study shows that the increased glomerular permeability and the subsequently altered megalin-mediated and megalin-dependent cubilin-mediated endocytosis lead to a partial LMW proteinuria and partial HMW proteinuria.

The ATFa proteins, which are members of the CREB/ ATF family of transcription factors, display quite versatile properties. We have previously shown that they interact with the adenovirus E1a oncoprotein, mediating part of its transcriptional activity and heterodimerize with the Jun, Fos or related transcription factors, thereby modulating their DNA-binding speci®city. In the present study, we report the sequence requirement of the N-terminal activation domain of ATFa and demonstrate the importance of speci®c threonine residues (Thr51 and Thr53) in addition to that of the metalbinding domain, in transcriptional activation processes. We also show that the N-terminal domain of ATFa which stably binds the Jun N-terminal kinase-2 (JNK2) (Bocco et al., 1996), is not a substrate for this kinase in vivo but, instead, serves as a JNK2-docking site for ATFa-associated partners like JunD, allowing them to be phosphorylated by the bound kinase.