BackgroundIn 2005, we reported on the success of Comprehensive School Health (CSH) in improving diets, activity levels, and body weights. The successful program was recognized as a "best practice" and has inspired the development of the Alberta Project Promoting active Living and healthy Eating (APPLE) Schools. The project includes 10 schools, most of which are located in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. The present study examines the effectiveness of a CSH program adopted from a "best practice" example in another setting by evaluating temporal changes in diets, activity levels and body weight.MethodsIn 2008 and 2010, we surveyed grade 5 students from approximately 150 randomly selected schools from the Canadian province of Alberta and students from 10 APPLE Schools. Students completed the Harvard Youth/Adolescent Food Frequency Questionnaire, questions on physical activity, and had their height and weight measured. Multilevel regression methods were used to analyze changes in diets, activity levels, and body weight between 2008 and 2010.ResultsIn 2010 relative to 2008, students attending APPLE Schools were eating more fruits and vegetables, consuming fewer calories, were more physically active and were less likely obese. These changes contrasted changes observed among students elsewhere in the province.ConclusionsThese findings provide evidence on the effectiveness of CSH in improving health behaviors. They show that an example of "best practice" may lead to success in another setting. Herewith the study provides the evidence that investments for broader program implementation based on "best practice" are justified.

SUMMARY The Type II Secretion System (T2SS), a multi-protein machinery spanning two membranes in Gram-negative bacteria, is responsible for the secretion of folded proteins from the periplasm across the outer membrane. The critical multi-domain T2SS assembly ATPase GspEEpsE had so far not been structurally characterized as a hexamer. Here, four hexamers of Vibrio cholerae GspEEpsE are obtained when fused to Hcp1 as an assistant hexamer, as shown by native mass spectrometry. The enzymatic activity of the GspEEpsE-Hcp1 fusions is ~20 times higher than that of a GspEEpsE monomer indicating that increasing the local concentration of GspEEpsE by the fusion strategy was successful. Crystal structures of GspEEpsE-Hcp1 fusions with different linker lengths reveal regular and elongated hexamers of GspEEpsE with major differences in domain orientation within subunits, and in subunit assembly. SAXS studies on GspEEpsE-Hcp1 fusions suggest that even further variability in GspEEpsE hexamer architecture is likely.

Although many epidemiological studies have shown that obesity increases the risk of renal cell cancer among women, the evidence for men is considered weaker (Wolk et al, 1996;McLaughlin and Lipworth, 2000).The incidence of renal cell cancer, the predominant type of kidney cancer, has been increasing both in the US and in most Western countries (Black et al, 1997;Liu et al, 1997). Today, renal cell cancer accounts for about 2% of cancers in the US (Landis et al, 1999), as well as worldwide (Parkin, 1998), with 30 000 cases occurring in the US in 1999 (Landis et al, 1999). The incidence varies more than 10-fold over the world. The highest rates are found in North America and Europe and the lowest in Asia (Parkin, 1998). Renal cell cancer occurs about twice as often among men, as among women.Obesity has also been increasing throughout the world. More than half of the adult US population is considered to have an excess weight (body mass index, BMI ≥ 25.0 kg m -2 ) and nearly one quarter are clinically obese (BMI ≥ 30.0 kg m -2 ) (Flegal et al, 1998). The increasing prevalence of obesity might therefore, at least partly, explain the increasing incidence of renal cell cancer.The purpose of this review was to evaluate the existing evidence that obesity increases the risk of renal cell cancer among both men and women. We conducted a quantitative summary analysis to estimate the magnitude of the association taking into account sex and different study characteristics, such as study design and size. We also investigated the possible effect modification between obesity and these factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS Literature reviewWe identified studies investigating the relation between obesity and kidney cancer, available in MEDLINE 1966 through 1998. We used the MeSH-terms 'kidney neoplasms' plus 'obesity', 'body weight' or 'body mass index' and selected original epidemiological studies. Additional studies were identified from systematical examinations of the list of references in the identified articles and previous reviews (Wolk et al, 1996;McLaughlin and Lipworth, 2000). Inclusion criteriaIn adults, cancer of the kidney is classified as either cancer of the parenchyma (renal cell) or the renal pelvis. In many descriptive and some analytic studies tumours of the renal parenchyma and the renal pelvis are combined and the term kidney cancer is used. Since renal cell cancer is the predominant type, responsible for more than 80% of all adult kidney neoplasms (Devesa et al, 1990), studies unable to disentangle the 2 entities were included in our review.In total, we identified 30 studies on obesity and renal cell cancer risk published between 1966 and 1998 for our review. Each studybase was eligible only once. When multiple reports were available for the same study-base we chose the one analysing incident renal cell cancer as outcome, and/or defining obesity in terms of body mass index (BMI, kg m -2 ) and in more detail and/or with the greater number of cases. We excluded 6 studies (Whittemore et al, 1985;Lindblad et al, 1994;Mel...

Precise 3′-end processing of mRNA is essential for correct gene expression, yet in yeast, 3′- processing signals consist of multiple ambiguous sequence elements. Two neighboring elements upstream of the cleavage site are particularly important for the accuracy (positioning element) and efficiency (efficiency element) of 3′-processing and are recognized by the RNA-binding proteins Rna15 and Hrp1, respectively. In vivo, these interactions are strengthened by the scaffolding protein Rna14 that stabilizes their association. The NMR structure of the 34 kDa ternary complex of the RRM domains of Hrp1 and Rna15 bound to this pair of RNA elements was determined using Residual Dipolar Coupling and Paramagnetic relaxation experiments. It reveals how each of the proteins binds to RNA, and introduces a novel class of protein-protein contact in regions of previously unknown function. These interdomain contacts had previously been overlooked in other multi-RRM structures, although a careful analysis suggests that they may be frequently present. Mutations in the regions of these contacts disrupt 3′-end processing, suggesting that they may structurally organize the ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes responsible for RNA processing.