“
“OBJECTIVE: Tuberculum sellae meningiomas represent 5 to 10% of all intracranial meningiomas. Such lesions are classically removed through a variety of well-standardized transcranial approaches. The extended endonasal transsphenoidal route, under either microscopic or endoscopic visualization, has only recently been proposed as a viable surgical technique for the management of such tumors.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 51 consecutive patients with tuberculum sellae meningiomas were treated at our institution during a 21-year period. Forty-four patients had transcranial surgery, and the last seven were treated via the extended endoscopic Wortmannin transsphenoidal approach. We also compared our data with

those reported and endocrino-ophthalmological in the pertinent literature related to the surgical,, Selleckchem eFT-508 logical outcome.

RESULTS: The significant difference among the transcranial and transsphenoidal series, both in our experience and in the reviewed literature, did not allow us to draw statistically significant results but rather a reporting of the outcomes. In the transcranial group, 86.4% had a gross total removal of the lesion, whereas the percentage was 83.3% in the transsphenoidal group. Concerning the visual outcome, we experienced postoperative improvement in 61.4% of the transcranial patients and

a worsening of 13.6%, whereas improvement was reported in 71.4% of the patients in the transsphenoidal group; in the last group, we did not observe any postoperative BCKDHB worsening. The main drawback of the transsphenoidal approach still remains the difficulty in reconstructing the cranial base dural and bone defects, which expose patients to a greater risk of postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leakage (28.6% in our series) and related complications.

CONCLUSION: When treating a patient with a diagnosis of tuberculum sellae meningioma, a neurosurgeon should know that, aside from the classical transcranial

approach, the possibility of an extended transsphenoidal approach exists. Although it is still not a standardized procedure, in carefully selected cases (i.e., small midline lesions, without major vessel encasement, or parasellar extension) and in experienced hands, it could be considered a viable alternative, especially in overcoming the reconstruction-related problems.”
“Purpose: Despite techniques to preserve the cavernous nerves during radical prostatectomy erectile dysfunction remains a complication. We determined whether bilateral cavernous nerve resection induces apoptosis in the penis. We also determined whether treatment with the phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor tadalafil prevents apoptosis as well as the specific mechanisms involved.

Materials and Methods: Mice were subjected to cavernous nerve resection or sham surgery. Penises were processed for the identification of apoptotic cells, changes in phosphorylation of several protein kinases and immunolocalization of specific kinases.

Our study aimed to characterize DCA in severe and moderate ICA stenosis before and after carotid stenting.

Methods: This study included 21 patients with ICA stenosis >= 50% who received carotid stenting. Data of arterial blood pressure and cerebral blood flow velocity of the middle cerebral artery, measured by transcranial Doppler, were collected for 10 minutes :524 hours before and after stenting. The DCA index, represented as aMx, was assessed by calculating GSK1210151A supplier the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient of spontaneous arterial blood pressure and cerebral blood flow velocity fluctuations. The relationship between aMx and stenotic severity and also alternations

of aMx before and after stenting were assessed.

Results: Carotid stenting was effective to improve the DCA in the stenting side but not

in the contralateral nonstenting side. In considering GSK2118436 ic50 individual ICAs, the average aMx (mean :+/- SD) increased significantly from ICA stenosis <50% (0.117 +/- 0.091) to 50% to 69% (0.349 +/- 0.144), 70% to 99% (0.456 +/- 0.147), and total occlusion (0.557 +/- 0.210; P < .05, P < .01, and P < .01, compared with 50% to 69%, 70% to 99%, or total occlusion with <50% stenosis). The correlation between the degree of ICA stenosis and the aMx was also significant (r = 0.693, P < .005). The aMx improved significantly heptaminol in the stented side after carotid stenting in both moderate and severe ICA stenosis, and this finding was not affected by age, sex, risk factors, or clinical

symptoms.

Conclusions. In addition to patients with severe carotid stenosis, patients with moderate carotid stenosis may also have impaired DCA that can be restored after carotid stenting.”
“Introduction. – Dysphagia is a common and distressing consequence of hemispheric stroke. Study aim. – To verify the usefulness of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies of swallowing in healthy subjects and in stroke patients.

Material and methods. – TMS studies of the motor cortical projections to the upper esophageal. sphincter were performed in 45 patients with acute mono-hemispheric stroke (26 patients with dysphagia) and 20 healthy adult volunteers.

Results. – TMS of either hemisphere in normal volunteers evoked motor evoked potentials (MEP) in the esophagus. The average point of optimal excitability was slightly more anterior in the right hemisphere; otherwise, MEP amplitudes and latencies were similar from both hemispheres as were the areas of the cortical map. The cortical map area and amplitude of MEPs were significantly smaller and the latencies longer after stimulation of the affected hemisphere compared with the unaffected hemisphere and pooled control data. Twenty-four dysphagic patients (92.

We assessed the feasibility and safety of performing single setting bilateral laparoscopic orchiopexy in boys with bilateral intra-abdominal testes.

Materials and Methods: A single surgeon experience was reviewed. The surgical technique was similar in all cases and on each

side, including infra-umbilical access, diagnostic evaluation, peritoneal mobilization lateral to the spermatic vessels and buy JQEZ5 inferior to the vas deferens, gubernacular transection, and a decision for or against a Fowler-Stephens procedure and testis relocation into the scrotum with fixation. Followup consisted of physical examination 14 days, 6 months and 1 year postoperatively, when testicular position and size were assessed. Intraoperative and postoperative selleck complications were noted.

Results: Single setting bilateral laparoscopic orchiopexy was attempted in a total of 42 testes in 21 boys with a median age of 9 months (range 7 to 52). It was completed in a total of 36 testes in 18 boys. All procedures were performed on an outpatient basis. Of the 42 testes orchiopexy was performed in 4 with Fowler-Stephens ligation, including at a 1 and 2-stage procedure in 2 each. Although the latter 2 cases

account for 2 of the 3 not completed at a single setting, excellent outcomes were achieved in these cases at the second setting, yielding bilateral intrascrotal testes in each. A third boy required a subsequent open procedure for relocation of a testis from an inferior pubic/superior scrotal position to a more dependent portion of the scrotum. Testicular position after laparoscopy was the mid lower scrotum in 38 cases, upper scrotum in 3 and inferior pubic/superior scrotal in 1. Atrophy was noted in 2 of the 42 testes (19 of 21 boys) at 6-month followup, including in 1 boy who underwent

a 1-stage Fowler-Stephens procedure and I who underwent nonFowler-Stephens orchiopexy. Of the 21 boys 16 required only 1 surgery to achieve viable intrascrotal testes at 1-year followup. Of the 21 boys 19 (91%) ultimately achieved bilateral viable intrascrotal testes. There was no correlation between patient age and the likelihood of success or failure. No patient experienced any complications or hospital admissions.

Conclusions: In boys with bilateral intra-abdominal testes single Florfenicol setting bilateral laparoscopic orchiopexy can be performed safely on an outpatient basis with a high degree of success. Most boys undergo a single surgery with the testes relocated to a satisfactory intrascrotal position without atrophy.”
“Purpose: Prader-Willi syndrome is associated with hypogonadism. Cryptorchidism is found in 93% of cases and considered a phenotypic criterion. Men with Prader-Willi syndrome are thought to be infertile. To study the fertility probability in boys with Prader-Willi syndrome we analyzed testicular histology in 8 prepubertal boys and 1 man.

Across groups, VPP latencies were reduced in response to sad compared with happy face stimuli. Between groups, individuals with bipolar disorder demonstrated overall increased latencies in P80 and VPP ERP components. Current and previous studies suggest that patients with bipolar disorder Mdivi1 exhibit early visual processing deficits, but the present study contributes new evidence of a deficit in the visual P80 ERP. Delayed neural responses may be an ERP correlate of white matter deficits that have previously been identified. Furthermore, implications for early visual impairments may involve behavioural symptoms downstream.

NeuroReport 23: 152-156 (C) 2012 Wolters Kluwer Health vertical bar Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.”
“Somatic hypermutation (SHM) of Ig genes in B cells is crucial for antibody affinity maturation. The reaction is initiated by cytosine deamination of Ig, loci by activation induced deaminase (AID) and is completed by error-prone DNA repair enzyme processing

of AID-generated uracils. The mechanisms that target SHM specifically to Ig loci are poorly understood. Recently, it has been demonstrated that although AID preferentially targets Ig loci, it acts surprisingly widely on non-Ig loci, many of which are protected from mutation accumulation by high-fidelity DNA repair. We propose that breakdown of this high fidelity repair process helps explain oncogene mutations observed in B-cell tumors, and further, that many oncogenes are vulnerable to AID-mediated Tideglusib in vitro DNA breaks and translocations in normal activated B cells.”
“Spinal cord injury is often followed by disuse muscle atrophy. The effect of disuse Org 27569 muscle atrophy on motor neurons below the level of spinal cord lesions is not fully understood. We produced spinal contusions in the mid-thoracic segment

(Th7/8) of rats. To promote disuse muscle atrophy, their hind limbs were immobilized. Alpha-motor neurons in L4/5 at 3 weeks postinjury showed signs of degeneration associated with disuse muscle atrophy. Muscle atrophy alone did not produce a significant a-motor neuronal degeneration. Our results demonstrate that disuse muscle atrophy within the context of spinal cord injury exacerbates motor neuronal degeneration in caudal regions remote from the injury. NeuroReport 23: 157-161 (C) 2012 Wolters Kluwer Health vertical bar Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.”
“Quantitative understanding of immunology requires the development of experimental and mathematical techniques for estimation of rates of division and death of lymphocytes under different conditions. Here, we review the advantages and limitations of several labelling methods that are currently used to quantify turnover of lymphocytes in vivo.

The effect on morbidity was measured as the increase in hospital stay by comparison with time-matched patients without bacteraemia.

Findings The overall risk of nosocomial bacteraemia during this period was 5.9/1000 admissions (95% CI 5.2-6.9) but we recorded an underlying Olaparib mw rise in risk of 27% per year. The incidence was 1.0/1000 days in hospital (0.87-1.14), which is about 40 times higher than that of community-acquired bacteraemia

in the same region. Mortality in patients with nosocomial bacteraemia was 53%, compared with 24% in community-acquired bacteraemia and 6% in patients without bacteraemia. In survivors, nosocomial bacteraemia lengthened hospital stay by 10.1 days (3.0-17.2). Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter spp, group D streptococci, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa accounted for three-quarters of nosocomial infections. Nosocomial bacteraemia was significantly associated with severe mal nutrition (hazard ratio 2.52, 95% CI 1.79-3.57) and blood transfusion in children without severe anaemia (4.99; 3.39-7.37).

Interpretation Our findings show that although nosocomial bacteraemia is rare, it has serious effects on morbidity and mortality, and the microbiological causes are selleckchem distinct from

those of community-acquired bacteraemia. Nosocomial infections are largely unrecognised or undocumented as a health risk in low-income countries, but they are likely to become public health priorities as awareness of their occurrence increases and as other prominent childhood diseases are progressively controlled.”
“Many theories of perception are anchored in the central notion that the brain continuously updates an internal model of the world to infer the probable causes of sensory events. In this framework, the brain needs not HSP90 only

to predict the causes of sensory input, but also when they are most likely to happen. In this article, we review the neurophysiological bases of sensory predictions of “”what’ (predictive coding) and ‘when’ (predictive timing), with an emphasis on low-level oscillatory mechanisms. We argue that neural rhythms offer distinct and adapted computational solutions to predicting ‘what’ is going to happen in the sensory environment and ‘when’.”
“While protein interaction studies and protein network modeling come to the forefront, the isolation and identification of protein complexes in a cellular context remains a major challenge for plant science. To this end, a nondenaturing extraction procedure was optimized for plant whole cell matrices and the combined use of gel filtration and BN-PAGE for the separation of protein complexes was studied. Hyphenation to denaturing electrophoresis and mass spectrometric analysis allows for the simultaneous identification of multiple (previously unidentified) protein interactions in single samples.

Near-band-edge emission and green emission are labeled. In order to investigate the influence of the ZnO NWs on light scattering, the spectral dependence of the total reflectance of nanowire

arrays was analyzed. Figure 4 displays the reflectance spectra of ZnO NWs with different growth times of 60, 90, and 120 min. We can observe that the silicon substrates covered by ZnO NWs have lower reflectance spectra in the range of 400 to 800 nm. This figure shows that the ZnO NWs with a growth time of 120 min have the lowest average reflectance of about 5.7% throughout the visible range (approximately 9.7% for 60 min and approximately 7.6% for 90 min). That is simply because it has been realized that PS-341 in vivo ZnO NWs with strong alignment, high aspect ratio, and uniform distribution can effectively enhance the antireflection coatings (ARCs) by trapping light and leading to a broadband suppression DNA Damage inhibitor in the reflection [17, 18] BAY 63-2521 clinical trial Accordingly, we expect that longer ZnO NWs have a much higher chance for the incident photons interacting with the NWs’ surfaces, and therefore, the absorption cross section would be considerably larger than the short ones as we increase the growth time. Figure 4 Reflectance spectra of ZnO nanowires grown for 60, 90, and 120 min, respectively. Figure 5 shows

the field emission I-V plots for the ZnO nanowire with different growth times. Note that all samples show similar emission current–voltage (I-V) characteristics despite the different growth times. Atorvastatin There are two different regions manifested in the I-V curve of all samples. In the low-voltage region, the emission current is low and seems to be independent of the applied voltage. Once the voltage is increased further, the emitted current increases dramatically and the turn-on voltages are 410, 440, and 550 V for growth times of 120, 90, and 60 min, respectively. Figure 5 Field emission characteristics of

ZnO NWs. They were grown for 60, 90, and 120 min, respectively. The inset shows Fowler-Nordheim plots of ln(I/V 2) versus (1/V). In order to analyze the emission behavior, the I-V characteristics of ZnO NWs are interpreted using the Fowler-Nordheim (FN) equation: (1) where J is the current density, V is the applied voltage, β is the work function, d is the emitting distance, β is the field enhancement factor, and a and b are the constants. As shown in the inset of Figure 5, factor β in the FN equation represents the degree of field emission enhancement. For a nanostructured emitter, the β value is related to its work function, morphology, crystallinity, conductivity, and density. By assuming 5.2 eV as the work function value for ZnO NWs, field enhancement factors were calculated to be 642, 492, 396 for growth times of 60, 90, and 120 min, respectively [19–21].

Discussion Current working model for the B. burgdorferi BAM complex The bacterial beta-barrel assembly machine, or BAM, is a multiprotein OM complex that is composed of the essential integral OMP BamA, as well as a number of conserved and nonconserved accessory

lipoproteins that are anchored find more to the inner GW-572016 chemical structure leaflet of the OM [15, 18, 19, 30, 31]. To date, few BAM complexes have been studied, and since only those from proteobacteria have been characterized, it is yet to be determined what elements of various BAM complexes are conserved between different bacterial groups. In this study we report that the diderm spirochete, B. burgdorferi, also contains an OM-localized BAM complex, which is composed of BamA and at least two accessory lipoproteins, BB0324 and BB0028. Additionally, co-immunoprecipitation experiments using a BamA regulatable B. burgdorferi mutant strain indicated that

BamA is required for efficient association of BB0324 and BB0028. Further cellular localization assays indicated that both BB0324 and BB0028 are OM anchored subsurface lipoproteins, although only BB0324 is predicted to be an ortholog to a currently identified BAM accessory lipoprotein (i.e., the N. meningitidis BamD lipoprotein). As determined from our initial immunoprecipitation experiments with B. burgdorferi strain B31-MI, the BB0324 and BB0028 proteins associate specifically with BamA as a heterooligomeric learn more OM protein complex (see Figure 4). Additional data from the BamA regulatable mutant provided further insight into the BamA-BB0324-BB0028 interactions.

When the bamA IPTG-regulatable strain was cultivated in decreasing concentrations of IPTG (1.0 or 0.05 mM IPTG) it was immediately apparent that the BamA and BB0324/BB0028 associations were dramatically affected as compared to the parental, wildtype strain B31-LK (see Figure 5A and 5B). Although these data are insufficient to provide conclusions on the detailed organization of the BAM complex, it is apparent that BB0324 and BB0028 do not efficiently co-immunoprecipitate each other when BamA is depleted. These data suggest Cobimetinib mouse that BB0324 and BB0028 do not readily associate in B. burgdorferi without the presence of BamA, and that they likely come together only to form the functional BAM complex. However, the molecular architecture of the B. burgdorferi BAM complex is still unknown, and it is unclear what specific interactions create the BamA-BB0324-BB0028 complex. In our model, BB0324 and BB0028 may associate indirectly through individual direct contacts with BamA. Alternatively, BB0324 and BB0028 may bind directly with each other, where only one of them binds BamA. Further experiments using B. burgdorferi bb0324 and bb0028 partial and/or full deletion mutants (or IPTG regulatable mutants if they are found to be essential) should help to clarify the molecular architecture and binding partners within the BAM complex.

The relevance of the nodal excitations has also been suggested by various experiments [15–19]. Then, the problem with T c is that the nodal gap ΔN is suppressed relative to the antinodal gap Δ∗. This behavior can be associated with low superfluid density ρ s[20]. Figure 2b,c shows that the doping dependence of the nodal-to-antinodal gap ratio ΔN/Δ∗

is quite similar to that of the square-root superfluid density [8, 21, 22]. The normalized gap plot in Figure 2d indicates that what occurs with underdoping is analogous to the nodal gap suppression observed with increasing temperature [17] in terms of the decrease in ρ s. It is notable that the square-root dependence on ρ s is a typical behavior of the order parameter as expected from the Ginzburg-Landau theory [23]. These findings can be written MNK inhibitor down in a simple relational formula, (5) where , for a wide hole-concentration range of Bi2212. Figure

2 Doping dependences of superconducting gap parameters. (a) Nodal gap energy 2ΔN (blue circles) and antinodal gap energy 2Δ∗ (red squares) [8]. The solid curve denotes an energy of 8.5k B T c. (b) Square of nodal-to-antinodal gap ratio (ΔN/Δ∗)2 determined from ARPES [8]. (c) Superfluid density ρ s determined from magnetic penetration depth (ATM Kinase Inhibitor ic50 triangles) [21] and from heat Capmatinib mw capacity (crosses) [22]. (d) Superconducting gap profiles normalized to the antinodal gap for underdoped and optimally doped samples with T c = 42, 66, and 91 K (UD42, UD66, and OP91, respectively). (e) Correlation

between 2ΔN/k B T c and 2Δ∗/k B T c ratios. The insets illustrate the occurrence of incoherent electron pairs in strong coupling superconductivity. As presented in Figure 2e, the correlation between the nodal and antinodal gaps provides a perspective of crossover for our empirical formula (Equation 5). It is deduced from the conventional Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory that 2Δ/k B T c = 4.3 in the weak coupling limit for the d-wave superconducting gap [23]. However, the critical temperature T c is often lower than that expected from the weak coupling constant and a given Δ as an effect of strong coupling. Thus, the gap-to- T c ratio is widely regarded as an these indicator for the coupling strength of electron pairing and adopted for the coordinate axes in Figure 2e. As hole concentration decreases from overdoped to underdoped Bi2212, the experimental data point moves apart from the weak coupling point toward the strong coupling side, and a crossover occurs at 8.5, which is about twice the weak coupling constant. It appears that the evolution of ΔN is confined by two lines as ΔN ≤ 0.87Δ∗ and 2ΔN ≤ 8.5k B T c. As illustrated in the insets of Figure 2e, the strong coupling allows the electrons to remain paired with incoherent excitations.

However, if the amount of rutile phase is too high in TiO2 nanofibers, such as 87.8% in cell III, the property of rutile phase

will play a leading role in the cell. A large transit time shows a slow electron transport in cell III, which leads to a decrease in electron diffusion length for cell III. From the above analysis, it is concluded that the superior J sc of cell II is a consequence of more efficient electron collection and light harvesting. As far as V oc is concerned, it is known that V oc corresponds to the energy difference between the quasi-Fermi Alvocidib supplier level of the electrons in the TiO2 under illumination and the redox potential. If the electron recombination is retarded, the electron density in the conduction band of TiO2 will be increased, which will result in a negative shift in quasi-Fermi level, thereby V oc will be increased [32]. Thus, the higher V oc of cell II is ascribed to the reduced electron recombination rate. For cell III, Idasanutlin cost in spite of the largest absorbance of visible light,

a relatively low J sc is produced because of an inefficient electron collection. The comparison of cells I to III highlights the existence of a synergistic effect between the anatase and rutile phases in TiO2 nanofiber DSSCs, as well as suggests a sintering temperature of approximately 550°C which is optimal for enhancing the performance of nanofiber DSSCs. Figure 6 IMPS (a) and IMVS (b) plots of cells I to III. Based on TiO2 nanofibers sintered at 500°C, 550°C, and 600°C. The AZD2014 influence of ZnO blocking layer on the performance of TiO2 nanofiber cells Based on the above results, cell II was chosen as the reference cell to study the influence of ZnO blocking layer on the performance of TiO2 nanofiber cells. ZnO fantofarone layers with thicknesses of 4, 10, 15, and 20 nm were deposited by ALD method on FTO substrates to fabricate cells IV, V, VI, and VII, respectively. J V curves of cells II and IV to VII are shown in Figure  7, and the photovoltaic characteristics of these cells are summarized in Table  2. Compared

with cell II, the performances of the cells with the ZnO layer are significantly improved. With the ZnO layer thickness increased from 0 to 15 nm, J sc of the cells is monotonously boosted, but when decreased obviously at 20 nm, it is still larger than that without the ZnO layer. It is noticed that enhancement in V oc and FF is very small. The largest J sc of 17.3 mA cm−2 is obtained from cell VI with 15-nm-thick ZnO layer, resulting in the highest PCE of 8.01%, in contrast with 16.3 mA cm−2 and 7.12% of reference cell II. This phenomenon indicates that the charge collection of the cells is improved by the blocking function of ZnO layer on interfacial recombination, which is very different from the reported decrease of J sc caused by thick ZnO blocking layers [30]. Figure 7 Photocurrent-voltage curves of TiO 2 nanofiber cells (sintered at 550°C and approximately 60-μm thick).

As these putative GPCRs represented a separate clade in the phylogenetic analysis (Figure 1), they were assigned to a new class (class XIII, Table 1) thereby extending the classification system of fungal GPCRs to 14 classes. Conclusions A thorough examination of the genomes of the two mycoparasites T. atroviride and T. virens and the saprophyte T. reesei for putative GPCRs revealed for most classes a high conservation of their number and structure within this genus. On the other hand, remarkable differences in individual classes were found among the three Trichoderma species and among Trichoderma and other filamentous fungi.

Whereas for class BIBW2992 I to VII members, orthologous triplets with similar length and sequence are present in the genomes of the three Trichoderma species and their number is also similar to other fungi, the PAQR family has expanded especially in T. atroviride. Considering the identification of members of classes X, XI, and XII and proteins similar to the P. sojae GPR11 receptor in Trichoderma, the presented 14 classes now BMS202 cell line define the most comprehensive classification system for GPCR-like proteins of fungi. The huge diversity of GPCRs in Trichoderma spp. and especially in the mycoparasites is likely to reflect the capability of these fungi to establish various ecological niches and interactions with other organisms. It is worth mentioning that https://www.selleckchem.com/products/gilteritinib-asp2215.html with the exception

of few members, the proteins identified as putative GPCRs in this study have only been characterized in silico. Taking into account that only three α, one β and one γ subunit of heterotrimeric

G proteins are encoded in the Trichoderma genomes which face more than 55 GPCRs, studying the signaling output and identifying the respective intracellular Lck interaction partners of those receptors will provide interesting insights on how these fungi adapt to their different lifestyles. Methods Identification of GPCR-encoding genes of Trichoderma atroviride and Trichoderma virens Version 2 of the T. atroviride genome database [57] comprises 11,863 gene models on 29 scaffolds; version 2 of the T. virens genomic sequence [58] comprises 12,427 gene models on 93 scaffolds. For the homology-based search of GPCR-like proteins from T. atroviride and T. virens, the genomic sequences and deduced proteomes of the following fungi were used: Trichoderma reesei[59]Aspergillus nidulans, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus oryzae[62], Neurospora crassa[63], Magnaporthe grisea[64], Podospora anserine[65], Chaetomium globosum[66], Fusarium graminearum[67], and Nectria haematococca[68]. An e-value limit of 1e-09 was applied. To identify putative GPCRs within the T. atroviride and T. virens proteomes that lack significant sequence similarity to known GPCR-like proteins and therefore may escape detection by homology search, a more sensitive database searching using hidden Markov models (HMM) was performed using the program HMMER (http://​hmmer.​janelia.