bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nitric oxide modulates the transfer function between cones and horizontal cells during changing conditions of ambient illumination
Authors: Levy H. , Twig G. , Perlman I.
Published: December 2004

It has been suggested that nitric oxide (NO) serves as a retinal neuromodulator, adjusting retinal function to changing conditions of adaptation. We tested this hypothesis in the intact turtle retina by recording the photoresponses of L‐cones and L1‐horizontal cells, while changing retinal NO level and background illumination. Raising the retinal level of NO, by adding an NO donor (sodium nitroprusside) or the precursor for NO synthesis (l‐arginine), induced response augmentation in L‐cones and L1‐horizonmtal cells. Lowering retinal level of NO by adding l‐NAME, an inhibitor of NO synthesis, reduced the amplitudes of the photoresponses in these retinal neurons. The transfer function between L‐cones and L1‐horizontal cells, constructed from the photoresponses of these cells, was modified by NO and by background lights. The nonlinear transfer function, characteristic of the dark‐adapted retina, became linear and of low gain when the retinal NO level was increased or by increasing the level of ambient illumination. In contrast, inhibiting NO synthesis in the light‐adapted retina induced nonlinearity in the cone‐to‐horizontal cell transfer function similar to that seen in the dark‐adapted state. NADPH diaphorase histochemistry, conducted on isolated retinal cells, demonstrated activity in cone inner segments and distal process of Müller cells. These findings support the hypothesis that NO synthesis in the distal turtle retina is triggered by background illumination, and that NO acts to adjust the modes of visual information processing in the outer plexiform layer to the conditions required during continuous background illumination.
Recovery and refractoriness of auditory evoked fields after gaps in click trains
Authors: Gutschalk Alexander , Patterson Roy D. , Uppenkamp Stefan , Scherg Michael , Rupp André
Published: December 2004

When clicks are presented in a train at a rate above ∼5 Hz, they evoke a sustained field in human auditory cortex that can be recorded by magnetoencephalography. In this study we evaluated how this sustained field continues when a click train is interrupted by a silent gap. The stimuli were click trains with interclick intervals of either 12 or 24 ms, which produce pitches of 83.3 or 41.7 Hz, respectively. The click trains were 996 ms in duration with a gap of 12, 24, 48, 96, or 192 ms beginning 504 ms post‐stimulus onset. The sustained field for click trains with short gaps was similar to the one evoked by a continuous click train. Subtraction of the response evoked by a solitary click train of 504 ms enabled estimation of the sustained field in the interval after the gap. The comparison revealed that the sustained field amplitude after the gap was larger than that at the onset of the initial click train in the interval from 150 to 350 ms after onset, and the difference decreased with gap duration. In contrast, the transient P1m was refractory for gaps up to 48 ms, but had nearly recovered its initial amplitude for gaps of 192 ms. We discuss how these results might relate to the perception, i.e. if an interrupted click train is perceived as one continuous sound with a transient gap or as two successive events.
Clozapine‐, but not haloperidol‐, induced increases in ΔFosB‐like immunoreactivity are completely blocked in the striatum of mice lacking D3 dopamine receptors
Authors: Robertson George S. , Lee Christopher J. , Sridhar Kavita , Nakabeppu Yusaku , Cheng Michael , Wang Yan‐Min , Caron Marc G.
Published: December 2004

On the basis of anatomical and pharmacological evidence, we have proposed that D3 receptor antagonism plays a role in the mediation of clozapine‐, but not haloperidol‐, induced immediate‐early gene expression in the striatum. To test this hypothesis directly, we compared the effects of repeated administration of vehicle (8 mL/kg/day), clozapine (20 mg/kg/day) and haloperidol (2 mg/kg/day) for 17 days on expression of ΔFosB‐like immunoreactivity (ΔFosB‐Ir) in the island of Calleja major, nucleus accumbens and caudate‐putamen of wild‐type C57Bl6 (WT) and D3 receptor knockout (D3KO) mice. In vehicle‐treated mice, the number of ΔFosB‐Ir neurons in the nucleus accumbens was greater in D3KO than in WT mice. This finding is consistent with results implicating D3 receptor activation in the tonic inhibition of this limbic structure. Unlike rats, clozapine significantly increased the number of ΔFosB‐Ir neurons in both the nucleus accumbens and the caudate‐putamen of WT mice albeit to a lesser extent in the caudate‐putamen than nucleus accumbens. Similar to rats, however, ΔFosB‐Ir in the island of Calleja major of WT mice was elevated by clozapine but not by haloperidol. In the nucleus accumbens and caudate‐putamen, haloperidol produced similar increases in ΔFosB‐Ir in WT and D3KO mice. By contrast, clozapine‐induced increases in ΔFosB‐Ir in the island of Calleja major, nucleus accumbens and caudate‐putamen of WT mice were absent in D3KO mice. These findings, which indicate that D3 receptor blockade is essential for clozapine‐induced increases in striatal ΔFosB‐Ir, suggest that D3 receptor antagonism may contribute to the unique therapeutic profile of this atypical antipsychotic.
Pre‐ and postsynaptic GABAA receptors at reciprocal dendrodendritic synapses in the olfactory bulb
Authors: Panzanelli Patrizia , Homanics Gregg E. , Ottersen Ole Petter , Fritschy Jean‐Marc , Sassoè‐Pognetto Marco
Published: December 2004

Presynaptic ionotropic receptors are important regulators of synaptic function; however, little is known about their organization in the presynaptic membrane. We show here a different spatial organization of presynaptic and postsynaptic GABAA receptors at reciprocal dendrodendritic synapses between mitral and granule cells in the rat olfactory bulb. Using postembedding electron microscopy, we have found that mitral cell dendrites express GABAA receptors at postsynaptic specializations of symmetric (GABAergic) synapses, as well as at presynaptic sites of asymmetric (glutamatergic) synapses. Analysis of the subsynaptic distribution of gold particles revealed that in symmetric synapses GABAA receptors are distributed along the entire postsynaptic membrane, whereas in asymmetric synapses they are concentrated at the edge of the presynaptic specialization. To assess the specificity of immunogold labelling, we analysed the olfactory bulbs of mutant mice lacking the α1 subunit of GABAA receptors. We found that in wild‐type mice α1 subunit immunoreactivity was similar to that observed in rats, whereas in knockout mice the immunolabelling was abolished. These results indicate that in mitral cell dendrites GABAA receptors are distributed in a perisynaptic domain that surrounds the presynaptic specialization. Such presynaptic receptors may be activated by spillover of GABA from adjacent inhibitory synapses and modulate glutamate release, thereby providing a novel mechanism regulating dendrodendritic inhibition in the olfactory bulb.
Cilium‐attached and excised patch‐clamp recordings of odourant‐activated Ca‐dependent K channels from chemosensory cilia of olfactory receptor neurons
Authors: Delgado Ricardo , Bacigalupo Juan
Published: December 2004

It has previously been proposed that a Ca2+‐dependent K+ conductance is implicated in the inhibitory odourant response in rat and toad olfactory receptor neurons. Previous whole‐cell and single‐channel measurements on inside‐out excised patches, in addition to immunochemical evidence, indicated the presence of Ca2+‐dependent K+ channels in olfactory cilia, the transducing structures of these sensory cells. Ca2+‐dependent K+ channels opened in ‘on‐cilium’ membrane patches from C. caudiverbera upon odourant stimulation. Furthermore, after excision in the inside‐out configuration, the channel could be opened by micromolar Ca2+, in a Ca2+‐dependent fashion, but it was unresponsive to cyclic AMP. We estimated that the Ca2+ concentration in the proximity of a Ca2+‐dependent K+ channel within the cilia reaches at least 100 µm during the odour response. The K+ channel displayed a higher selectivity for K+ than for Na+. Our results support a role for this Ca2+‐dependent K+ channel in chemotransduction.
The role of NGF uptake in selective vulnerability to cell death in ageing sympathetic neurons
Authors: Gatzinsky Kliment P. , Thrasivoulou Christopher , Campioni‐Noack Maddalena , Underwood Clare , Cowen Tim
Published: December 2004

We have examined the hypothesis that differences in nerve growth factor (NGF) uptake and transport determine vulnerability to age‐related neurodegeneration. Neurons projecting to cerebral blood vessels (CV) in aged rats are more vulnerable to age‐related degeneration than those projecting to the iris. Uptake of NGF was therefore examined in sympathetic neurons projecting from the superior cervical ganglion (SCG) to CV and iris in young and old rats by treating the peripheral processes of these neurons with different doses of I125‐NGF. Total uptake of I125‐NGF was reduced in old CV‐projecting, but not iris‐projecting, neurons. Numbers of radiolabelled neurons projecting to each target were counted in sectioned ganglia. The data showed age‐related reductions in numbers of labelled neurons projecting to CV, but no change in numbers of neurons projecting to the iris. Calculation of uptake of I125‐NGF per neuron unexpectedly showed no major age‐related differences in either of the two neuron populations. However, uptake per neuron was considerably lower for young and old CV‐projecting, compared to iris‐projecting, SCG neurons. We hypothesized that variations in NGF uptake might affect neuronal survival in old age. Counts of SCG neurons using a physical disector following retrograde tracing with Fluorogold confirmed the selective vulnerability of CV‐projecting neurons by showing a significant 37% loss of these neurons in the period between 15 and 24 months. In contrast, there was no significant loss of iris‐projecting neurons. We conclude that vulnerability to, or protection from, age‐related neurodegeneration and neuronal cell death are associated with life‐long low, or high, levels of NGF uptake, respectively.
Pro‐VGF‐derived peptides induce penile erection in male rats: possible involvement of oxytocin
Authors: Succu Salvatora , Cocco Cristina , Mascia Maria Stefania , Melis Tiziana , Melis Maria Rosaria , Possenti Roberta , Levi Andrea , Ferri Gian Luca , Argiolas Antonio
Published: December 2004

The effect of five peptides derived from the C‐terminal portion of rat pro‐VGF (VGF577‐617, VGF588‐617, VGF599‐617, VGF556‐576 and VGF588‐597) on penile erection was studied after injection into the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus of male rats. VGF577‐617, VGF588‐617, VGF599‐617 and, to a lower extent, VGF588‐597 (0.1–2 µg) induced penile erection episodes in a dose‐dependent manner when injected into the paraventricular nucleus, while VGF556‐576 was ineffective. VGF588‐617‐induced penile erection was reduced by nitroω‐l‐arginine methylester (L‐NAME; 20 µg), by morphine (5 µg) and by muscimol (1 µg), but not by dizocilpine [(+)MK‐801; 1 µg], nor by cis‐flupenthixol (10 µg) given into the paraventricular nucleus 10 min before the VGF peptide. d(CH2)5Tyr(Me)‐Orn8‐vasotocin (1 µg) effectively reduced VGF588‐617‐induced penile erection when given into the lateral ventricles but not when injected into the paraventricular nucleus. Immunocytochemistry with antibodies specific for the C‐terminal nonapeptide sequence of pro‐VGF (VGF609‐617) revealed numerous neuronal fibres and terminals within the paraventricular nucleus, including its parvocellular components. Here, many immunostained neuronal terminals impinged on parvocellular oxytocinergic neurons. The present results show for the first time that certain pro‐VGF C‐terminus‐derived peptides promote penile erection when injected into the paraventricular nucleus and suggest that, within this nucleus, these or closely related pro‐VGF‐derived peptides may be released to influence sexual function by activating paraventricular oxytocinergic neurons mediating penile erection.
Cortico‐basal ganglia pathways are essential for the recall of well–established visuomotor associations
Authors: Nixon Philip D. , McDonald Kathryn R. , Gough Patricia M. , Alexander Iona H. , Passingham Richard E.
Published: December 2004

Recent human neuroimaging studies, supported by lesion studies with nonhuman primates, have suggested that learning arbitrary associations between sensory cues and behavioural responses requires interactions between the infero‐temporal, prefrontal and premotor cortices. We directly tested the hypothesis suggested from our neuroimaging experiments that functional links between the basal ganglia and premotor cortex are involved in the process via which task performance becomes automatic. We made unilateral excitotoxic lesions, centred on the internal pallidum, in four macaques previously given extensive experience on the associations between nonspatial visual cues and movements of a joystick. The basal ganglia lesion was later combined with a premotor cortical lesion in the opposite hemisphere so as to interrupt the connections between them. Three of the animals were subsequently found to be impaired in relearning pre‐operatively acquired associations; they eventually succeeded but made three‐times as many errors. A fourth animal was unimpaired but its premotor cortex lesion was later found to be incomplete. Response times were only marginally increased and the learning of novel associations appeared relatively unaffected by these lesions. As a control, the effects of a unilateral premotor cortex lesion were assessed with two additional animals but this lesion did not result in a relearning impairment. We therefore suggest that when visuomotor associations have become well established through over‐training, performance depends on connections between the basal ganglia and premotor cortex.
The exercise of the object: issues in resource reusability and reuse
Authors: Malcolm Mary
Published: December 2004

What is to be captured and how it is to be reused are issues that currently dominate a learning object discourse constructed around the potential for technology to enable learning resource management through the collection and reuse and learning objects. Efficiency and quality gains are promised for institutions that engage with the learning object economy. This account of the issues surrounding current conceptions of the reusability and reuse of learning resources questions whether object‐based resource reuse can simultaneously achieve gains in both areas, and whether a learning object economy will sustain institutional development and diversity for those HEIs that participate in it.
THE POET, THE PRACTITIONER, AND THE BEHOLDER: REMARKS ON PHILIP HEFNER'S “CREATED CO‐CREATOR”
Authors: Westhelle Vítor
Published: December 2004

Abstract Philip Hefner's notion of the created co‐creator is treated here as a concept in its procedural sense. The concept as a theoretical construct offers a substantial account of human capabilities, their ingenuity to transcend the intrinsic and bring about a new order of growth and development. However, the limitation of this concept is its neatness. It suppresses that which cannot be suppressed. This otherwise straightforward concept fails to give a realistic description of the human in situations of being on the edge that points to an end where there are no alternatives or negotiations. What is promising in the created co‐creator is that it is able to incorporate elements of the Western philosophical and theological anthropology. I propose that the created co‐creator reflects and elaborates the Aristotelian human attributes of theoria, praxis, and poiesis.
THE KENOSIS OF THE CREATOR AND OF THE CREATED CO‐CREATOR
Authors: S.J. Manuel G. Doncel
Published: December 2004

Abstract I comment on moral and theological aspects of human technology, which I consider as an evolutionary moment of our cultural and genetic variation. It is an important moment both scientifically and theologically. Starting from Philip Hefner's theological program of the human being as created co‐creator, I distinguish between the limitations and responsibilities of the human being as a created agent and the possibilities and ideals as a co‐creator. I develop the idea of the kenosis (self‐emptying) of the Creator, which as the root of God's love principle should be reenacted by the created co‐creators. I analyze elements of this kenosis presented by Jürgen Moltmann in relation to creation and eschatology.
CREATED CO‐CREATOR IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF CHURCH AND ETHICS
Authors: Willer Roger A.
Published: December 2004

AbstractPhilip Hefner's work on created co‐creator is presented for consideration as a contemporary theological anthropology. Its reception within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America falls into three main lines, which are reviewed here because they are suggestive of its potential impact on Christian thinking. This review raises two major questions and leads to a critique. The first question is whethercreated co‐creatorshould be replaced by another term for the sake of more clearly encapsulating the ideas represented in Hefner's work. The second question concerns the moral “payoff” of created co‐creator. Such questions lead to the critique that Hefner's corpus gives insufficient attention to responsibility as integral to freedom and that it lacks a theory of obligation. I then sketch the amenability and benefit of linking created co‐creator with “responsibility ethics,” exemplified by the work of Hans Jonas.
ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS AND COSMOLOGY: A BUDDHIST PERSPECTIVE
Authors: Brown Brian Edward
Published: December 2004

Abstract The ground for a Buddhist environmental ethic is rooted in one of the earliest formulations of Buddhist teaching, the principle of dependent co‐origination. This concept provides an ecological perspective where nothing exists in and of itself but only as a context of relations, a nexus of factors whose peculiar concatenation alone determines the origin, perpetuation, or cessation of that thing. The primacy of dependent co‐origination is consistent with the subsequent development of Mahayana Buddhism and its concept of Tathata (wondrous Being), as understood through the complementary doctrines of the Tathagatagarbha (embryonic consciousness) and the Alayavijnana (Absolute Consciousness). Together, these specify the ontological and epistemological framework for understanding wondrous Being as the movement toward its own self‐revelation: it comes to recognize itself as the essential nature of all things in and through the human mind, which is grounded on and informed by it. Through such a cosmology, coherent with the classical ideals of a bodhisattva, Buddhism reinvigorates the human in an ethic of mindful awareness of, reflection upon, and care for life in its entirety, as the species that can identify the integrity of the whole in the richness of its diverse particularities.
FREEDOM AND NEUROBIOLOGY: A SCOTISTIC ACCOUNT
Authors: Labooy Guus
Published: December 2004

Abstract With the aid of some Scotistic conceptual distinctions, I develop a way of meeting the apparent deterministic sway of neurobiology. I make a careful distinction between formal and material freedom. Formal freedom, the ability to will or not to will a certain state of affairs regardless of whether it can be effectuated, remains, even if our material freedom to effectuate it is hampered by neurobiological mechanisms. These conceptual findings are linked with contemporary empirical research on obsessive‐compulsive disorder and the possibility of volitional modulation of cerebral function.
THOMAS MERTON AND LEO SZILARD: THE PARALLEL PATHS OF A MONK AND A NUCLEAR PHYSICIST
Authors: Thompson Phillip M.
Published: December 2004

Abstract Thomas Merton and Leo Szilard, two of the seminal religious and scientific figures of the twentieth century, briefly connected on the issue of the danger of atomic weaponry. This meeting resulted from paths that guided them to an “orbiting” or distancing from human society through a phase of intellectual (Szilard) or spiritual (Merton) abstraction followed by a return to the concerns of human society. These parallel trajectories and their eventual intersection reflect both the similarities and differences in their respective backgrounds. The briefness of their contacts and the unfulfilled possibilities from such contacts also suggest the importance of a continuing dialogue between major figures in religion and science.
Neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects of the neuregulin glial growth factor‐2 on dopaminergic neurons in rat primary midbrain cultures
Authors: Zhang Lixin , Fletcher‐Turner Anita , Marchionni Mark A. , Apparsundaram Subbu , Lundgren Kerstin H. , Yurek David M. , Seroogy Kim B.
Published: December 2004

Glial growth factor‐2 (GGF2) and other neuregulin (NRG) isoforms have been shown to play important roles in survival, migration, and differentiation of certain neural and non‐neural cells. Because midbrain dopamine (DA) cells express the NRG receptor, ErbB4, the present study examined the potential neurotrophic and/or neuroprotective effects of GGF2 on cultured primary dopaminergic neurons. Embryonic day 14 rat mesencephalic cell cultures were maintained in serum‐free medium and treated with GGF2 or vehicle. The number of tyrosine hydroxylase‐positive (TH+) neurons and high‐affinity [3H]DA uptake were assessed at day in vitro (DIV) 9. Separate midbrain cultures were treated with 100 ng/mL GGF2 on DIV 0 and exposed to the catecholamine‐specific neurotoxin 6‐hydroxydopamine (6‐OHDA) on DIV 4. GGF2 treatment significantly increased DA uptake, the number of TH+ neurons, and neurite outgrowth when compared to the controls in both the serum‐free and the 6‐OHDA‐challenged cultures. Furthermore, three NRG receptors were detected in the midbrain cultures by western blot analysis. Immunostaining for glial fibrillary acidic protein revealed that GGF2 also weakly promoted mesencephalic glial proliferation in the midbrain cultures. These results indicate that GGF2 is neurotrophic and neuroprotective for developing dopaminergic neurons and suggest a role for NRGs in repair of the damaged nigrostriatal system that occurs in Parkinson's disease.
Managing the Second Stage of Labor: Using Evidence to Guide Practice
Authors: Cesario Sandra K.
Published: December 2004

Objective: The primary objectives of this exploratory study were: (1) review the literature to identify evidence‐based labor management interventions, (2) re‐evaluate the “average” length of labor associated with good childbirth outcomes, and (3) determine if there is a consensus among labor and delivery nurse managers regarding the need to revise the Friedman's Labor Curve.

Design: This pilot study utilized a comprehensive literature review and an anonymous cross‐sectional survey design. Surveys were mailed to 500 maternity care agencies in the United States, Canada, and Mexico with a return rate of 17.8% (n = 89). Each participating agency was asked to submit five patient cases to be included in the analysis.

Sample and Setting: The sample of patient cases (n = 419) was drawn from randomly selected maternity care agencies throughout North America representing all sizes of agencies and geographic locations. The cases submitted for analysis represented women 14 to 44 years of age with varying ethnicities who received no regional anesthesia or oxytocin augmentation or induction.

Results: The average length of the second stage of labor for women today is similar to the length described by Friedman in 1954. However, a wider range of “normal” was found in the current study. A review of literature suggests non‐directive pushing and a greater variety of birthing positions improves second‐stage labor outcomes. Most (87.6%) nurse managers believed that Friedman's Labor Curve should be revised to meet the needs of current patient populations, technological advances, and nursing responsibilities.

Conclusions: The parameters, assessments, and interventions currently employed during the second stage of labor need to be re‐evaluated to incorporate the most recent evidence to support best practices.
Realizing APN‐Level Evidence‐Based Practice Efforts: A Multiple‐Skill Development Model
Authors: Hopkins Clare M
Published: December 2004

Objective: To test a nursing education model to facilitate development of the multiple research‐related critiquing, implementation, and entrepreneurial skills needed by master's students to promote effective EBP efforts.

Design: Piloting a two‐course research experience model, students honed critiquing skills for evaluating evidence through an integrated literature review, developed implementation skills by designing and presenting an EBP‐change proposal to health care personnel (HCP), and developing entrepreneurial skills for promoting agency adoption of the change through an agency assessment and an evaluation of post‐presentation HCP responses.

Population: Graduate nursing students in a Southwestern Pennsylvania college.

Method: Teaching/learning strategies included didactic methods to summarize topics, interactive group work to hone collaborative and entrepreneurial skills, and assignments to hone critical‐thinking and presentation skills prior to presenting the proposal to HCP. A wrap‐up session was used to discuss the process and realities of attempts to implement EBP change.

Findings: Using this model, examples of students' EBP change efforts included both fall‐risk assessment and prevention strategies and staff hand‐washing techniques/education in long‐term care facilities, self‐scheduling in an ICU, acrylic nail use by hospital HCP, and efforts to create NP roles in a same‐day surgery unit and a specialty plastic surgery practice.

Conclusions: To realize EBP efforts, graduate students must develop a range of research‐related skills. The use of one nursing education model that added entrepreneurial skills to facilitate agency “buy‐in” for EBP change has been found to increase student interest both in evaluating research findings and in conducting EBP efforts. The model has been implemented as a capstone experience in the pilot institution.

Implications: Advanced practice nurses play a pivotal role in bringing research into clinical practice. Nurse educators can facilitate APN student development into this role through the use of models that teach multiple research‐related skills for evaluating and selling EBP to HCP.
A Collaborative Practice Model Reduces Indwelling Urinary Catheter Use and Risk for Nosocomial Urinary Tract Infections
Authors: Conklin Sandra Maddux
Published: December 2004

Objectives: (1) Decrease use of indwelling urinary catheters. (2) Limit the number of overall catheter days.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Population, Sample, Setting, and Years: Patients requiring indwelling urinary catheters admitted to general medical units at Yale‐New Haven Hospital were included. Patients with chronic catheters were excluded. Data were collected in spring 2002 and repeated in spring 2003.

Intervention and Outcome: A physician–nurse protocol was developed to allow physicians to select, via a computerized order‐entry system, one the following options: (1) discontinue catheter, (2) maintain catheter for 48 hours, or (3) maintain chronic device. The protocol permits nurses to independently remove urinary catheters for patients meeting established criteria. Outcome measures included calculated device days (CDD), calculated infection rates (CIR), and device utilization ratio (DUR).

Methods: During 53 consecutive days in 2002, all patients (n = 883) were assessed for occurrence, duration, and appropriateness of catheter use. Patients with catheters were assessed for infection. This procedure was repeated 1 year later postintervention (n = 894). Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Findings: Compared to baseline, there was a 51% reduction in catheter use post intervention (164 versus 81) among all four patient units. Although the outcome variables were not statistically significant, they were clinically significant. The CDD declined from 892 to 521 days, a 42% reduction, while the CIR decreased from 36 of 1000 to 19 of 1000 patient days (47% reduction). The DUR (device days/all patient days) fell from 16% to 10%. One unit demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in CIR (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Results of this study demonstrate that use of a collaborative practice model reduces indwelling urinary catheter use and risk for nosocomial urinary tract infections.

Implications: This protocol will heighten clinicians' awareness of the appropriate use of catheters and parameters to guide decision‐making regarding their removal.
Australian Research Translation Models for Reducing the Gap Between Research and Practice
Authors: Bucknall Tracey K.
Published: December 2004

Objective: Significant findings in many disciplines have demonstrated that decision making and organizational change are context dependent. The implications of this knowledge in implementing evidence‐based practice are that no one model fits all situations. Hence two models of translation science were selected for analysis in this presentation to demonstrate a range of outcomes within the Australian health care context.

Approach: The National Institute of Clinical Studies, a federally funded organization established to improve health care by closing the gaps between best available evidence and current clinical practice, and the Victorian Centre for Nursing Practice Research Clinical Research Fellowship (CRF), a state‐based program, have been drawn upon to demonstrate critical themes in research translation.

Findings: The analysis reveals several factors critical for the transfer of research into practice. These include: the importance of the type and nature of evidence to be implemented; an understanding of stakeholder drivers; capacity and outcome needs at the political, organizational, clinician, and patient levels; and the ability of the various change agent roles to promote and legitimize the changes required.

Conclusion: Implementing research evidence into clinical practice is a complex and dynamic process. Critical analysis of research evidence, current practice, and the potential benefits from multidisciplinary perspectives is necessary. As change proceeds, information exchange, concurrent review, evaluation, and modification of practice need to occur. Measurement and feedback are integral to the dynamic process if adjustment and system change are to occur in a sustainable way.

Implications: Political, organizational, clinician, and patient implications will be discussed in the presentation.
Pyruvate Oxidase Is a Determinant of Avery's Rough Morphology
Authors: Belanger Aimee E. , Clague Melissa J. , Glass John I. , LeBlanc Donald J.
Published: December 2004

In pioneering studies, Avery et al. identified DNA as the hereditary material (A. T. Avery, C. M. MacLeod, and M. McCarty, J. Exp. Med.
79
:137-158, 1944). They demonstrated, by means of variation in colony morphology, that this substance could transform their rough type 2
Streptococcus pneumoniae
strain R36A into a smooth type 3 strain. It has become accepted as fact, from modern textbook accounts of these experiments, that smooth pneumococci make capsule, while rough strains do not. We found that rough-to-smooth morphology conversion did not occur in rough strains R36A and R6 when the ability to synthesize native type 2 capsule was restored. The continued rough morphology of these encapsulated strains was attributed to a second, since-forgotten, morphology-affecting mutation that was sustained by R36A during strain development. We used a new genome-PCR-based approach to identify
spxB
, the gene encoding pyruvate oxidase, as the mutated locus in R36A and R6 that, with unencapsulation, gives rise to rough colony morphology, as we know it. The variant
spxB
allele of R36A and R6 is associated with increased cellular pyruvate oxidase activity relative to the ancestral strain D39. Increased pyruvate oxidase activity alters colony shape by mediating cell death. R36A requires a wild-type
spxB
allele for the expression of smooth type 2 morphology but not for the expression of smooth type 3 morphology, the phenotype monitored by Avery et al. Thus, the mutated
spxB
allele did not impact their use of smooth morphology to identify the transforming principle.
HMW1 Is Required for Stability and Localization of HMW2 to the Attachment Organelle of
Mycoplasma pneumoniae
Authors: Willby Melisa J. , Balish Mitchell F. , Ross Stephanie M. , Lee Kyungok K. , Jordan Jarrat L. , Krause Duncan C.
Published: December 2004

The cytoskeletal proteins HMW1 and HMW2 are components of the terminal organelle of the cell wall-less bacterium
Mycoplasma pneumoniae
. HMW1 is required for a tapered, filamentous morphology but exhibits accelerated turnover in the absence of HMW2. Here, we report that a reciprocal dependency exists between HMW1 and HMW2, with HMW2 subject to accelerated turnover with the loss of HMW1. Furthermore, the instability of HMW2 correlated with its failure to localize to the attachment organelle. The C-terminal domain of HMW1 is essential for both function and its accelerated turnover in the absence of HMW2. We constructed HMW1 deletion derivatives lacking portions of this domain and examined each for stability and function. The C-terminal 41 residues were particularly important for proper localization and function in cell morphology and P1 localization, but the entire C-terminal domain was required to stabilize HMW2. The significance of these findings in the context of attachment organelle assembly is considered.
Genetic Evidence that Catabolites of the Entner-Doudoroff Pathway Signal C Source Repression of the σ54PuPromoter ofPseudomonas putida
Authors: Velázquez Francisco , di Bartolo Ilaria , de Lorenzo Víctor
Published: December 2004

Glucose and other C sources exert an atypical form of catabolic repression on the σ54-dependent promoterPu, which drives transcription of an operon form-xylene degradation encoded by the TOL plasmid pWW0 inPseudomonas putida. We have used a genetic approach to identify the catabolite(s) shared by all known repressive C sources that appears to act as the intracellular signal that triggers downregulation ofPu. To this end, we reconstructed from genomic data the pathways for metabolism of repressor (glucose, gluconate) and nonrepressor (fructose) C sources. SinceP. putidalacks fructose-6-phosphate kinase, glucose and gluconate appear to be metabolized exclusively by the Entner-Doudoroff (ED) pathway, while fructose can be channeled through the Embden-Meyerhof (EM) route. An insertion in the genefda(encoding fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase) that forces fructose metabolism to be routed exclusively to the ED pathway makes this sugar inhibitory forPu. On the contrary, acrcmutation known to stimulate expression of the ED enzymes causes the promoter to be less sensitive to glucose. Interrupting the ED pathway by knocking outeda(encoding 2-dehydro-3-deoxyphosphogluconate aldolase) exacerbates the inhibitory effect of glucose inPu. These observations pinpoint the key catabolites of the ED route, 6-phosphogluconate and/or 2-dehydro-3-deoxyphosphogluconate, as the intermediates that signalPurepression. This notion is strengthened by the observation that 2-ketogluconate, which enters the ED pathway by conversion into these compounds, is a strong repressor of thePupromoter.
Isolation of
Escherichia coli
Bacteriophages from the Stool of Pediatric Diarrhea Patients in Bangladesh
Authors: Chibani-Chennoufi Sandra , Sidoti Josette , Bruttin Anne , Dillmann Marie-Lise , Kutter Elizabeth , Qadri Firdausi , Sarker Shafiqul Alam , Brüssow Harald
Published: December 2004

A 3-week coliphage survey was conducted in stool samples from 140 Bangladeshi children hospitalized with severe diarrhea. On the
Escherichia coli
indicator strain K803, all but one phage isolate had 170-kb genomes and the morphology of T4 phage. In spot tests, the individual T4-like phages infected up to 27 out of 40 diarrhea-associated
E. coli,
representing 22 O serotypes and various virulence factors; only five of them were not infected by any of these new phages. A combination of diagnostic PCR based on
g32
(DNA binding) and
g23
(major capsid protein) and Southern hybridization revealed that half were T-even phages sensu strictu, while the other half were pseudo-T-even or even more distantly related T4-like phages that failed to cross-hybridize with T4 or between each other. Nineteen percent of the acute stool samples yielded T4-like phages, and the prevalence was lower in convalescent stool samples. T4-like phages were also isolated from environmental and sewage water, but with low frequency and low titers. On the enteropathogenic
E. coli
strain O127:K63, 14% of the patients yielded phage, all of which were members of the phage family
Siphoviridae
with 50-kb genomes, showing the morphology of Jersey- and beta-4 like phages and narrow lytic patterns on
E. coli
O serotypes. Three siphovirus types could be differentiated by lack of cross-hybridization. Only a few stool samples were positive on both indicator strains. Phages with closely related restriction patterns and, in the case of T4-like phages, identical
g23
gene sequences were isolated from different patients, suggesting epidemiological links between the patients.
Isolation and Expression of the
xynB
Gene and Its Product, XynB, a Consistent Component of the
Clostridium cellulovorans
Cellulosome
Authors: Han Sung Ok , Yukawa Hideaki , Inui Masayuki , Doi Roy H.
Published: December 2004

The nucleotide sequence of the
Clostridium cellulovorans xynB
gene, which encodes the XynB xylanase, consists of 1,821 bp and encodes a protein of 607 amino acids with a molecular weight of 65,976. XynB contains a typical N-terminal signal peptide of 29 amino acid residues, followed by a 147-amino-acid sequence that is homologous to the family 4-9 (subfamily 9 in family 4) carbohydrate-binding domain. Downstream of this domain is a family 10 catalytic domain of glycosyl hydrolase. The C terminus separated from the catalytic domain by a short linker sequence contains a dockerin domain responsible for cellulosome assembly. The XynB sequence from mass spectrometry and N-terminal amino acid sequence analyses agreed with that deduced from the nucleotide sequence. XynB was highly active toward xylan, but not active toward carboxymethyl cellulose. The enzyme was optimally active at 40°C and pH 5.0. Northern hybridizations revealed that
xynB
is transcribed as a monocistronic 1.9-kb mRNA. RNA ligase-mediated rapid amplification of 5′ cDNA ends by PCR (RLM-5′RACE PCR) analysis of
C. cellulovorans
RNA identified a single transcriptional start site of
xynB
located 47 bp upstream from the first nucleotide of the translation initiation codon. Alignment of the
xynB
promoter region provided evidence for highly conserved sequences that exhibited strong similarity to the σ
A
consensus promoter sequences of gram-positive bacteria. Expression of
xynB
mRNA increased from early to middle exponential phase and decreased during the early stationary phase when the cells were grown on cellobiose. No alternative promoter was observed by RLM-5′RACE PCR and reverse transcriptase PCR analyses during expression. The analysis of the products from xylan hydrolysis by thin-layer chromatography indicated its endoxylanase activity. The results suggest that XynB is a consistent and major cellulosomal enzyme during growth on cellulose or xylan.
Transcriptomic and Proteomic Characterization of the Fur Modulon in the Metal-Reducing Bacterium
Shewanella oneidensis
Authors: Wan Xiu-Feng , VerBerkmoes Nathan C. , McCue Lee Ann , Stanek Dawn , Connelly Heather , Hauser Loren J. , Wu Liyou , Liu Xueduan , Yan Tingfen , Leaphart Adam , Hettich Robert L. , Zhou Jizhong , Thompson Dorothea K.
Published: December 2004

The availability of the complete genome sequence for
Shewanella oneidensis
MR-1 has permitted a comprehensive characterization of the ferric uptake regulator (Fur) modulon in this dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium. We have employed targeted gene mutagenesis, DNA microarrays, proteomic analysis using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and computational motif discovery tools to define the
S. oneidensis
Fur regulon. Using this integrated approach, we identified nine probable operons (containing 24 genes) and 15 individual open reading frames (ORFs), either with unknown functions or encoding products annotated as transport or binding proteins, that are predicted to be direct targets of Fur-mediated repression. This study suggested, for the first time, possible roles for four operons and eight ORFs with unknown functions in iron metabolism or iron transport-related functions. Proteomic analysis clearly identified a number of transporters, binding proteins, and receptors related to iron uptake that were up-regulated in response to a
fur
deletion and verified the expression of nine genes originally annotated as pseudogenes. Comparison of the transcriptome and proteome data revealed strong correlation for genes shown to be undergoing large changes at the transcript level. A number of genes encoding components of the electron transport system were also differentially expressed in a
fur
deletion mutant. The gene
omcA
(SO1779), which encodes a decaheme cytochrome
c
, exhibited significant decreases in both mRNA and protein abundance in the
fur
mutant and possessed a strong candidate Fur-binding site in its upstream region, thus suggesting that
omcA
may be a direct target of Fur activation.
A Genetic Locus Necessary for Rhamnose Uptake and Catabolism in
Rhizobium leguminosarum
bv. trifolii
Authors: Richardson Jason S. , Hynes Michael F. , Oresnik Ivan J.
Published: December 2004

Rhizobium leguminosarum
bv. trifolii mutants unable to catabolize the methyl-pentose rhamnose are unable to compete effectively for nodule occupancy. In this work we show that the locus responsible for the transport and catabolism of rhamnose spans 10,959 bp. Mutations in this region were generated by transposon mutagenesis, and representative mutants were characterized. The locus contains genes coding for an ABC-type transporter, a putative dehydrogenase, a probable isomerase, and a sugar kinase necessary for the transport and subsequent catabolism of rhamnose. The regulation of these genes, which are inducible by rhamnose, is carried out in part by a DeoR-type negative regulator (RhaR) that is encoded within the same transcript as the ABC-type transporter but is separated from the structural genes encoding the transporter by a terminator-like sequence. RNA dot blot analysis demonstrated that this terminator-like sequence is correlated with transcript attenuation only under noninducing conditions. Transport assays utilizing tritiated rhamnose demonstrated that uptake of rhamnose was inducible and dependent upon the presence of the ABC transporter at this locus. Phenotypic analyses of representative mutants from this locus provide genetic evidence that the catabolism of rhamnose differs from previously described methyl-pentose catabolic pathways.
Identification of a Distinct, Cryptic Heparosan Synthase from
Pasteurella multocida
Types A, D, and F
Authors: DeAngelis Paul L. , White Carissa L.
Published: December 2004

The extracellular polysaccharide capsules of
Pasteurella multocida
types A, D, and F are composed of hyaluronan,
N
-acetylheparosan (heparosan or unsulfated, unepimerized heparin), and unsulfated chondroitin, respectively. Previously, a type D heparosan synthase, a glycosyltransferase that forms the repeating disaccharide heparosan backbone, was identified. Here, a ∼73% identical gene product that is encoded outside of the capsule biosynthesis locus was also shown to be a functional heparosan synthase. Unlike PmHS1, the PmHS2 enzyme was not stimulated greatly by the addition of an exogenous polymer acceptor and yielded smaller- molecular-weight-product size distributions. Virtually identical
hssB
genes are found in most type A, D, and F isolates. The occurrence of multiple polysaccharide synthases in a single strain invokes the potential for capsular variation.
Simulated microgravity enhances cerebral artery vasoconstriction and vascular resistance through endothelial nitric oxide mechanism
Authors: Wilkerson M. Keith , Lesniewski Lisa A. , Golding Elke M. , Bryan Robert M. , Amin Aamir , Wilson Emily , Delp Michael D.
Published: December 2004

Elevations in arterial pressure associated with hypertension, microgravity, and prolonged bed rest alter cerebrovascular autoregulation in humans. Using head-down tail suspension (HDT) in rats to induce cephalic fluid shifts and elevate arterial pressure, this study tested the hypothesis that 2-wk HDT enhances cerebral artery vasoconstriction and that an enhanced vasoconstriction described in vitro will alter regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) and vascular resistance (CVR) during standing and head-up tilt. To test this hypothesis, basal tone and vasoconstrictor responses to increases in transmural pressure, shear stress, and K+ were determined in vitro in middle cerebral arteries (MCAs) from HDT and control rats. All in vitro measurements were done in the presence and absence of the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME; 10−5 M) and with endothelium removal. Endothelial NOS (eNOS) mRNA and protein expression levels were measured by RT-PCR and immunoblot, respectively. Regional CBF and CVR were determined with a radiolabeled tracer technique and quantitative autoradiography. Basal tone and all vasoconstrictor responses were greater in MCAs from HDT rats. l-NAME and endothelium removal abolished these differences between groups, and HDT was associated with lower levels of MCA eNOS protein. CBF in select regions was lower and CVR higher during standing and head-up tilt in HDT rats. These results indicate that chronic cephalic fluid shifts enhanced basal tone and vasoconstriction through alterations in the eNOS signaling mechanism. The functional consequence of these vascular alterations with HDT is regional elevations in CVR and corresponding reductions in cerebral perfusion.
Family Waqf Entitlements in British Palestine (1917-1948)
Authors: Reiter Yitzhak
Published: December 2004

Using endowment deeds (waqfiyyāt) and court decisions (aḥkām) recorded in the sijill of the Sharīʿa Court of Jerusalem during the period of British rule in Palestine (1917-1948), I analyze three aspects of family Waqf: The right of females to transmit their entitlement to the next generation; the treatment of males and females; and the entitlement of orphaned grandchildren. These patterns are compared to the patterns of devolution that result from the application of Islamic inheritance law.
Model ShurūṬ Works and the Dialectic of Doctrine and Practice
Authors: Hallaq Wael
Published: December 2004

The relationship between documents emanating from the world of judicial practice and model formulae recorded in juristic manuals has been viewed differentially by modern scholars. Whereas Joseph Schacht posited the existence of a close relationship between the the realia of judicial practice and juristic manuals, others did not. Going one step beyond Schacht, I argue that the relationship between model ShurūṬ and documents originating in practice was dialectical, involving complex processes of editing, interpolation and selection, processes that functioned — almost imperceptibly — within the conventional legal dynamics of the madhhab. If this view is accepted, it follows that the conventional wisdom regarding a gap between Islamic legal doctrine and judicial practice is untenable, at least in the areas of the law covered by ShurūṬ manuals.